perspectives.festival 2026

• 
  Tina Busch Speaker:in

In our professional lives we are daily confronted with situations that challenge us emotionally. This session offers you practical tools to recognize your personal triggers and learn effective self-regulation techniques.

You'll learn to better understand your emotional reactions and respond more calmly in difficult situations. With these skills you can not only boost your professional performance but also sustainably improve your personal wellbeing.

• 
  Ela Kagel Speaker:in Platform Coops eG

When we talk about AI, many people think of autonomous systems. But even the term 'Artificial Intelligence' is misleading. What we classify as artificial is, in reality, collective human labor—often the product of real sweat and tears. Every AI is built on the data and experiences of millions of real people, whose contributions disappear into anonymous data networks. What we call 'AI' is therefore always also a form of collective intelligence—just usually in extracted and commercialized form.

This talk invites us to shift that perspective: What happens when we stop seeing AI as an external tool and instead understand it as something we can shape and govern together? Collective Intelligence instead of Artificial Intelligence!

Drawing on the concept of Cooperative Intelligence, the talk shows how cooperative and public-benefit organizations can begin to build their own digital infrastructure: as collectively owned knowledge spaces, as federated systems, as the foundation for new forms of governance and value creation. The goal is the development of a new digital foundation that Trebor Scholz calls the 'Solidarity Stack'—a framework of technologies and organizational forms that build in collective decision-making, shared ownership, and democratic control from the very start.

• 
  Dr. Stefan Rieger Trainer, Coach, Consultant oose eG

Distributed systems need clear domain boundaries—otherwise dependencies and misunderstandings accumulate. Domain-Driven Design helps us slice the domain into Bounded Contexts. In 'Strategic Design', relationships and interfaces between those contexts are then defined. The result is a Context Map.

Using a case study, we will dive into Strategic Design hands-on: creating a Context Map and discussing different design options.

• 
  Dominik Bloh Author, Activist & Founder

Dominik Bloh speaks about his life between homelessness, social ascent, and public visibility – and why dignity, housing, and genuine participation are central questions for our society's future.

Through personal stories, clear observations, and a perspective on social innovation, he shows why the question of the future of work can never be separated from the question of the future of how we live together.

• 
  Kai Lehmann Speaker:in Syndicats eG

What if individual applications can be generated at any time – cheaply, quickly, and anywhere?

We want to run a thought experiment: a look into the crystal ball of a world where software as a product, project, and job description is quietly disappearing. Not because software is gone, but because it has become taken for granted.

Starting from this assumption, we examine the consequences for work and value creation: What happens to SaaS business models when features no longer differentiate? How do developers, architects, and IT consultants spend their time when implementation becomes trivial? And where does economic value arise when code has no price?

Without future hype, the thought experiment shows how activities quietly shift – from building software to evaluating it, from implementing to contextualizing, and from technical details to the consequences arising from the abundance of new software.

A look into the crystal ball that will deliver fewer answers than new perspectives on what the world might soon look like.

• 
  Sven-Ole Thormählen Speaker:in

Big ambitions don't always need big programs – sometimes they just need a new perspective and bold, deliberate actions in everyday life. In this interactive format we experiment with the concept of Creating Shared Value and 'Small Acts': the smallest conceivable expressions of big ambitions that connect economic success with social value. Together we identify concrete starting points between strategic direction and operational practice, with the goal of making Win-Win-Win genuinely actionable.

• 
  Helene Renn Speaker:in

Hallucinations in AI systems like ChatGPT often sound convincing but are simply factually wrong.

In this interactive talk you'll learn why generative AI hallucinates, how to engage more critically with its answers, and which strategies help uncover and avoid hallucinations.

You can try out AI tools like ChatGPT yourself along the way. Together we develop a critical sense for the pitfalls of generative models and greater confidence in dealing with seemingly clear AI-generated knowledge.

• 
  Sarah Schuh Speaker:in
• 
  Kira Tschierschke Responsible Tech Enthusiast

Conflicts often arise where we simply don't understand the other person. How do we navigate a situation where different perspectives collide?

In this workshop you learn to use that critical moment. You apply concrete techniques to put yourself in other viewpoints and develop understanding – and thereby proactively defuse conflicts instead of resolving them later.

• 
  Thomas Betscher Speaker:in
• 
  Sebastian Dengler Speaker:in

Task-force projects are part of everyday life for many embedded teams – especially when time pressure, complexity, and client demands escalate. Yet these projects often run chaotically, without structure or efficiency.

In this talk we take an unusual angle: What can we learn from professional crisis responders – fire brigades, rescue services, or disaster relief teams?

We present core principles that work in crisis operations – clear command structures, structured situation assessments, proven standard procedures, and disciplined communication – and show how these translate to task-force projects.

Through concrete project examples, transferable best practices, and a pinch of humor, we develop a 'Task-Force Toolkit' for embedded teams that helps them act professionally, purposefully, and resiliently even in critical phases.

• 
  Claudia Henke Speaker:in Platform Coops eG
• 
  Tim Weilkiens Speaker:in

Claudia Henke from Platform Coops eG gives a brief overview of the workers' buyout model – employee succession – and speaks with Tim Weilkiens, board member of oose eG, about exactly how the employees bought the company and the considerations behind it. Time for audience questions is included.

• 
  Martina Kumpies Speaker:in

Artificial intelligence is not just changing work and technology – it is shifting power. While consumers supply data, workers train systems, companies maximise efficiency, and states expand control, platforms are giving rise to a new digital ruling class. Inspired by Marxist class analysis, this session connects manifesto, power relations, and AI fails to one question: who will own power tomorrow?

• 
  Nina Zolezzi Neuroscience-informed Consultant

At the center is an uncomfortable but relieving truth: many typical performance problems today are not competence problems but biological states. When nervous systems are overloaded, even highly intelligent teams suddenly become unclear, irritable, reactive, or internally absent. Meetings become sluggish, feedback escalates faster, focus fragments, decisions turn defensive – and collaboration feels harder than it needs to be.

Nina Zolezzi connects psychology and neuroscience with the reality of leadership and collaboration: Neurobiology of stress & performance (why pressure often sabotages exactly what we need) Self-regulation & mental fitness as the foundation for clarity, presence, and better decisions Psychological safety & relational competence as a performance factor (not a 'soft topic') Team dynamics & collective intelligence: what blocks teams – and what makes connection possible again Sustainable performance vs. the exhaustion spiral: how to protect energy, motivation, and focus

This talk is ideal for organizations that need less 'push' – and more human-system design: so that people can work with focus again, defuse conflicts earlier, handle change better, and become collectively smarter.

• 
  Hamza Bassam Speaker:in

Jean-Claude Van Damme could split, kick, and impress. Claude AI can write, code, plan, and think – and does it all without muscle soreness. In this talk we show what Claude is really capable of: from simple chat conversations through structured projects and skills to Claude Code and Cowork for real everyday work. No dry theory exercises, but live demos, genuine use cases, and an honest answer to the question: When does AI actually help – and when does it miss the mark?

• 
  Georg Haupt Trainer, Consultant

DevOps was supposed to make us faster, better, and more humane. Instead we sit in incident calls at 3:47 a.m., debating the difference between 'HOTFIX_FINAL_v7_REAL_LAST.zip' and 'HOTFIX_FINAL_v8_REAL_LAST.zip', and hoping that monitoring is silent because everything is working – not because monitoring itself has crashed.

In this equally humorous and brutally honest keynote we travel together through the three rivers of DevOps: Flow, Feedback, and Continuous Learning. Not the way they look in management presentations, but the way they are actually lived in many organizations. Between alert fatigue, tool hopping, Kubernetes mysticism, and the eternal search for the one platform that will finally solve all problems, we discover why culture matters more than tools, why attitude counts more than certifications, and why some retrospectives look more like archaeological digs than learning formats.

With plenty of self-irony, pop-culture references, and a healthy dose of truth, this talk shows what modern workplaces are really about: people solving complex problems together – or at least finding out together who caused them.

Anyone who has ever worked in a project, attended a change meeting, seen a Slack channel with 12,000 unread messages, or heard the phrase 'that grew historically' will recognize themselves.

In short: this is the rare case where group therapy, culture change, and a DevOps conference programme blend seamlessly into one another.

• 
  Moritz Avenatius Speaker:in

How do teams solve complex problems creatively and in a user-centric way? In this interactive session, you'll discover how Design Thinking strengthens interdisciplinary collaboration and accelerates innovation. Two hours, real-world case studies, hands-on practice – for everyone who wants fresh perspectives and faster, more focused work.

• 
  Sandra Herz AI Transformation Specialist

Leading teams and organizations in the age of AI is genuinely hard. New information about technology and its impact arrives daily, decisions must be made under uncertainty, there are no comparable transformations to learn from – and on top of that, there's the feeling that your own career path and status are under threat. This affects board members of global corporations just as much as managing directors of mid-sized companies: a lack of orientation, a lack of knowledge, and no time to change that.

But there are a few powerful levers for escaping this dilemma. All of them involve self-awareness and open communication. Some also involve AI support.

Let's explore together how these levers can best be pulled.

• 
  Maren Wischer Trainer, Coach, Consultant
• 
  Dr. David Endler Trainer, Coach, Consultant

Effective leadership in Systems Engineering means more than formal authority – especially when no disciplinary management role is in place. This session is about how you can exert genuine influence and provide orientation even without positional power. The focus is on clear role definition, targeted communication, and the ability to make well-founded decisions. It also explores how important self-leadership is for staying capable of action in complex and dynamic project environments. We show how to reflect on your own impact and develop strategies to build trust and actively shape collaboration. The core insight: successful leadership starts with your own inner attitude. Those who are aware of their role, communicate clearly, and take responsibility can lead sustainably and bring systems to success – even without formal power.

• 
  Helene Renn Speaker:in
• 
  Sarah Schuh Speaker:in

In this talk we explore how artificial intelligence can be used as a sparring partner in conflicts – and where its opportunities and limits lie. We start with a brief look at how conflicts arise and why our perception is often distorted in the process.\n\nBuilding on that, we show how AI can help broaden perspectives, structure thoughts, and steer conversations towards solutions. At the same time we critically examine typical risks and biases of AI systems – such as sycophancy, framing effects, or context-dependent misinterpretations – that can under certain circumstances also intensify conflicts.\n\nThrough several concrete practical examples and clear guiding questions, we show how AI can be used thoughtfully and meaningfully as support in conflict situations, and what to pay particular attention to.

• 
  Kira Hess Project Lead and Trainer Scharlatan Theater

The world is getting faster. Louder. More contradictory. And right in the middle of it: us humans – with our bodies, our presence, and our impact. In this 90-minute workshop by Scharlatan Theater for Change, we experiment, play, and experience. Together we discover with simple theatre exercises how presence emerges: through clarity in the body, flexibility in the mind, and courage in the moment. How we stay calm when things get hectic. How we act decisively without becoming rigid. How we generate resonance – rather than just reacting. An active workshop for everyone who wants to remain effective in chaotic times. With playfulness, surprising insights, and lots of energy.

• 
  Claudia Plöchinger Organisational and Project Development

In this session we explore the art of clarifying mandates and how you can shape this for effective leadership and collaboration. We look at how to move from an intent to an assignment, and how much clarity can already be found within apparent ambiguity. How delegation and communication can be structured to formulate goals and make the best use of creative latitude.

Whether you are on the receiving or giving end of an assignment, you can look forward to theoretical and interactive impulses from systemic-agile practice and exchange ideas on how clarifying mandates can succeed in different roles and contexts.

• 
  Franziska Jon Consultant Manager

Many organizations talk about 'the' AI strategy – but consulting practice shows: value is created through action, not on paper. This talk explores how AI adoption in a consultancy can be operationalized bottom-up from day-to-day work – without waiting for a perfect strategy document first.

At the center are the 'AI Allies' – employees who experiment in small pilot projects, share their experiences, and gradually build trust in concrete AI applications. Through real examples, it becomes clear how short feedback loops, low-barrier experiments, and hands-on showcases are far more convincing to colleagues than slides and buzzwords.

A further focus is on the role of leadership: how do you regularly bring management into the learning loop rather than just delivering status reports? How does genuine buy-in emerge when benefits, risks, and limitations are made transparent early and evaluated together?

The core insight: for AI, the classic top-down approach only works to a limited extent – a sustainable strategy grows from usage itself. Those who consistently open spaces for exchange, enable experiments, and make successes visible build a network of AI Allies. And with it, a living, learning AI strategy.

• 
  Jan Ulrich Hasecke Board Member Hostsharing eG
• 
  Michael Hierweck Board Member Hostsharing eG

The battle of global investors to dominate future AI markets has driven hardware prices to astronomical heights and torn apart entire supply chains. Small and medium-sized IT companies that regularly procure hardware are facing major challenges from what is being called the "storage crisis". At Hostsharing eG, the AI frenzy has simply shredded the business plan. Cooperatives calculate differently from private companies with return expectations. The conditions under which Hostsharing has integrated hardware investments for new growth into its business planning over the past 25 years have changed completely. Every path forward carries disadvantages and risks. But the storage crisis is not only posing new challenges for Hostsharing and other small and medium-sized IT companies. If only hyperscalers can afford hardware prices, European efforts for greater digital sovereignty are also in acute danger. In this situation, cooperatively funded infrastructure can open up new opportunities.

• 
  Christian Kram Trainer, Consultant

Let's explore the fascinating world of gamification together! At meetups the wish to try out different games interactively keeps coming up. We offer the space to do exactly that. In the style of an Open Space we will set up a series of game tables and time slots for you to try out.

We have prepared three things: • Agile Test Jenga: Learning the benefits of agile testing through play. • Would Heu-Risk it?: A card game combining storytelling and risk. • Riskstorming 2.0: The well-known Riskstorming format with the new deck.

Want to try other games? Just bring them along! We will set up three rounds at two tables so everyone gets the chance to try different games. The detailed planning will be done together on the day.

Schedule: 15:05 – Welcome and warm-up 15:10 – Planning 15:20 – First round 15:40 – Second round 16:00 – Wrap-up

Let's explore the world of gamification in the software world together! Join us and bring your ideas and games. Christian Kram (trainer & consultant at oose) will guide us through the session as moderator.

• 
  Tom Lehmann Trainer HAW Hamburg

Green IT is often equated with sacrifice and extra costs. That's shortsighted. Many measures not only reduce the CO₂ footprint but also cut operating costs – from more efficient infrastructure to smarter usage. In this session you'll get the most important principles of Green IT and concrete levers for getting started. Plus: arguments to make sustainability a strong economic case internally as well.

• 
  Marko Vetter Director Business Development conciso
• 
  Georg Haupt Trainer, Consultant

In the Nostradamus Club we take a collective look into the future. Marko and Georg invite you to an interactive session where all participants can share their bold, clever, or completely outrageous predictions for 2027 – covering technology, collaboration, AI, society, and everything in between.

The twist: we meet again at perspectives 2027 and check together how close we came to reality. Who had the best nose for it? Which developments surprised us? And which predictions were gloriously off the mark?

A session poised between future vision, thought experiment, and collective crystal ball.

Marko and Georg will look into the future with you – for all of us.

• 
  Sabrina Riedel Artist ArtNight

ArtNight is for everyone. Whether you have painted before or have never held a brush in your hand. This is not about talent, art school, or the perfect result – it's about fun, creativity, and the courage to just get started.

Together with artist Sabrina Riedel, you'll transform a blank canvas step by step into your very own artwork. Completely relaxed, without pressure, and with plenty of tips and support.

Leave the festival buzz behind for a moment, try something new, and discover that there might be more artist in you than you thought.

And don't worry: so far, everyone has left the session with a painting. 😉