Be an MP in the Bundestag for a day! This dream became a reality for around 100 teenagers and young adults in the autumn of each of the last two years. At the invitation of the SPD parliamentary group, they were able to travel to Berlin for three days to take on the role of a member of parliament themselves. We adapted the SPD parliamentary group's simulation game concept for this purpose and built some new features on Senaryon to make the Zukunftsdialog simulation game run as smoothly as possible.

The simulation game Zukunftsdialog looks back on several years of tradition in the SPD parliamentary group, and really is a special format. The participants play themselves, but as SPD members of parliament for their constituency – an exciting mixture of simulation game and future workshop. All the more exciting because the negotiations took place at the original location in the Bundestag – including faction meetings in the SPD faction hall.

The interlocking with the SPD parliamentary group also has a special charm: the questions for the individual working groups of the simulation game faction come directly from the ‘real’ working groups of the SPD faction. At the end of the simulation game, the participants can then also present their ideas directly in the respective working groups. The MPs ask questions, the participants develop their ideas – and after two simulations, we can also report that the ‘real’ MPs also gained a lot from these ideas.

However, the last time the simulation game was run was six years ago at the beginning of our project. So the game dynamics needed a makeover and processes had to be simplified. The latter was mainly achieved by transferring many processes from the analogue world to Senaryon: for example, participants were able to apply for the chairpersonship of the parliamentary group online in the run-up to the event, choose their working group and exchange ideas with each other. Once they arrived in Berlin, the election of the parliamentary group chair was also held via Senaryon.

During the event, a special new feature of Senaryon was used – text editing in change mode. Just like in the real SPD parliamentary group, the simulation game also has working groups with leading and advisory roles. But where previously the interns of the SPD parliamentary group had to run back and forth between the rooms of the various working groups with USB sticks, now a simple click on Senaryon is all it takes for the consulting working group to gain access. When the text goes back to the lead working group, they can see the changes directly in the change mode – which makes the negotiations much easier, even though the compromises are of course just as hard-fought as usual.

The big challenge in this project was the integration of the digital with the analogue. However, after two implementations, we are very satisfied with how we have solved this. In the run-up to the event, the participants use the platform actively – last time, for example, almost a fifth of all participants applied for the position of faction leader. During the event, Senaryon provides support whenever it increases efficiency – for example, the election of the faction leader now takes place via Senaryon, and no longer with slips of paper.

All in all, we see this as confirmation of our long-held conviction: hybrid formats can enrich analogue formats, especially in the run-up to the event, and facilitate many processes on site.

All in all, a great project in which impressive young people come together time and again, discuss in depth and then present their ideas to the politicians whose role they themselves take on in the simulation game. Including the original location and a visit from the leader of the SPD parliamentary group – a complete success in our view.