Round table / Berlin: World Summit on the Information Society

Supermarkt is hosting a livesession of the WSIS+10 UNESCO conference panel „Open solutions for addressing global challenges„. The seesion will discuss how open technologies and contents can contribute contribute „to the democratization of creativity as well as to social, educational and economic growth and greater digital inclusion“ on the particular case of the situation in South Sudan (Open Source City Juba). Get the details at the supermarkt-website.

The larger context of the session is a bit more complicated: As per the UN General Assembly Resolution 56/183, the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) provided a forum in which multiple stakeholders including international organizations, governments, the private sector and civil society could discuss the opportunities of new information and communication environments in order to address challenges such as the inequality in access to information and communication (‘digital divide’). The Summit output of the two sessions in Geneva 2003 and Tunis 2005 is documented in the Geneva Plan of Action, the Geneva Declaration of Principles, the Tunis Commitment and the Tunis Agenda for Information Society. The implementation of WSIS outcomes will be reviewed by the UN General Assembly in 2015. In order to prepare this review the the UNESCO is hosting the so-called Multistakeholder WSIS+10 Review Event entitled „Towards Knowledge Societies for Peace and Sustainable Development“ with the intention to integrate its findings into the UN MDGs review process and into a possible post-2015 sustainable development framework.

Ohu-Tag im Collaboratory

Am 28. Februar stellen sich die Arbeitsgruppen des Internet & Gesellschaft Co:llaboratory vor. Das Co:Lab versucht eher eine unabhängige Diskursplattform zu sein, also kein forschungsorientierter Think Tank und auch kein partneinaher Verein, sondern eine „offene Experten- und Interventionsplattform“. Momentan wird es im Wesentlichen von Google Deutschland finanziert (2012 mit ca. 250.000€). Neben den Initiativen gibt es im Collaboratory derzeit sechs Ohus (thematische Arbeitsgruppen), welche sich dauerhaft mit den Themenbereichen Medienkompetenz, Privacy, Internet Governance, kulturelles Erbe, Gestalten im Digitalen und Open Government auseinandersetzen. Der diesjährige Ohu-Tag wird am 28. Februar im Base_camp Berlin (Karte) stattfinden und die Arbeitsgruppen werden sich unter anderem mit dem Themenkomplex  “Offene Digitale Gesellschaft” auseinandersetzen. Den Abend beendet Stefan Münker mit dem Vortrag „Offene Digitale Gesellschaft“. Münker ist übrigens auch Autor des lesenswerten Büchleins „Emergenz digitaler Öffentlichkeiten. Die Sozialen Medien des Web 2.0„. Link zur Veranstaltung hier.

Conference: Dealing with Crises

Founded in 2000, OURMedia is a global network with the goal of facilitating a dialogue between academics, activists, practitioners, artists, and policy experts around alternative/community/citizens’ media. It has produced a series of conferences that aims to build international bridges across typically disparate but naturally related worlds of academic research and social movements, media development cooperation and the arts. The upcoming conference 24–25 june 2013 in Dublin is about „Dealing with Crisis: Community, Alternative, Citizens’ and Social Media in Times of Change„. From the announcement: „‘Crisis’ has become the word most widely used to describe our shared global condition. Crisis highlights the urgency for change and for alternatives to established political, economic and media practices. For alternative, community, citizens’ and social justice media makers, crisis brings together many of the themes usually considered – from inequality of all kinds to ecological destruction, the need for political transformation and reconciliation.“ More details at the OURMedia website.

Unlike Us Reader

The new Unlike Us Reader „Social Media Monopolies and Their Alternatives“ brings a fresh and critical view upon the „social“ of media. A good read in the vast field of publications about social media that mainly focus on self-promotion, marketing and business trends. Frome the announcement: „How can we understand the social media we use everyday, or consciously choose not to use? We know very well that monopolies control social media, but what are the alternatives? While Facebook continues to increase its user population and combines loose privacy restrictions with control over data, many researchers, programmers, and activists turn towards designing a decentralized future. Through understanding the big networks from within, be it by philosophy or art, new perspectives emerge.“ Check out the trailer here.

Cluster of Excellence Image Knowledge Gestaltung

Since 2013 I work as a research associate at the Cluster of Excellence Image Knowledge Gestaltung. An Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Hum­boldt Uni­ver­sity Ber­lin. The interdisciplinary laboratory is a union of social, natural and technological sciences, medicine and – for the first time in basic research – the disciplines of design and architecture as well. In the laboratory, more than 25 different disciplines come together to investigate the fundamental Gestaltung processes of the sciences. My research focuses on the practical application of image-guided technologies. In the project we will investigate how and in which concrete aesthetic forms image guidance manifests itself in applied visual media; how these forms become images used for guidance and operating procedures in specific disciplines; which forms can be scientifically described and epistemologically anchored and conceptualized; and which directions are most feasible for exploring medical and technical optimization.

Post Media Lab

In 2013 I was a a research associate at the Post-Media Lab which is situated at the Center for Digital Cultures in Lüneburg. The PML is a collaboration between Leuphana University and Mute Magazine. The Lab is focused on the potential for ‚post-media‘ practice, drawing upon Felix Guattari’s concept of social and medial assemblages which unleash new forms of collective expression and experience. It is centred around a supported programme of visiting fellows – artists, technologists, film-makers, theorists, post-media operators – and the production of a series of associated, international public events and publishing projects.

Collegium for the Advanced Study of Picture Act and Embodiment

From 2009–2013 I have been a member of the Collegium for the Advanced Study of Picture Act and Embodiment at Humboldt University Berlin. The project aimed to transform the prevailing mimesis theory of pictures, which argues that images are conceived as likenesses, into a Picture Act Theory. Its focus was to conduct research on the specific form of images, their vitality, and the substitution of body and image.

Research Training Centre Visibility and Visualization – Hybrid Forms of Pictorial Knowledge

From 2011–2015 I have been a member of the DFG Research Training Centre „Visibility and Visualisation – Hybrid Forms of Pictorial Knowledge“ at Potsdam University. The program explores forms of visualisation in science and art. In collaboration with Fachhochschule Potsdam and Freie Universität Berlin, the centre investigates practices of visualisation with a view to understanding how knowledge and reflective structures are constituted.