A picture is worth a thousand words: The dialog picture

At the beginning of the project it became clear how non-transparent the role of the domestic ports for the economy and the development of the city is. The project has been carried out by the Technical University Hamburg-Harburg and the Bundesverband Öffentlicher Binnenhäfen e.V. (BÖB), as well as with other partners in cooperation with the Ministry of Economics.

A dialogue picture was created to build a common understanding between the diverse stakeholders of the domestic shipping industry and the partners of the Binnen Land Project. It shows scenes which illustrate the economic, social and ecological aspects of the domestic shipping industry of the region

The picture is used to start a dialogue:

It is of particular interest for the stakeholders in the domestic shipping industry to begin a dialogue with the carriers, the logistical enterprises as well as with the politicians and other responsible persons in charge of the planning and, last but not least, with the general public. Additionally, the picture can be used to reveal areas of conflict and to resolve them through deductive reasoning and dialogue.

The dialogue picture utilizes a dual-layered world. On the one hand the illustration shows complex relationships. On the other hand, the individual scenes of the domestic ports and the shipping industry as well as the information about the meaning of the (multi-chain) logistic hubs of freight transportation and disposal are imprinted on the memory and reinforce the perception of the role of the domestic ports in the functioning of society.

A training guide was created to instruct how to use the picture when communicating with stakeholders: the primary fields of application of the dialogue picture being processes in which diverse ideas regarding how the usage and development of domestic ports should lead to a compatible solution. Furthermore, the dialogue picture is used through marketing and public relations to communicate to and support all stakeholders.