Saturday 9 May 2015
The history and practice of hacktivism.
re:publica 15 - Europe’s biggest conference on internet and society.
From Iceland to South Africa, from the US to Singapore – the re:publica 2015 brought together people from all continents. From 5th till 7th May 2015, 7000 participants and around 700 accredited international journalists bustled around the fully packed STATION-Berlin – a festival of superlatives! Moreover we offered 50 sessions on this year’s motto Finding Europe. 197 digital spaces from all over the European continent came to Berlin for the event.
The history and practice of hacktivism is a complicated business.
Where did it come from, who’s doing it, and why does it matter? Or is the whole discourse completely over-hyped? Join a discussion with some people who have thought about hacking and political engagement online. And come prepared to challenge what you hear.
"Hacktivism" is a contentious word. It means a lot of things to a lot of different people. From hacktivism’s earliest appearance in the mid-nineties every online activist has tried to grab a piece of it. But what does hacktivism actually mean? Is there one definition or is it a synonym for various forms of online engagement? And do definitions even matter?
This panel will examine the roots of hacktivism and its antecedents, who’s been doing what, and where things might be going.
Speakers
- Stefania Milan: Assnt Prof of New Media. University of Amsterdam.
- Gabriella Coleman: Professor. McGill University.
- Frank Rieger: Sprecher. Chaos Computer Club (CCC).
- Oxblood Ruffin: Hacktivist, film maker, flaneur. Centre for Internet & Society.
