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Martin Jordan

@martinjordan.com
3.2K followers 928 following 2.4K posts

Making services work better for all people—Head of Design & User Research at the German govt’s Digital Service, previously Head of #ServiceDesign at the UK’s Government Digital Service, int’l #GovDesign community co-lead, 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 ally martinjordan.com

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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 02/10/2026
As a public servant, I write weekly notes to let people see what I do. I participated in yet another #ServiceStandard peer review in week 231 at @digitalservice.bund.de. I also worked on a blog post on open roadmaps and saw my ‘naming a service’ guidance finally get published.
verwaltungsgestaltung.de
Week #231 at the Digital Service: Notes for 28 September–2 October
Martin participated in yet another Service Standard peer review in his week 231 at Digital Service. He also worked on a blog post on open roadmaps and saw his ‘naming a service’ guidance finally publi...
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 02/10/2026
One of my favourites of recent years is ‘BZSt IBAN+‘. That are 2 acronyms in a row in an app’s name. The literal translation would be: ‘Federal Tax Office International Bank Account Number plus’. 😞 A plain-language name following the guidance would be ‘Share bank details with the tax office’.
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 02/10/2026
It builds on the many good and bad practices I have seen over the past 10 years. I also got to list some good and bad examples. The guidance also incorporates tips from guides, workshops and talks from @rebekahbarry.bsky.social, @tomhewitson.bsky.social, and @harrytrimble.bsky.social.
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 02/10/2026
We finally have definite guidance on how to name a service well in German. I wrote it over the summer, and it went live in the #ServiceStandard handbook this week. We still see a ridiculous amount of acronyms and animal names, so I had to write it. ⬇️ servicestandard.gov.de/handbuch/anl...
Screenshot of the German Service Standard‘s website with a page on ‘giving a service a clear name’ with a how-to guide
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 02/10/2026
Ha, I took a similar photo in Italy some weeks ago. This is how you offend some cultures.
Closed transparent lid at a breakfast buffet with small croissants, a sign in English and Italian says “empty croissant”
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 27/09/2026
#GovDesign klaxon 🔔 The German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) is looking for an in-house web designer to join them in Munich. The role remains open until 4 October. As always, you can find the role on my little pink job board: verwaltungsgestaltung.de#positionen
Partial screenshot of a website displaying 2 open design positions:
• Web designer at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office in Munich
• Communication design working student role in Berlin and hybrid
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 27/09/2026
Shoutout to @simonecarrier.bsky.social from @digital-agentur.de for joining me on stage for the second talk at @sdingov.bsky.social. It was great to have a participant’s view on what I said in my talk.
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 27/09/2026
As a public servant, I write weekly notes to let people see what I do. This week, my week 230 at @digitalservice.bund.de, I co-delivered 2 talks at the ‘ #ServiceDesign in Government’ @sdingov.bsky.social conference in Edinburgh. I also got the naming services guidance ready for publication.
verwaltungsgestaltung.de
Week #230 at the Digital Service: Notes for 21–25 September
In week 230, Martin gave 2 talks at the ‘Service Design in Government’ conference in Edinburgh. He also started preparing for October talks and got the naming services guidance ready for publication.
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 26/09/2026
“Given the size of our problems, our imagination space has become very small.” — @indyjohar.bsky.social at Camden Climate Inspire Festival
4 panellists sitting in front of a smallish audience with a folded white canvas behind them; 2 women and 2 men; a man with a grey longer beard and a black pagdi, holding a microphone and speaking
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 25/09/2026
Of course, these are in 🇩🇪 German and are all available here: servicestandard.gov.de/handbuch/
servicestandard.gov.de
Handbuch
Im Handbuch finden Sie Anleitungen und Beiträge von Organisationen, die über Erfahrungen aus der Praxis berichten
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 25/09/2026
Doing it 1 by 1. The handbook section of the German #ServiceStandard includes 4 new pieces of guidance related to interviewing. They were co-created with cross-gov colleagues: • Preparing for interviews • Conducting interviews • Analysing individual interviews • Extracting insights from interviews
Composition of 4 screenshots of pages from the German Service Standard website on: Preparing for interviews, Conducting interviews,  Analysing individual interviews, Extracting insights from interviews
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 25/09/2026
“Design for the best, prepare for the worst” “Place has become central to this” @immykaur.bsky.social at @sdingov.bsky.social on #ClimateCollapse
A woman with darker skin in a black outfit speaking in front of a larger audience with 2 large canvases above her depicting a colourful illustration of a residential road with lots of green and people of different ages on the street
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 24/09/2026
Ok! Wieder was gelernt. Ich blogge seit 2006, bin aber wohl nicht in der richtigen Ecke der Bloggerszene.
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 24/09/2026
*Same, I meant. Also, the digital minister used generative AI for speeches and articles. @zeit.de revealed this, and the ministry's response was: “How could you not expect the digital minister to use AI in his work?”
sarawaktribune.com
German Digital Minister Faces Scrutiny For AI Use In Official Texts | Sarawak Tribune
BERLIN, Germany: Germany's Minister for Digitalisation and State Modernisation, Karsten Wildberger, has come under scrutiny in German media over the alleged
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 24/09/2026
Some thing in Germany – even the @telegraph.co.uk reported on it – as included a Holocaust speech. www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
telegraph.co.uk
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 24/09/2026
›Verbloggt‹? Ist das ein Wort? Ist mir in den letzten 25 Jahren nicht begegnet.
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 23/09/2026
Done. 🎤 We gave our @sdingov.bsky.social talk on ‘Policy and service design as one’ this morning. My @digitalservice.bund.de colleague Nina Birri and I tried to show how Germany skips the silos and closes the policy-delivery gap. You can find our slides on GitHub: github.com/digitalservi...
2 people – a woman and a man, both of light skin – speaking in a conference setting, standing in fron of a lectern with a computer covered with lots of colourful stickers; a poster attached to the lectern shows the logo of ‘SD in Gov’ conference; behind the two are their names and contact details – Nina Birri and Martin Jordan
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 23/09/2026
Yes! I used it in a similar way, combing through a pile of complaints from a local community after a failed planning permission application for a plot of land for sale in a preservation area. With the help of AI, I was able to grasp all the difficulties with the plot. And walked away from the idea.
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 23/09/2026
So great that you are putting all of this openly on the internet. Thanks very much!
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 23/09/2026
17 hours after leaving Berlin, I’ve reached my destination, Edinburgh Waverley. My biological clock is already 1 hour later. So I’m just gonna crash. Choosing #CrossBorderRail over an aeroplane reduced my CO2 emissions by about 3/4.
Edinburgh Waverley station at night with people leaving the platform, an older green train standing left of the platform, a newer blue Lumo-branded train standing right of the platform
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 22/09/2026
Thanks, Dean! I hope to run into you at another event soon. Hope that all is well!
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 22/09/2026
Swiftly over to King’s Cross station for the last regular train up to Edinburgh. I missed my original LNER connection and had to purchase a new LUMO train ticket for another £35. The last leg of the #CrossBorderRail journey tonight takes a bit over 4 hours to Waverley station.
Panoramic view of London’s Kings Cross Station with its textured, curved ceiling, lit in different hues of purple and pink, not more than a dozen travellers standing next to the display showing the next trains leaving information
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 22/09/2026
London calling! Eurostar ran very smoothly — as (almost) always. And international arrivals is fast as always—even enough time for buying snacks at St Pancras station. I’m now 12.5 hours into my #CrossBorderRail journey for today.
A Eurostar-branded train standing in St Pancras International station with a clock showing 3 minutes past 8 next to the Tracey Emin light installation “I want my time with you”
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 22/09/2026
Made it to Brussels after a delay of almost 2.5 hours—time to relax at the #Eurostar lounge now. Trusting Eurostar and its timings, I usually book myself a Lumo train up to Edinburgh, the last regular train out of London. I really hope I can catch that. #CrossBorderRail
A business-style train lounge with a small
Table and lounge chair, canapés, and olives sit next to a glass of a tinted beverage
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 22/09/2026
A little bit across my weeknotes. And I gave a talk to the Kingdom of Bhutan back in March – the slides from that talk are on GitHub: github.com/digitalservi... More halfway down these posts: verwaltungsgestaltung.de/notizen/2026... verwaltungsgestaltung.de/notizen/2026...
verwaltungsgestaltung.de
Week #203 at the Digital Service: Notes for 16–20 March
In week 203, Martin spent half of it in London. He met with various former colleagues and other curious minds to discuss cross-silo service transformation, the use of AI in service design, and working...
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 22/09/2026
As it happens, I have agreed to take over a second, suddenly vacant slot at @sdingov.bsky.social on 25 Sep It was the second proposal I entered in spring, which didn’t get through immediately: “All views considered: Co-design at a strategic service level” Details here: sdingov.net/programme/al...
All views considered: Co-design at a strategic service level; Session type: Case Study; Presented by: Martin Jordan, Digital Service (German government); 

Session time: 25 Sep, 11:15 — 12:00; 
Session duration: 45 minutes
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 22/09/2026
Change in Cologne, unfortunately, with a 101-minute delay. Despite my 2 buffers of 90 mins each, I will miss my planned Eurostar in Brussels and LNER connection in London. I hope I can catch the final regular evening connection to Edinburgh, but that will require a new ticket. #CrossBorderRail
Dramatic panoramic view of the Cologne main train station and the Cologne Cathedral under a partly cloudy blue sky
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 22/09/2026
Ha, but I’m already 61 minutes late. I’ve added solid buffers, but longer journeys always bring some stress. I’d prefer calm travel. Wishing you a good journey, Caroline!
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 22/09/2026
Absolutely not! 😂
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 22/09/2026
And off I am from Berlin to Edinburgh for @sdingov.bsky.social on a single-day train journey! 🇪🇺 🚄 Next stop: Cologne #CrossBorderRail Random fact: Pret in Berlin doesn’t offer porridge anymore, and the staff thought I asked for ‘pork’ and meant ham. I did not.
A white German high-speed train arriving in a modern underground train station; a man and other people behind him standing on the platform, all looking at the train
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 22/09/2026
Wow! Das ist eine bemerkenswerte Aktivitierung. Aufgrund Ihrer regelmäsigen Posts kaufte ich meiner Mutter letztes Jahr Ihr Buch. Sie las es mit großem Interesse. Ob mein Vater es auch mal in die Hand nahm, weiß ich jedoch nicht.
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Helen Simmons (She/Her) @littlehen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Doing interesting work in service design? Would you like to share it with researchers, practitioners, educators & students in Newcastle upon Tyne at #ServDes2027 #DesigningInTheShadows? Full Papers due 15 Nov, Other Submissions: 1 Dec #PhDSky #AcademicSky #DesignSky #ServiceDesign
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 21/09/2026
Nice! I haven’t been since Copenhagen, which was actually 10 years ago. Do you have a link?
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 20/09/2026
As a public servant, I write weekly notes to let people see what I do. Nina and I rehearsed our policy and #serviceDesign @sdingov.bsky.social talk for Edinburgh. I also discussed the umbrella brand with German and Dutch colleagues. Furthermore, I supported a #ServiceStandard peer review.
verwaltungsgestaltung.de
Week #229 at the Digital Service: Notes for 14–18 September
Martin and colleague Nina rehearsed their policy and service design talk for Edinburgh. In week 229, Martin also discussed the umbrella brand with colleagues across Germany and the Netherlands. Furthe...
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 20/09/2026
Time to vote, #Berlin! 🗳️ Time to decide on a future that is inhabitable, fair, and desirable. Go out and vote!
Hand holding an election letter from the state of Berlin, in front of the sign at a building, pointing towards the polling station
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 19/09/2026
Update a month later: 1 of the 3 blog posts is out – on how we are putting our values into practice in #design and #userResearch. Next is the one on open roadmaps, where @beliebig.eu has already done a lot of work. I’ll pick it up next week. So we can publish it towards the end of the month.
digitalservice.bund.de
Unsere Werte in der Praxis: Einblicke aus Design und User-Research | DigitalService
17. September 2026 - Sechs Kolleg:innen aus den Bereichen Design und User-Research zeigen anhand konkreter Beispiele aus ihrer Arbeit, wie die Werte des DigitalService ihr Handeln im Alltag prägen.
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 18/09/2026
I am sorry to hear that, David. Should we find a different time and format, then? What conversation would be most useful to you? I am asking so I know which colleagues to bring along. From our cross-government brand and design system team only, or the Service Standard team, too?
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 17/09/2026
Many organisations write down their values. But not all take them seriously. At @digitalservice.bund.de, we live by them. So, 6 designers and user researchers wrote down how their values guide decisions and shape their daily work. We assembled these personal reports in a blog post – in German 🇩🇪
digitalservice.bund.de
Unsere Werte in der Praxis: Einblicke aus Design und User-Research | DigitalService
17. September 2026 - Sechs Kolleg:innen aus den Bereichen Design und User-Research zeigen anhand konkreter Beispiele aus ihrer Arbeit, wie die Werte des DigitalService ihr Handeln im Alltag prägen.
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 16/09/2026
Happy to chat, @se-davidobrien.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy! I’m in Edinburgh for @sdingov.bsky.social next week – in case you’re around for the event, too.
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 16/09/2026
This is something I’d like to show you and discuss with you, @apetersen.bsky.social – if your time allows.
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 16/09/2026
Like the US government, the Singapore government, and the European Commission, German government websites have a slim banner now to reassure users they are official. But teams implement it differently. So our engineer Anne built a bookmarklet for us to check whether it’s done right. So helpful!
Partial screenshot of the website of the Service Standard with an overlay with a green frame around the top banner and windows that says: Official KERN header bar detected with a button that says: ‘Hide alignment line’, a hatched red area is seen to the left of the top banner containing the German flag
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 16/09/2026
Government folks, join service assessments and peer reviews! 🤩 There is so much for you to learn from your colleagues in other departments and other parts of government. Today, I was in a #ServiceStandard peer review with @simonecarrier.bsky.social from @digital-agentur.de and @nfelger.bsky.social.
5 people sitting around a large table in an open meeting space with a TV at the back next to a big framed poster of the Service Standard – people are partially looking at the screen, some at their laptops in front of them
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 14/09/2026
As a public servant, I write weekly notes to let people see what I do. Last week, I joined a #leadership offsite discussing strategic priorities for the coming months. I also met with colleagues at the German pension provider, the state supplier for digital identity, and GDS colleagues remotely.
verwaltungsgestaltung.de
Week #228 at the Digital Service: Notes for 7–11 September
Martin spent the first 2 days of his week 228 at a leadership offsite discussing strategic priorities for the coming months. He also met with colleagues at the German pension provider, the state suppl...
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 14/09/2026
That’s helpful! Germany’s biggest news magazine, @spiegel.de, picked up the @nextnetz.bsky.social study on real-life issues with #digitalIdentity in Germany. It’s a good reflection of its findings from @bundesagentur.bsky.social @digitalservice.bund.de @stadtwiesbaden.bsky.social and others. 👇🏻
spiegel.de
BundID und E-Perso: Klickmarathon statt Entbürokratisierung
Behördengänge digital zu erledigen, klingt attraktiv, doch die meisten Bürger geben frustriert auf. Dabei gibt es funktionierende Alternativen.
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 10/09/2026
Quoting Ezio Manzini: “Volunteering as collaboration (i.e. as a form of relationship) for a society in which everyone, each according to their abilities, can be active and create value.” Quoted by Guglielmo Apolloni at #ServiceDesign Drinks Berlin
A man with curly grey hair speaking in front of seated people, pointing at a large TV set with a slide containing a large quote and a multi stack illustration with people and houses and flags and the description “Trento 2029”
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 10/09/2026
Spotting @cassierobinson.bsky.social‘s sketches at the #ServiceDesign Drinks Berlin event on ‘Designing for systems that don’t want to change’ – during a talk on public participation in Trento and developing #antifragility from Guglielmo Apolloni
A man with curly grey hair speaking in front of seated people, pointing at a large TV set with a slide containing a 3-part hand-drawn sketch, credited to Cassie Robinson and the headline “Can we design for antifragility?”:

1st sketch is titled “user needs, individual needs” with people standing separately 

2nd sketch is titled “community, collective needs”, with a group of people standing together 

3rd sketch is titled “society needs, moral needs”, with people standing inside a small town with a church and public buildings
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Reposted by Martin Jordan
Anne Roth @anneroth.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Ich möchte nicht, dass mir Politiker*innen und Journalist*innen erklären, dass es nunmal Demokratie sei, wenn mehrheitlich Nazis gewählt werden. Ich erwarte, dass sie verstehen, dass die Demokratie demokratisch abgeschafft werden kann und dass das Grundgesetz davor schützen sollte.
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 05/09/2026
As a public servant, I write weekly notes to let people see what I do. Last week’s notes were still missing. Now, they are published. I co-ran the GDS-developed ‘Introduction to #serviceDesign’ again – now linked to the #ServiceStandard. I also reflected on the lack of interest in service quality.
verwaltungsgestaltung.de
Week #226 at the Digital Service: Notes for 24–28 August
For the 5th time, Martin co-ran the GDS-developed ‘Introduction to service design’ in Germany. For the first time, it was deeply intertwined with the Service Standard. He also reflected on the lack of...
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 05/09/2026
As a public servant, I write weekly notes to let people see what I do. I welcomed 5 new starters – 3 #userResearch ers and 2 #contentDesign ers – to the team in week 227. I co-ran a product review session with a justice service and helped prepare upcoming #ServiceStandard peer reviews.
verwaltungsgestaltung.de
Week #227 at the Digital Service: Notes for 31 August–4 September
Martin welcomed 5 new starters – 3 user researchers and 2 content designers – to the team in week 227. He co-ran a product review session with a justice service and helped prepare upcoming Service Sta...
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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 02/09/2026
“The laws of physics don’t care about politics” Tonight at St. George’s Anglican Church Berlin, I got to see the 🇬🇧 National Emergency Briefing on the climate and nature crisis. It’s a powerful documentary very worth a watch – and a great starting point for community exchange: www.nebriefing.org
An older light-skinned bald man in shirt and jumper standing in front of 7 seated people in a smallish room; a piano stands on the left, a TV sets is mounted onto the back wall, showing a screen saying: People’s Emergency Briefing
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