Three Days of Love Out Loud!

Love Out Loud! We hope that you were able to gather all sorts of new insights, meet old friends and left with armfuls of inspiration! Our look back at the #rp17 and forward to the next re:publicas.

Here are the facts: Over 9,000 participants from 71 countries were welcomed at the re:publica 2017 in the STATION-Berlin – a new record. But there’s more: on a total of 20 stages approximately 1,030 speakers, of which 47 percent were women, discussed and exchanged ideas on net politics, fake news on the web, the future of music, the effects of algorithms and virtual reality. There were over 520 sessions, with 244 talks in English. And a jaw-dropping 551 helpers (we went back and counted every last one) supported us. Another big thank you from us all!

The highlights of the eleventh edition included talks by Kübra Gümüşay, Carolin Emcke and Elisabeth Wehling. Gümüşay encouraged the audience to conceive of their own topics instead of just reacting to right-wing provocations. Carolin Emcke reflected on re:publica’s “Love Out Loud!” motto, and cognitive scientist Elisabeth Wehling explained the power of linguistic pictures. There was also a big turnout for the net political dialogue between Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maizière, Constanze Kurz and Markus Beckedahl.

In the sub:marine track – the sub-conference for the Science Year 2016*17 “Seas & Oceans” – participants were able to witness just how present modern technologies are in marine research and why environmental issues belong in the digital society. On stage, designer and filmmaker Nelly Ben Hayoun performed with her two doppelgangers, and Kat Austen explained why humans and corals are more similar than you think. The science:fiction track was another highlight this year. It focused on the intersection of technological innovation and society and how the two push each other forward.

VR was the main topic over the three days and four floors of the labore:tory, our future playground in the Kühlhaus – from talks on art technology topics, over games & video, all the way to art installations. There were also the Community Corner meetups hosted by initiatives dedicated to working for refugees, diversity and against online hate – these included Wefugees, No Hate Speech or Adopt a Revolution. 

The Global Innovation Gathering (GIG) makerspace was a part of the re:publica for the fifth time this year. The GIG brought together over 40 makers, hackers and entrepreneurs from around the world with a special focus on tech innovations from Asia, Latin America and Africa. The makerspace, hosted in cooperation with the FabLab Berlin, was home to numerous workshops where participants could do some soldering, get informed about hardware or make their own interactive love letters.

Thanks to the support from Federal Foreign Office, we were able to bring together activists, founders, entrepreneurs and artists from all over Europe in the re:connecting EUROPE-Space, where they were able to discuss and exchange ideas, projects and future possibilities. The connections formed at the space will then be carried back to both Dublin and Thessaloniki in September.

On two stages and the media cube, the MEDIA CONVENTION Berlin (MCB) gathered together interesting speakers such as Frank Pasquale, Karola Wille, John Geta, Kida Khodr Ramadan or Barbara Hans. For the first time, the convention was held over three days, covering topics such as successful new platform models and brands, journalism and diversity of opinion, artificial intelligence and algorithms, virtual and augmented reality, as well as new possibilities for storytelling.

The very next re:publicas – in Dublin & Thessaloniki!

The next two re:publicas are being organised in cooperation with the Federal Foreign Office, with the second edition of the #rpDUB– the Irish offshoot of the Berlin community conference – taking place on 7 and 8 September. From 11 to 13 September, re:publica will then head from Europe’s Northwest to the South-east: to Thessaloniki, for #rpTHE, the first re:publica in Greece! Tickets for the re:publica programme in Ireland and Greece, as well as special combo-tickets for both events, are already available in our online shop (Early Bird Dublin: 50 €; Early Bird Thessaloniki: 25 € (net)). We’ll see you on our field trip through Europe!

The next re:publica – in May 2018!

We can already let you know the date for the next event in the coming year: The re:publica in Berlin will take place from 2 to 4 May 2018. We’ll see you there!

Photo credit: re:publica/Jan Michalko (CC BY 2.0)