Political simulation in the Hessian state parliament

School classes and other youth groups experience actively and immersively how it feels to debate and vote on a new bill as a member of the Hessian Parliament. The simulation games are digitally supported, either on-site or completely online, and are led by employees of the state parliament. We developed the content and the digital game template, and provided training for the employees. The colleagues of the Landtag also have access to the Senaryon CMS and can edit their simulation games themselves or feed their own content into the platform.

What it’s about

The simulation game is currently offered in two themes: “Analog was yesterday - Digital school for Hesse” and “Youth votes - Lowering the voting age”. Both simulation games are available in a short and long version with a duration of three and four and a half hours respectively. The game features parliamentary groups from the Conservative Party, the Ecological Party, the Workers' Party, the Alternative Party, the Freedom Party and the Socialist Party. After a caucus meeting, the game moves to the committee meeting. The goal is to work out a compromise on a bill that can be voted on at the end. The simulation game is perfect for learning about the legislative process of the Hessian state parliament and gaining a better understanding of the tasks of members of parliament.

How it works

School classes and other interested groups can register to participate in a simulation game. At the start of the project in the first year of the pandemic, all of the simulations were conducted online. In the meantime, hybrid and face-to-face simulations are taking place, some with and some without videoconferencing. In all cases, the participants are introduced to the simulation by employees of the state parliament who have received training from us and log on to the platform using a tablet provided or their own device. In the moderation, the employees of the state parliament are supported by the software, which guides the participants through the game phases. Additional materials are available for interactive evaluation. Visitors aged 15 and over can take part.

The special feature: Own content via access to the CMS

In the admin area on Senaryon, state parliament employees not only manage their own events, but can also make changes to existing games or add entirely new topics. We designed the content and didactics of the first two games for the Landtag and then released them to employees via the content management system (CMS). The CMS is easy to use even for people who are not so tech-savvy. However, the Senaryon team is of course always available for technical and didactic support.

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