Community
Strengthen gaming communities as spaces for social cohesion and democratic practice.
Gaming for Democracy – Democracy in Gaming Culture
Gaming brings people together and builds communities. Gaming for Democracy uses this potential to support education, civic engagement and social cohesion.
What is Gaming for Democracy?
Games are one of the most important forms of media today. In games and gaming communities, people come together, share ideas, experience different perspectives, and take responsibility.
Gaming for Democracy brings together partners from education, research, civil society, and the gaming world. Together, we want to shape these spaces and use their potential for democracy and social cohesion. Our work is based on democratic values, and we want to encourage people to stand up for democracy.
What do we do?
Gaming for Democracy is a hub for knowledge, exchange, and new ideas around gaming and democracy. We bring people and organizations together to learn from each other, share knowledge, and develop new ideas.
Through working groups, annual conferences, and publications, we share what we learn. We also run our own projects to test new ideas and put them into practice.
We are strengthening gaming's potential as a space for democracy on four levels: community, civic engagement, education, and networking.
Engagement
Encourage people to get involved in promoting democratic values – whether through playing, streaming, or developing games.
Education
Explore how games can be used for democracy education in schools and other learning environments.
Networking
To empower organisations promoting democracy to incorporate games and gaming structures into their work.
News
Register now: 1st „Gaming for Democracy“ Annual Conference on December 1 and 2, 2026, in Heilbronn
On December 1 and 2, 2026, the „Gaming for Democracy“ initiative will host its first annual conference at the Dieter Schwarz Foundation’s educational campus in Heilbronn. The event will bring together people from the gaming ecosystem, civil society, education, and academia. Groups that have rarely engaged in dialogue with one another in this specific configuration.
The conference will focus on the question of how games and gaming communities can contribute to democratic participation, civic engagement, and social cohesion. Keynote addresses and panel discussions will offer in-depth perspectives on the topic. Deep-dive workshops will provide insights into best practices for democracy education through games, civic engagement within gaming communities, and socially relevant game development.
Games Done Quick raises over 18.000 euros for „Gaming for Democracy“
As part of the first Games Done Quick speedrun event at gamescom, over 18.000 euros were raised for Gaming for Democracy. The Foundation for Digital Games Culture, together with its partners – Bertelsmann Stiftung, Academy for Innovative Education and Management (aim) and Germany’s Federal Agency for Civic Education – express their immense gratitude for the tremendous support for Gaming for Democracy from the international community!
The funds will be used to support various efforts promoting democracy through games, such as keys for educational games to be used in schools or free coaching and workshop programmes for volunteer online moderators of gaming communities
Never miss news and events from „Gaming for Democracy“ again
„Gaming for Democracy“ is more than a single project or conference. If you don’t want to miss any of our announcements, events, or publications in the future, sign up for our mailing list.
Projects of the initiative
Gaming communities are important spaces where young people, in particular, find guidance and socialize. The project “Community Support Network — Management and Care Structures for Resilient Gaming Communities” strengthens this potential by viewing community management as a democratic practice. It trains community managers and moderators, promotes peer-care structures, and provides practical materials as Open Educational Resources (OER).
Creators are important voices in the digital discourse – whether they want to be or not. However, how they understand their own social role, what responsibilities they attribute to themselves, and how they take a stand (or consciously avoid doing so) has not yet been systematically studied. A research project by the Bertelsmann Stiftung is examining this self-perception as well as the structural working conditions – such as pressure, uncertainty, and mental strain – under which creators operate, and how the two are interconnected.
The Academy for Innovative Education and Management transforms gaming into a space for learning and experience in schools: Through hands-on training courses, teachers, children, and teens discover games as tools for learning, creativity, and social participation. Topics range from game-based learning and game development to programming, digital environments, and sustainability. The courses are primarily held regionally in the Heilbronn area, with some also taking place online.
Why are we doing this?
Democracies around the world are under pressure. Authoritarian and populist forces are exploiting global crises to spread disinformation, undermine trust in democratic institutions, and deepen divisions within society. At the same time, extremist groups are deliberately seeking to exploit gaming communities for their own purposes.
Yet the democratic potential of gaming and gaming communities is still not being taken seriously enough or put to effective use. There is currently almost no effective pro-democratic outreach specifically aimed at young people with an affinity for gaming. This is where the Gaming for Democracy initiative comes in: gaming communities are socially relevant spaces where democratic values can be practiced, negotiated, and strengthened.
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60% of people in Germany play games.
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79% of gamers in Germany are at least 18 years old.
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45% of “gaming enthusiasts” have been politically active in the past, which is above the overall societal average of 39%.
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65% of “gaming enthusiasts” agree with the statement that democracy in Germany generally works — compared to 55% of the general population.
