By Sibylle Dorndorf

These days, there’s a lot of discussion about how to make the world a better place. One thing is becoming clear: ethical and cultural values, innovation and progress are things we don’t owe to solitary thinkers and geniuses: they are things that develop through social interaction. Empathy, creativity, imagination and inventiveness are not skills you can develop alone; they arise through interaction with other people – and through play.

The debate as to whether toys are a cultural asset seems, therefore, to be superfluous. Nevertheless, the debate has been going on for a long time – and now appears to be entering a decisive phase in Germany. This is also due to the commitment of the German Association of the Toy Industry (DVSI). With his position paper Value of Play, the Managing Director of DVSI Ulrich Brobeil laid the foundation for the dialogue with the German Cultural Council 
 

The value of playing

With “Kulturgut Spielzeug” as the main topic in the February issue of Politik & Kultur, a newspaper published by the German Cultural Council, its co-editor Olaf Zimmermann, Managing Director of the German Cultural Council, picked up the ball and sent a clear sign to the toy industry. The conclusion? Culture and creativity are not just economic factors, but also foster the development of society.

Talking shop

Mr Zimmermann, you put the toy sector in the spotlight in the February issue of Politik & Kultur when you focused on the topic of toys as cultural assets. What made you do that?

Olaf Zimmermann: I’m very playful. I like playing – a lot and often. It gives me a chance to relax and unwind. In that respect, playing has been a part of my life all my life. And I’m sure that many people feel the same way as I do. Playing is part and parcel of becoming a human being. 

Have you had any feedback on this topic?

Olaf Zimmermann: Well, there was some surprise here and there about the Minions on the front page, which was unusual for us. But right after reading about the issue of toys as a cultural asset, the response was, “Yes, of course. That’s exactly right.” We didn’t receive any negative feedback.

In the individual contributions, aspects were identified that make toys destined to be the 12^th submarket in the cultural and creative industries. Were there any conclusions that surprised you personally? 

Olaf Zimmermann: Oh, absolutely. I’ve come to realise how diverse this sector is and the extent to which it consists of SMEs. On the one hand, you have the major players, the ones that everyone knows, but on the other hand there are loads of small and medium-sized enterprises. That came as a pleasant surprise. What I was also very pleased about what was the number of toys that are still made in Germany. I think it’s worth mentioning here how much work is done at home or in workshops for disabled people. Even though a lot of basic structures now come from China, Germany still sets the pace in the sector. 

Can you draw any comparisons with the games industry, which has been part of the cultural and creative industries for a decade? 

Olaf Zimmermann: That’s not easy to do. When it comes to computer games, Germany is more a country that consumes them rather than produces them. With toys, though, things are different, which, I think, is positive. Toys from Germany have a global impact. Just think about how many displaced people, how many children from war zones cling to a toy that was saved along with them. It’s often the only thing they still have. Our favourite childhood toy is part of our life. It gives us stability and is associated with lots of lovely memories.   

What specific advantages would being included as a submarket in the cultural and creative industries have for the toy industry?

Olaf Zimmermann: The answer to this question has an emotional as well as an economic aspect. Let’s start with the emotional part: if toys were to be included in the cultural and creative industries, they would be part of the “good guys” such as the book market, the music market, the art market and so on. The overwhelming majority of the cultural sector is market-driven. Companies have to earn money, but they don’t do it with mundane things. Most of the time, it’s all about conveying values. At the end of the day, the cultural and creative industries are still a normal market element, but the sectors are perceived differently from those on the outside, in a more positive light. 

And the economic aspect?

Olaf Zimmermann: Here, the main thing is funding and subsidising. Let’s take the manufacturers of educational toys or innovative start-ups as an example. We think that they should be entitled to some funding. The many indie companies in the games sector also get financial support. This, in return, makes the total games market more diverse, more creative and more innovative. The German Foundation for Digital Games Culture has already handed out 130 grants to startups; each of them runs for three years. The young companies can develop further, without having to sell their soul to big business. This creates new positive structures in the respective industries.

When you’re part of the cultural and creative industries, do you have any special corporate responsibility?

Olaf Zimmermann: Definitely. You do bear some responsibility when you’re part of a cultural family. It starts with working conditions, even in far-off production sites, with safety standards, with the quality of the products – all that is part of your responsibility. You enter into an ethical and moral obligation. However, at the Spielwarenmesse I learnt that this obligation is already being shouldered by the companies and is regarded as something positive and not as a burden.

In 2023, sales in the cultural and creative industries were €204.6 billion; that’s 2.2% of the overall sales in the German economy. We don’t have any more recent figures. What do you forecast for the sales figures in the cultural and creative industries for the next five years? 

Olaf Zimmermann: When it comes to sales figures in our industry, I’m fairly confident. The cultural market is an important and multi-faceted market. The relevant companies and sectors developed differently during the pandemic. Some companies had to absorb drops in their turnover; others, in turn, enjoyed remarkable growth. Overall, in terms of economic power, the cultural and creative industries are behind the automotive industry and ahead of the chemical industry. Hardly anyone knows that, because it’s BASF or Volkswagen that dominate the headlines. The cultural sector, on the other hand, is made up of smaller companies. Now and then, it would be nice if one could remember just how well the cultural and creative industries are actually doing. And, of course, it would be great if the sales of the toy sector could be added to that.

In the last few months, Germany has been criticised for a lack of inventiveness and an ever-deteriorating economic performance. What role do the cultural and creative industries play in this context?

Olaf Zimmermann: The mood in Germany isn’t good; unfortunately, there are several reasons for this. A lot of companies are suffering. And in difficult economic times, research and development – and so also innovation – fall by the wayside. In contrast, though, the cultural sector is always innovative. Also in the way it is perceived by the general public. Just think of the lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people played music on their balconies. Families played games together; people met up in the parks to do yoga while keeping their distance, or read books. All these activities helped people get through this terrible time. We’re part of the positive aspect of the economy, because we help people find some balance in their lives with the products offered by our various industries.

In Germany, the main aspect about playing is still its entertainment value, even though the pandemic showed how important playing is with regard to the social context and as an element that brings the generations together. You look at the toy industry from the outside. Where do you see opportunities for changing this attitude? 

Olaf Zimmermann: I’m basically against the idea of “educationalizing” cultural products, and that includes toys, in my view. What makes playing special is that it’s fun. We learn best when we don’t have to learn. Take, for example, my passion for experiment kits. Of course, they fulfil an educational purpose, but tinkering about with them is, above all, fun. The same goes for books, for art and for games. No matter whether it’s a first-class picture or book, the main thing is that you engage with it, that it gives you pleasure. But we also have a right to enjoy complete and utter rubbish. That’s an idea I’ll defend to the death. It’s not our job to run around acting as some sort of cultural police. We’d like to get people excited about the individual aspects of culture. And we can only do that if we make it easy to get involved.

Now more than ever, Germany needs the integration and participation of all levels of society in order to live democracy and to be prepared for what the future might bring. Play overcomes cultural differences. Do you, as the Managing Director of the German Cultural Council, have any opportunities to promote this approach at a political level? 

Olaf Zimmermann: We’re living in difficult times. Nearly every day, we get to hear bad news from all over the world. We now have to wait and see what the future government comes up with. I’m very worried about how we can maintain diversity and the value that will be placed on it. This makes me all the more aware of the responsibility of the toy industry to continue to encourage precisely this concept. I was thrilled when I saw how diverse Barbie, this icon that once embodied the female image of the past, has now become. We now have Barbie in a wheelchair, Barbie with Down syndrome, blind – in every shape and skin colour. These days, Barbie is a trailblazer. An exemplary development.

Without doubt, Barbie makes a clear political statement these days. Nevertheless, as a product, she also has to make money… 

Olaf Zimmermann: Of course. That’s part of it all; encouraging companies that are taking an integrative path to continue on it is both legitimate and important. In this day and age, we have entrepreneurs who are casting aside today what they said yesterday.

This is something that we also see in the field of politics. Which is all the more reason why we need, in future, people who have already learnt in their childhood that diversity and acceptance are key components of a democratic society. Toys are something special, because they can give us precisely this experience – no matter what form they actually take.

You’re a self-confessed “homo ludens”. What does playing with, for example, experiment kits and games – whether digital or analogue – mean for you? 

Olaf Zimmermann: When I tinker about with my experiment kits, I can forget everything else. And their contents inspire me. One experiments leads to another. And their outcomes are always surprising. I just can’t get enough of experiment kits. But as I said at the beginning, I’m generally just a big kid who likes to play. I’ve spent my entire life in the field of culture. I’m fascinated by every single one of the sectors of the cultural and creative industries. At the moment, however, I’m rivetted by my old Commodore 64, or to be more precise, by poking and peeking into the programming language of Basic. You can use it to write and read commands in the processor. As a result, I’ve hit on a real retro movement that I’m engrossed with. People are buying old computers and taking them apart. It’s a different kind of experimenting. I’m learning a lot in the process and my old C64 is coming back into favour again. 

You’ve taken the time to walk around the Spielwarenmesse. In a nutshell, what were your impressions? 

Olaf Zimmermann: What impressed me was the way I was received in the sector as well as the pleasant and constructive dialogue with the CEO of the DVSI, Ulrich Brobeil, beforehand. The chemistry between us is perfect. My walk around the Spielwarenmesse, my visit to the booths of individual companies, just reinforced this impression. Open, interested, approachable, that was what I thought. You don’t experience that very often. And I learnt a lot. What surprised me was how lively the market is, that it’s not just the big companies that make up the rules, but, in contrast, the diversity of the products and the range in the size of the companies involved. Toys from Germany influence culture all around the world, and I can understand and endorse that today.

About the author

Sibylle Dorndorf has been covering the toy industry for almost 30 years. The journalist last worked as the editor-in-chief at the TOYS family of magazines of the Göller Verlag publishing house from Baden-Baden, Germany. Her passion: Companies that reinvent themselves; brands that credibly position themselves; people who have something to say; and products with a future.