Germany is a multicultural and multilingual country – more than one in four citizens has a migrant background. More than half of them speak either no German or mainly another language at home. Their inclusion becomes a huge challenge as the country still lacks inclusiveness in many areas like political speeches for example. Open to Diversity, a non-profit democracy initiative from Germany, aimed to change that.

Open to Diversity celebrated the 100th anniversary of the traditional Christmas address with a simple AI hack to ensure that the highly symbolic speech reached more people than ever before, turning it into a symbol of a diverse Germany.

Innovative tools like AI can play an important role in using data for the benefit of humanity. As they simplify complex technologies, new solutions emerge that are cheaper and easier to implement. By leveraging AI translation technology, language barriers can be broken down and ensure that all members of a community are able to access important information. This aligns with Open to Diversity’s commitment to fostering unity and understanding among all German citizens, regardless of their language proficiency.

On 25 December 2023 at 7.10 pm, the speech by Germany’s Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was broadcast on national TV. Meanwhile, an AI recreated the recording with the 12 most commonly spoken languages in Germany.

First the wordings of the speech were translated before adapting them to the Federal President’s linguistic style and even matching his lip movement, in order to create the most realistic depiction possible. Shortly after the speech was over, the AI-generated results were made available on social media and linked to a microsite.

The campaign gave Millions of people in Germany the opportunity to finally experience the Federal President in their native tongue. It even caught the attention of the Federal President's Office, kick-starting the conversation about official implementations in the future. But more importantly, it stressed the significance of diversity, especially in today’s challenging times.