The Call for Participation for #rp24: Inspiration for your submission

You have until 15.01.2024 to submit your ideas in the Call for Participation for the re:publica 24 programme! Shape the conference programme with talks, panel discussions and meetups, or submit workshops and DIY projects for the hands-on programme. Off stage, you can present installations, games, movement formats, performances and interventions – or whatever else you can think of.

As always, our aim is to bring a diverse, varied and colourful programme to our stages. We look forward to your suggestions! Debates on the various aspects of digitalisation and its impact on society remain at the heart of re:publica. Of course, we are particularly interested in your thoughts on our motto "Who Cares?". What do you care about, what do you want to care about or what should we care about? Share it with us at re:publica 24! In addition, there are also some key topics this year that we would like to discuss with you.

A promising CfP submission is based on a good idea and is concise and easy to understand. We enjoy individuality and attitude, love exciting presentations - and fun is also welcome. A short, catchy title that makes curious definitely makes sense. If you are proposing a panel discussion, make sure the panel is diverse. For off-stage events, you can include video or photo links so that we can better visualise your project.

In this blog post, we have collected a few suggestions for topics and questions that we find exciting. We have also picked out some successful submissions from past Calls for Participation that have made it onto our stages. They should primarily serve as a guide, but above all as inspiration.

Image

 In what kind of world do we want to live? And: who cares? Because we need those individuals who actually care to find answers to how we treat each other, our environment and the future of our planet. We aim to shine a light on the numerous pressing social questions and look into mainstream as well as niche discourses, whether in tech policy or beyond. We are inviting activists, public figures, members of civil society, experts, and many more to look into and behind current topics, unravel ambiguities, and engage in lively debates.

Susanne Mierau's topic at #rp23 was how we can create a basis for positive change through relationship and care work - and (perhaps) save the world. She already hints at how closely the last re:publica motto "CASH" and "Who Cares?" are connected!

Also in the #rp23 programme: Miro Dittrich and Josef Holnburger's CfP submission "Where’s the Money at?". The two have investigated the ways in which conspiracy ideologues and right-wing extremists finance themselves.

At #rp23, Ingrid Brodnik spoke about the business of anger and the online attention economy, and how we can change the business models and make them more democratic.

Also a successful CfP submission: At the re:publica x Reeperbahn Festival, Joerg Heidrich spoke about "AI between infinite possibilities, legal uncertainty and disruption" - using the example of the Midjourney image generator.

Image

Calling all nerds: Let’s explore the synergies of science and technology. How do technological developments and innovations affect us? Who is driving them and how? We are interested in infrastructures and hardware as well as insights into laboratory logbooks of laboratories, think tanks and universities.

In his session "I'm sorry HAL, I won't let you do that." at re:publica 23, tante took a critical look at AI and the political and social categorisation of this narrative.

In her CfP submission "The Magic of Pluralistic Futures", AX Mina explored the use of the word "magic" in technology and a more pluralistic vision of the future based on ancient wisdom traditions.

Crypto bros, true love and crime were the topics of Louise Beltzung and Julia Krickl's talk at #rp23, where they examined how crypto-romance scams work.

Thomas Ramge spoke about the curse of immortality and the blessing of biotechnology - in short: the old human dream of eternal life.

Image

How are technologies changing the way we learn, teach and share knowledge? How can open education be designed hand in hand with tools? How do we learn with, rather than instead of AI? Ultimately, how do technologies help us educate and train in an era where education is never “off”?

The CfP submission by Doris Weßels and Linn Friedrichs for #rp23 focussed on the rapid developments in the field of generative AI. In their session "The end of learning as we know it?", the speakers addressed the effects on teaching, learning and examination cultures.

In the workshop "#barrierefreiPosten - so gehts!" Laura Marie Maaß, Christiane Maaß and Heiko Kunert showed in five steps how social media users can make the internet more accessible.

Also on the programme at #rp23: The session "VB Commons: Science Publishing, Academic Freedom, Science Blogs" by Max Steinbeis and Evin Dalkilic dealt with non-profit structures as alternatives to the current publishing system in science.

Image

Who cares: Which projects are helping improve the web and media landscape and turning these into more livable places? And who are the people who care about this? Media, journalism, and other public spheres are currently facing significant challenges: What are exciting approaches in the platform economy–from subscription models to creator economies, community journalism to non-profit ventures? Following the decline of Twitter, how are public spheres evolving between Mastodon and Bluesky as well as other big networks such such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn? What new insights do we have regarding artificial intelligence?

Volume beats thoughtfulness, fame beats relevance - Christine Strobl, Anja Reschke and Tilo Jung spoke about the future of journalism and the battle for reach at #rp23.

The session "The end of Twitter?" by Gavin Karlmeier and Dennis Horn on the stupidest and most expensive ideas from six months of the Musk acquisition was also part of the last Call for Participation.

In her talk "Hören, was (auch) ist", Ellen Heinrichs explains what journalists can learn from mediation - such as active listening - and why this is so important, especially in times of crisis.

The Media Track of re:publica is sponsored by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB) and supported by Medienanstalt Berlin-Brandenburg (mabb).

Image

Why banks are tanking and crypto is crashing, when green tech isn't greenwash, when a salary is fair and a team diverse - all these are up for debate at re:publica. How can we rethink the economy and the way we develop and finance products and processes?

A successful CfP submission for the re:publica x Reeperbahn Festival was submitted by Marcus John Henry Brown. In "PRESENTO MORI - 9 presentation principles that could save your life", he presented nine effective methods for successful presentations!

In their panel, Magdalena Rogl, Sara Weber and Nina Straßner open up the field of tension between radical utopias for changing the world of work and the concrete feasibility for companies - and present ten ideas and impulses for action that can be implemented.

In 2016, users wanted to buy Twitter, in 2022 Elon Musk did - and has since shown how little he understands about it. In the session "Farewell to Twitter", Luca Hammer summarises some of the wrong decisions and shows why the Fediverse is an alternative.

Image

We also want to know: How can art and culture contribute to contemporary discourses? How can creatives and activists change our world (or at least our view of it) by generating new perceptions, experiences, and encounters? What are these so-called new realities? And: who cares in the field of art and culture?

How do AI models such as Stable Diffusion affect the production and utilisation of art? In their CfP submission for #rp23, Nils Pooker and Till Jaeger examine whether the existing copyright framework is still suitable for this.

The performative lecture by Theresa Reimann-Dubbers focussed on the history, culture and future of avatars - and how they construct identity.

As always, the same applies: Surprise us!
We are looking forward to your ideas.