One year of ProbierLaden: Digital participation you can touch

One year ago, on September 26, 2024, the TryLaden at Engelplatz opened its doors. Since then, it has aroused the curiosity of almost 3,900 interested people who wanted to expand their digital skills, had questions about their digital device or simply wanted to try out technical devices. The result after twelve months: The ProbierLaden has long since become more than just a project - it has become a permanent fixture in the city. Now the special place for advice, trying out and learning is one year old - time to take stock.

Digital help at eye level

The "ProbierLaden", implemented by the Jena Adult Education Center, is deliberately designed to be low-threshold: without registration, free of charge and open to everyone. Whether setting up a smartphone, sending photos or taking your first steps in online banking - the team will answer any question. In addition to individual consultations, there were also numerous courses and lectures in the first year. The topics ranged from safe surfing to dealing with apps and artificial intelligence.

"People like coming to us and feel understood and supported," says project coordinator Sara Delinger-Parčetić, who took over the management of the project in spring 2025. Together with social and media educators Anna Geißler and Oliver Ephrosi Menchau as well as several Digi-Coaches, she forms the team that makes the ProbierLaden a lively place to learn and meet.

The ProbierMobil: out and about in the city

But the ProbierLaden is not only active in the city center. With the ProbierMobil - a mobile ProbierLaden in a bicycle cargo trailer - digital support is brought directly into the city districts, to festivals or in front of supermarkets. This combination of a fixed location and mobile offer makes it possible to reach many people who might not otherwise have found their way into the city center.

Great response from the urban community

The feedback is clear: the ProbierLaden hits a nerve. Many citizens come by regularly, others write thank-you notes to the team after their visit and combine them with a clear wish: that the tasting store should continue to operate after the end of the Smart City project term in 2027. "Such letters show us that we have created something valuable for the city," says Sara Delinger-Parčetić.

From project idea to city service

This very question - how things can continue after 2027 - was the focus of a workshop with the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE and the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR). The workshop discussed how the tasting store could be turned into a permanent urban service.

The focus was on analyzing the service offered and its added value for the target group. Three central questions were at the forefront: What problem is solved by the service? Who benefits from the solution? And is the benefit so significant that the operation should be financially viable in the long term?

One key finding was that the tasting store is more than just a room with appliances. It is the advice, program and organization that create the added value that breaks down inhibitions and makes digital participation possible. It is now important to clarify which stakeholders are prepared to support this added value in the long term.

Looking ahead

The results of the workshop are a first step towards future-proofing the ProbierLaden. The team is continuing to work on new ideas - such as making the ProbierMobil even more flexible with an e-bike and developing additional formats.

One thing is already clear: in its first year, the ProbierLaden has developed into a place that makes digital participation tangible - and that many Jena residents would not want to be without.

Your vote counts: The ProbierLaden in the running for the Thuringian Demography Prize 2025

To mark its first anniversary, there is some special news: the ProbierLaden has made it to the second round with its application for the Thuringian Demography Prize 2025.

A public online vote will now decide which of the 14 nominated projects will receive the award. Every vote counts - and you can help! Vote online until September 28, 2025 at: www.heimat.thueringen.de. Make others aware of it too: tell family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances about the ProbierLaden idea - and give the project your vote.