So, what about Politics? - #SWAP
2 November - 3 November 2017
International Symposium
If the past 10 years have been about discovering post-institutional social models on the Web, then the next 10 years will be about applying them to the real world.
(Chris Anderson,2010, www.wired.com)
So, what about Politics?
So, what about politics? looks at initiatives that could be seen as the avant-garde of a new political era. In a critical period of crisis in our political systems, we welcome artists, activists, academics using innovative technological tools to reclaim political processes or to shape new forms of organisation, from local collectives to global movements.
As Rebecca Solnit says, “It’s equally true that democracy is flourishing in bold new ways in grassroots movements globally”, and “There is far more politics than the mainstream of elections and governments, more in the margins where hope is most at home.” How does this apply to the margins of our technological imagination? Which tools and practices are being dreamed of, tested and explored?
In short, what is the impact of today’s Internet-inspired post-institutional thinking on the practice of political action? For this we focus on tactics, tools and visions of grassroots initiatives, as well as on changing government policies and strategies.
The symposium revolves around questions such as: What are the politics of a P2P society? How can we perceive a network as a real “distributed agora”? What can we learn from artist- or activist-led experiments focusing on collectivity and political agency?
And most important: What are the concrete tools and initiatives today that really try to facilitate and use new forms of agency such as liquid democracy, e-governance, civic intelligence, platform cooperativism and autonomous self-organisation?
Video archive
PROGRAMME
Digital culture and technology. But what about politics?
Day 1: FRI 3 November
Lectures and Debates, 10:00-18:30
Michel Bauwens (P2P Foundation), Geert Lovink (Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam) & Alex Foti (Milano), Lieza Dessein (SMArtbe, Brussels), Xavier Damman (OpenCollective.com), Virgile Deville (Democracy.earth), Saya Sauliere (Medialab-Prado/ParticipaLab, Madrid), Arianna Mazzeo (DesisLab, Barcelona), Khushboo Balwani (Civic Innovation Network, Brussels), David Potocnik (totalism.org, Lanzarote), Lauren Lapidge (unMonastery, Athens), Penny Travlou (University Edinburgh), Monica Garriga (Decidim, Barcelona), David Gómez (Texeidora, Barcelona), Emmanuele Braga (Macao, Milano), Panayotis Antoniadis (NetHood, Athens-Zurich), Sanna Ghotbi & Vanessa Metonini (DigidemLab, Gothenburg/Madrid), Barrett Brown (PursuanceProject.org, USA).
Day 2: SAT 4 November
Workshops and Participatory Plenary Session, 10:00-17:30
Sanna Ghotbi & Vanessa Metonini (DigidemLab, Gothenburg), Arianna Mazzeo (DesisLab, Barcelona), Civic Innovation Network (Brussels).
Practical Info
Symposium
Day 1 (lectures): FRI Nov 3, 10:00-18:30
Day 2 (workshops): SAT Nov 4, 10:00-17:30
Location: iMAL, Brussels
Media Gallery <>
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AStorm_clouds.jpg
Credits
The symposium is curated by Bram Crevits (KASK / School of Arts Gent) and Yves Bernard (iMAL.org).
This event is organised by iMAL (Brussels center for Digital Cultures and Technology) in collaboration with the Institute of Network Cultures (Amsterdam), Medialab Prado (Madrid) and KASK / School of Arts (Gent).
After the symposium Blockchain.Fact.Fiction.Future in 2016, So what about Politics? continues our exploration of how society can be improved with the digital world.
So what about Politics? is supported by KASK / School of Arts Gent and Saison des Cultures Numériques 2017, Ministery of Culture (Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles).
Photo credits: cjohnson7 from Rochester, Minnesota (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0]
Symposium
Day 1 (lectures): FRI Nov 3, 10:00-18:30
Day 2 (workshops): SAT Nov 4, 10:00-17:30
Location: iMAL, Brussels
An archive : 1999-2010-2019
This page is an archive of the iMAL website that operated between 2010 and 2019. It compiles activities and projects made since 1999.
For our most recent news and activities, please check our new website at https://imal.org