Some members of the Spiel des Jahres jury have launched the initiative "Spielend für Toleranz" (Playing for Tolerance), which has since been joined by many game bloggers and game websites.  The Game Designers Association (SAZ) supports this campaign as a visible sign to signal: We are for democracy and human rights. We are for tolerance. We are against racism and xenophobia.

What does this have to do with playing games? A lot! Playing stands for respectful cooperation, equality, fairness and dialogue. Playing connects instead of excluding. Playing stands for precisely those human values that are currently under threat.

This topic is also directly related to the SAZ's commitment to the cultural asset of games. This also includes the panel discussion "Kulturgut Spiel" in cooperation with the German Cultural Council at the SPIEL'18 on 25 October 2018 in Essen, attended by representatives from the worlds of culture, politics and business. More information (in German) here.

 

• "Playing for Tolerance" can also look quite practical, see this article from last year: In Berlin, refugees become friends—through board games