I’d like to invite you to respond to what is both a serious and a joyful invitation.

Serious because we live in serious times – advancing sustainable development, overcoming polarisation and enabling dialogue on complex ethical issues has become an urgent priority and, therefore, central to many cultural organisations’ missions, in particular in the field of science engagement.

I believe fostering critical thinking, scientific literacy and dialogue is more crucial than ever: we have an important role to play in both “post truth” and “anti-expert” contexts.

It’s also a joyful invitation because I am pleased to introduce PlayDecide, a card game for simple, respectful and fact?based group discussion.

The game enables players to get familiar with a question, see it from different perspectives and form or clarify their own opinion.

PlayDecide also invites players to look at issues as a group: can they reach a positive consensus? Can they propose solutions, define strategies and policies for action, and put themselves in decision and policymakers’ shoes?

Originally developed in 2004, the game has just been offered a brand new web platform by Ecsite, allowing players and facilitators to share games and create their own versions.

PlayDecide is being used today in a wide range of dialogue events, by a diverse community of users, including teachers, science engagement professionals, civil society organisations, professional trainers and more. Game topics vary from vaccination to football refereeing.

Try out PlayDecide yourself by visiting www.playdecide.eu

Herbert Münder, Ecsite president and general manager of Universum Bremen, Germany