Techlab: Soziokultur Teams

The 12 organisations and their innovative ideas

A group of young people sit with headphones around a table on which various technical devices such as laptops, microphones and cables are lying

As part of the ‘Techlab: Socioculture’ pilot project, 12 ambitious organisations in the socio-cultural sector, with a wealth of expertise, went through three phases over the course of the approximately one-year funding period, during which they received advice from international experts in the fields of culture, strategy, technology and product development.

More about the 12 teams and their ideas:

BUSCH/FUNK (Förderverein Stechlin-Institut e.V.)

Busch/Funk (working title) is a project of the Stechlin Institute. Situated in the very north of Brandenburg, in the middle of the forest, forest fire is a real threat for us. Beyond this local motivation, the loss of forests due to forest fires is one of the biggest drivers of the climate crisis and species extinction in a global context. Since over 90 % of all fires are of human origin, we approach the problem from its social side and look for the interfaces in existing, widely used applications in order to expand these – with the support of ESA satellite data – through information layers. The person-centered information raises awareness and supports users in preventing forest fires and/or detecting and reporting them at an early stage.

Culture for everyone everywhere (Gesellschaft für Friedenserziehung e.V. / Dunkelcafé Siegen)

“With the help of technical innovations, we want to make it possible for people to experience cultural events at any time and in any place. By creating an authentic reality environment, users get the feeling of being there live. This special approach to culture was developed by us blind people. It not only improves the quality of life of people with severe disabilities, but also creates cultural participation for everyone. So that you too can visit theaters and museums from your care bed!”

dunkelcafe-siegen.de

Wing Buddy – the cultural dating app (Handiclapped – Kultur Barrierefrei e.V.)

“Wing Buddy is a dating app for attending cultural events together. People with and without assistance needs find each other and go together to concerts, theaters, exhibitions, libraries, sporting events...
Millions of people would benefit, including senior citizens and people with and without disabilities. There is an elaborated concept, a prototype and a designed click dummy. Handiclapped - Kultur Barrierefrei e.V. is giving everything away to whoever implements the project.
Let's see which public or private sponsor wins the race to bring this prestigious project to market.”

https://handiclapped-berlin.de

Ce4Tch – Cultural education for Techies (JuKu-Mobil Fichtelgebirge & Hofer Land e. V.)

"JuKu- Mobil Fichtelgebirge & Hofer Land e.V. ist die erste mobile Jugendkunstschule in Bayern. Im Rahmen des Projekts "Ce4Tch –Cultural education for Techies" bieten wir Kunstworkshops an, die von erfahrenen Künstler*innen geleitet werden, um Mitarbeitenden in technologisch innovativen Firmen kreative Erfahrungen zu ermöglichen. Ziel ist es, die Teilnehmenden in ihrer Selbstwirksamkeit zu stärken und ihnen zu helfen, unkonventionelle Lösungswege in ihrem beruflichen Umfeld zu finden. Durch die Integration von Technologie in den künstlerischen Prozess fördern wir nicht nur die Innovationskraft der Region, sondern auch die Vernetzung zwischen Kunst und Industrie."

www.juku-mobil.de

KuCo – KulturCnnct (KFZ Marburg e.V.)

The largest and oldest socio-cultural centre in Marburg is a place of exchange and connection. In the Techlab, the KFZ team is working on a social app to bring events and people interested in culture together.

www.kfz-marburg.de

More access to life stories - blind date or match making with AI (Polyrama Museum)

“Polyrama, Museum for Life Stories collects Berlin life stories on important life topics. To do this, we talk to very different people who give us personal insights into their life experiences in audio interviews.
As part of Techlab, we are exploring the possibilities of AI to enable our visitors to access the long life stories in different ways and to reduce the barriers for people with different backgrounds.”

www.kulturlabor.org
www.polyrama.de

Culture AMP – increasing the reach and visibility of local cultural data (LAG Soziokultur Schlweswig-Holstein)

"We would like to offer smaller cultural actors in particular a tool for digital event announcements in order to make their offers and themselves more efficiently visible. The aim is to develop a platform that distributes high-quality event data to as many relevant calendars and media as possible with just one input, saving time for both sides. The public relations work of cultural players will become more professional and regional reporting more diverse. This gives more people in the city and countryside access to valuable cultural offerings and strengthens local social cohesion."

www.soziokultur-sh.de

Vote. Visualize. Interact (mediale pfade – Verein für Medienbildung e.V.)

mediale pfade wants to develop a scalable educational concept that teaches skills in data literacy and visual computing in order to strengthen the participation concerns of young people with artistic data visualizations.
The association uses modern educational formats to promote critical understanding and a reflective approach to technology. The aim is to support children, young people and adults in their political thinking and motivate them to actively shape a digital society based on solidarity.

www.medialepfade.org

Rostock CLIMATEadapted (Medienwerkstatt Rostock, Institut für neue Medien gGmbH)

“Climate change, 1.5°C mark, CO2 footprint - I can't hear it anymore and what does it actually have to do with me?
These and similar attitudes are widespread. No wonder, because the topic is huge, complex, challenging and very serious.
This is precisely why we want to use the Techlab to develop a board game in this context. First and foremost, it should be fun and perhaps (re)create a little more understanding and access to the topic of climate change."

www.ifnm.de

1Garden1000Gardeners (Oldenburger Kunstschule e.V.)

1Garden1000Gardeners is a platform on which users can redesign physical spaces in a virtual 3D environment. It is a creative forum that enables the creation of urban space through the collective design of realistic 3D models of our world.

www.oldenburger-kunstschule.de

MarsQuest: Technology and Discovery (Protohaus gGmbH)

Protohaus gGmbH is a non-profit educational and research institution with a focus on digitalization and sustainability. The Techlab offering focuses on the interactive simulation game “MarsQuest”, which promotes technical knowledge and socio-cultural understanding. The game simulates the challenges and opportunities of colonizing Mars. The players design a Mars base together in five rounds. The shape of the base is influenced by the players' individual and collective decisions. Instead of a classic win or lose game, there are different success systems that enable a variety of results.

www.protohaus.org

SMART GREEN BOX: Micro House + digital participation (Zukunftshafen Frankfurt e.V.)

More and more people are affected by homelessness.
The non-profit Zukunftshafen Frankfurt (ZHF) e.V., a think tank for the development and promotion of green building culture, is tackling this problem with the idea of the SMART GREEN BOX. It is intended not only to offer those affected a dignified “roof over their heads”, but also to enable them to participate in social/cultural life. The aim is a modular, sustainably produced, self-sufficient micro-house as temporary accommodation that connects residents with society and cultural life using easy-to-use smart home and smart communication technology.

A group photo of almost all the teams supported in the Techlab — Most of the funded teams during a visit to the Lufthansa Innovation Hub in Berlin, September 2024 © Arundhati Shenoy

Findings and experiences from the programme

Booklet about the Techlab: Socioculture programme

This booklet captures experiences and insights gained across the year-long programme. You will find interviews, expert perspectives, practical questions and tips and a schematic offering different ways into the Techlab. It highlights what was learned, what challenges were faced, and how the socio-culture and technology sectors can come together to inspire new ways of working.

read here