frog and the Federal Republic of Germany

Earlier this year, frog had the honor of participating in a series of expert hearings or what the Germans call "Zukunftswerkstatt" – a special think tank dedicated to envisioning and discussing the future of the country (or at least the next two decades). Jointly hosted by four leading German trend research institutes, the Innovation Council of the Endowment Foundation of German Sciences, the Bohnen Kallmorgen & Partners political consultancy, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the initiative was launched on the occasion of the Federal Republic of Germany's 60th anniversary to enable an interdisciplinary dialogue with civil society and develop a guiding vision for Germany in the year 2030.

The hearings took place between February and April at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin and brought together academics and practitioners from a variety of sectors. On behalf of frog, I took part in a session on quality of life and welfare, and a few weeks later in a roundtable with the "Bundeskanzleramtsminister" (don't you love the German language?), the Minister of the Federal Chancellery, Thomas de Maiziere (I guess the US equivalent would be Rahm Emanuel).

The results of the hearings and workshops are documented in a book titled Deutschland's nächste Jahre - Wohin unsere Reise geht ("Germany's next years – where we're going from here") that is available now in stores and on Amazon (in German only).

Tim Leberecht is the CMO of frog and the publisher of design mind.