Pitch Perfect

While the term pitch is commonly used for a short presentation in project management, it still raises eyebrows in the university landscape. At the roadshow in Freiburg, however, Rabb. Prof. Birgit Klein's project idea was able to make a convincing pitch against 25 competitors.

This was preceded by a pre-selection from around 3,000 projects that had applied to the call for innovation sprints as part of the DATIpilot funding programme from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Thanks to the funding of EUR 300,000, the team from the university and KORION, software developers from Ludwigsburg, will now develop the prototype of a computer game against anti-Semitism within 18 months.

Researchers describe anti-Semitism in the gaming scene as a blind spot, as nothing is being done to counter conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic stereotypes. "We must not leave this medium to the right-wing extremists!" emphasises Dr Désirée Schostak, who presented the project in Freiburg. The project team is aware that young people tend not to want to deal with this difficult topic in their free time. That's why it's taking a different approach: "We will use our game in school lessons and in political education work," says Klein.
The game is based on the historical figure of Joseph Süß Oppenheimer ("Jud Süß"), who experienced anti-Jewish hostility 300 years ago and was hanged as the victim of a judicial murder. By linking the two levels, then and now, through the character of a young outsider, the game enables young people to practise recognising and combating anti-Semitism in their everyday lives today. Because, according to Klein, "only politically aware young people can guarantee an open society".