Slow Politics: Exploring the Larger Democratic Project Underlying Grassroots Efforts

All of the crises haunting Europe today – be it “Lampedusa” or “NSA-Gate” – indicate one major problem: our governments’ democratic instruments are paralyzed by perpetual turbulence and hence unable to deal properly with the ensuing grievances. What now? It is necessary to reinvent democracy! In this challenging moment citizen movements act as laboratories of the future.

TAKING A BIRD’S EYE POINT OF VIEW

The Slow Politics conference (November 13-15) looks at the plurality of citizen movements as a greater whole and sets out to detect hidden commonalities: Only by connecting the dots does it become possible to create a counterforce to the acceleration of crises. In that sense “slow politics” is our motto for taking a bird’s eye point of view. From this decelerated perspective the conference explores the larger democratic project underlying various grassroots efforts: to empower people as political actors who are able to tackle the uncertainties caused by the manifold crises.

When you roll over the photo with your mouse, the name of the respective guest pops up and the part of the conference she/he is involved in. Click on the photo for further info.

WHAT ABOUT OUR PRIVILEGES AND RIGHTS?

Slow Politics investigates perspectives for a precarious generation that is deeply concerned about its liberties, privileges and rights: What happens to free access to culture and knowledge if public institutions continue crumbling? How can we practice transparency if secret services are booming beyond public control? How can a mobile society restore its inner peace if migrants are always “the others”? How can we save the environment if consumerism and economics remain rampant? How can a communal feeling arise in Europe if national self-interests prevail?

 What is the common denominator linking all these issues?

5 CONFERENCE TRACKS

Slow Politics is dealing with these future concerns in five tracks, that is: 1) The Big We, 2) After NSA-Gate, 3) We Are All Migrants, 4) Bitcoin Meets Blue Marble and 5) Publics in Peril. Five parallel workshops take place on the first two days. A limited number of participants can register by contacting the following E-mail bgcon14@supermarkt-berlin.net. The third day, November 15, is open to the general public. Starting at 2 p.m., it offers five panels with prolific speakers including discussions. No registration is required. Admission is free.

Spread the word!

Website with results [ berlinergazette.de/slow-politics-results ] Program PDF [ English / Deutsch ] Hashtag [ #bgcon14 ]

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