#292: Berlin gets a few new computers
The failed GDR revolution
Dear 20 Percent,
In this newsletter we tend to bang on about the sorry state of e-government in the German capital but hey, there’s also good news! Our city’s Chief Digital Officer has been named Chief Digital Officer of the Year. This, after Berlin hosted the 7th Creative Bureaucracy Festival last week. Time to innovate. Time to celebrate!
Right?
Hold on, this just in from Der Tagesspiegel (paywall): “Experts criticise ‘technology zoo’: Berlin has only standardised one per cent of its government computers.”
Meaning what? For years, the Senat has been trying to standardise its 80,000 PCs. This is one of Martina Klement’s main jobs. The goal is to update 7,500 by the end of 2026. But, so far, just 917 bureaucrats have received the new computers with centralised, standardised cloud-based software that boosts efficiency and enables them to work flexibly from home (woo hoo).
Most of our civil servants still use desktop workstations connected to a patchwork (“technology zoo”) of software packages, platforms and networks — a wet dream for hackers, malicious actors. And really wasteful.
It’s a mystery to me why Martina Klement, a Bavarian lawyer, even got this job — but now that she has it maybe she should focus on getting shit done rather than dabbling in festivals and pilot projects like Bürgeramt of the Future, which tested stuff like free WiFi and on-site check-in as if it was something that hasn’t been available in most European countries for ages.
Let’s get some shit done, Martina.
A shimmer of hope: Because it’s impossible to get an appointment at the Bürgeramt less than six weeks away (although the mayor promised appointments within two weeks by the end of last year), the government came up with the idea of some appointment-free, walk-in opening times. It’s thinking about it, writes BZ.
More news below.
Maurice
Shout out to today’s sponsor, Feather, which offers all digital, all-English pension plans.
Kita strike
Heads up, parents! RBB says workers at 282 municipal daycare centres will hold another “warning strike” on Thursday — following a similar walk-out three weeks ago. Around 7,000 educators and about 35,000 children could be affected. Union verdi is demanding smaller groups of children and improved training for staff.
Pigeon budget slashed
The city government is calling for 2% spending cuts across all departments to meet its 2024 budget objectives. To stay within its target of €39.3 billion, cuts worth €560 million must be found. However, state animal welfare officer Kathrin Herrmann — whose office belongs to the justice department — discovered that her budget had been slashed by €377,000 — meaning 96% of her spend. €200,000 of that was earmarked for “pigeon management”. Herrmann will be forced to scrap a “species appropriate” plan to control the city’s pigeon population. Can we expect a surge in the critters? 😱
Fan zone overflow
Not quite Gelsenkirchen levels of chaos, but if you want an enjoyable football viewing experience, you should probably avoid the Euro fan zone at the Brandenburg Gate. For Germany’s punishing 5-1 victory over Scotland on Thursday, the area was so full, the cops kept people out and temporarily shut down the Brandenburger Tor U-Bahn station, Reuters reports. Further German success wouldn’t help the overcrowding.
3 things to do from The Next Day Berlin
🎚️SoundcloudHQ Party
Thursday, 20.06, 7 pm - 1 am. Soundcloud HQ, Rheinsberger Str. 76, 10115 Berlin. Free entrance.
I'm a SoundCloud fan and excited to visit their HQ. Wait for a night filled with breakbeat and techno.
🙌Autopilot, Free Open Air - TXL Airport
Friday, 21.06, 2 - 11 pm. Turbulence, Tegel. Free admission with registration.
Six of Berlin's bassist collectives will take over the city's newest and most exciting club space - Turbulence TXL, an open-air playground for club culture on the airfield of the former Tegel airport..
🎭The Work
Wed 19.06 7:30 pm & Thu 20.06 7:30 and 9:00 pm. Concept by Susanne Kennedy und Markus Selg. In English with German surtitles. Volksbühne Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, 10178 Berlin. Ticket: 20€.
The theatre installation revolves around the life and work of an artist staged as a retrospective. THE WORK also implies working on your own life. What does it all mean to look back at your own life and work while you're still living?
⚽Oh yeah, and there’s watching football.
Germany-wide news
😢 Ghanaian girl, father injured in racist attack in Meck-Pomm
🚓 Cops announce arrests in biggest-ever cocaine haul
⚽ Euro 2024 will bring €1b to Germany
🚫 Calls to ban the AfD are growing
Factoid
On 17 June 1953, around 1 million people took to the streets in East Berlin and around 700 other towns in the fledgling communist GDR to protest increased state productivity targets. Demonstrators also demanded improved living conditions, free elections and the unification of Germany. In the ensuing crackdown by the GDR leadership and Soviet troops, at least 55 people were killed. 15,000 were arrested, of whom 1,500 were sentenced to prison.
🪶That’s all for now. But please check out our sponsor!🪶
Let's talk about pension and retirement in Germany
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Even the German government recommends topping the statutory insurance up with a private plan.
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You really have some beef with Martina! :)