Social, informal & personal

The "Corona years" have left no doubt: Random encounters, parties, breaktime chit-chat and afterwork drinks are an essential part of working life! How can teams create a sense of belonging in the digital world? What special formats are there for informal exchange? How can we get together, hang out and shoot the breeze behind our screens? How do we replicate the "overhearing" of other conversations? How big a role do – and should – we allocate to informal exchanges in video conferences, given that the latter are so efficiency-driven? How can we sharpen our awareness of each other, and how can we use digital means of communication to enable encounters on a human level?

Addressing these and similar questions has shown that personal and informal exchange cannot be forced, especially not in the digital world. The focus, therefore, needs to be on providing a framework which ensures that members of the university feel safe and secure enough in their digital environments to be authentic and natural in their encounters with others. Designated virtual "safe spaces" and an open and constructive culture of dealing with mistakes enable participation, authenticity and the courage to experiment in digital contexts.

For further information on the topic "Social, informal & personal", please contact Kaspar König or Renato Soldenhoff.

  • In the workshop "ReConnect", the participants looked at different forms of interpersonal encounters in order to make them more human-centred: In the World Wide Web via Zoom and in the Wood Wide Web at the campfire. The insights and experiences from the workshop are now available in a DIY booklet to download, print out and fold.