Ich glaube nicht, dass er es war und falls er es doch gewesen ist hat das eigentlich nicht zu interessieren. Denn was gibt irgendeinem das Recht eine Oper namens Idomeneo ab zu setzen, weil sich dadurch Anhaenger des Islams diskriminiert fuehlen koennten. Sollten wir also in Zukunft auch die Presse- und Meinungsfreiheit einschraenken, damit wir bloss keinen Grund mehr liefern um Ziel eines, von fanatischen Moslems durch gefuehrten, terroristischem Anschlags zu sein. Wie weit muss Toleranz und Integration gehen, damit sich Immigranten auch wirklich integriert fuehlen? Man sollte sich nicht die Frage stellen ob man eine 200 Jahre alte Oper ab setzen muss, sondern eher viel eher ob man den Koran, der der seit fast 1400 Jahren die Rolle der Frau herabsetzt, in einer neuen ueberarbeiteten Ausgabe verlegt.

Eine Ausstellung des Pazifik-Netzwerks e.V. und der Pazifik-Informationsstelle www.pazifik-infostelle.org zeigt auf neun grossformatigen Tafeln (bedruckte Stoffbahnen 1,80 x 1,00 m) die fuenfzigjaehrige Geschichte der Atombombentests im Pazifik und springt dabei auf jeder Tafel in ein Jahrzehnt. Des Weiteren klaert sie ueber die aktuelle militaerische Nutzung nuklearer Technologien auf. Wie der Pressemitteilung zu entnehmen ist, wendet sich die Ausstellung insbesondere an Schueler und Jugendliche, dient aber gleichzeitig der Weiterbildung von Erwachsenen. Zum Weitersagen steht ausserdem drin: Sie kann gegen die Erstattung von Porto- und Versandkosten bei der Pazifik-Infostelle ausgeliehen werden.

Am 4. und 5. November ist es wieder so weit: der jaehrlich von der Literaturwerkstatt Berlin www.literaturwerkstatt.org ausgeschriebene deutschsprachige Literaturwettbewerb fuer junge Nachwuchsautoren open mike geht in die Endrunde. In der WABE werden die 18 besten Texte aus der Vorrunde von ihren Verfassern dem Publikum und einer dreikoepfigen Jury vorgestellt.

Auf Initiative der Crespo Foundation www.crespo-foundation.de, die das Projekt auch finanziell unterstuetzt, wird open mike durch zwei Schreibwerkstaetten erweitert, in denen Jugendliche von ehemaligen Preistraegern begleitet und mit Tipps und munteren Worten versorgt werden. Fuer beide Seiten eine schoene Gelegenheit, die Bande zwischen den Generationen zu knuepfen und Hand in Hand in die Zukunft zu blicken.

Unter Kulturaustausch verstehe ich eigentlich so was Aehnliches wie Schueleraustausch, vielfach mit sich verfluechtigenden Werten und Materien. weiterlesen »

Sarah Curth, born in 1989, studies German Literature and Cultural Science at Humboldt University Berlin (HU). Leads a workshop about “Networked writing – theory and praxis of new journalistic forms in the Internet” at the Institute of German Literature at the HU. Writes for the city blog SpottedByLocals and runs her own weblog lotterliebe. Holds an honorary post at the Berliner Gazette e.V. since 2009. Editor of the Berliner Gazette.

Karsten Heller, born in 1970, studied communication design at art academy Berlin-Weißensee. Activities include photography, design and publishing. Co-founder of Berlin-based agency DiG Design, in this context responsible for design at Centraltheater Leipzig. Since 2003, co-owner of the independent art and theory publishing house Diamondpaper. Holds an honorary post at the Berliner Gazette e.V. since 2001. Designer of fiverse communication and advertising media.

Caspar Clemens Mierau, born in 1978, studied media-culture sciences at Bauhaus University Weimar. Experience in technical advice, programming, online journalism and in imparting knowledge and know-how in different fields of technology and media culture. Commitments in new media organizations (c-base e.V. and ubuntu Germany e.V.). Runs the weblog leitmedium.de. Holds an honorary post at the Berliner Gazette e.V. since 2008. Technical editor of the Berliner Gazette.

Lena Posingies, born in 1982, studied German and American literature at Technical University Berlin and Humboldt University Berlin. Experience in cultural journalism and language and culture education. Stopovers at weekly journal Sud Ouest Dimanche in Bordeaux, at Goethe Institute Togo in Lomé and Cornelsen Publishing Berlin. Holds an honorary post at the Berliner Gazette e.V. since 2006. Editor of the Berliner Gazette.

Anton Scholz, born in 1987, studies of English literature and history at Potsdam University. Interests in tourism, politics and geography. Took part in a one-year exchange program in the U.S. Several research trips in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. Holds an honorary post at the Berliner Gazette e.V. since 2008. Coordinator of public relations and author for the Berliner Gazette.

Michael Taube, born in 1987, studies of child and youth care at Pestalozzi-Fröbel-Haus in Berlin. Experience in and commitment to social movements (animal rights, data protection) as well as in design and photography. Holds an honorary post at the Berliner Gazette e.V. since 2007. Picture editor of and author for the Berliner Gazette.

Fabian Wolff, born in 1989, studies German and English at Humboldt University Berlin. Longtime editor of Berlin youth-culture magazine Ätzettera. Vice chief editor of Brennpunkt F! and co-founder of online magazine drifter. Interests in high- and popculture and totalitarianism-studies. Fluent in Hebronics. Holds an honorary post at the Berliner Gazette e.V. since 2009. Editor of and author for the Berliner Gazette.

The Berliner Gazette e.V.’s central mode of operation is cooperation. To achieve its ambitious goals, the nonprofit association builds both temporary and long-term partnerships. Partners may be as varied as initiatives and institutions, political and cultural foundations, educational and research facilities, government agencies and businesses. The executive board of the Berliner Gazette e.V. develops operational concepts and coordinates the collaborations.

Former partners of the Berlin Gazette e.V. include: Berlin Society for New Music e. V., The Federal Agency for Civic Education, Diaphanes publishers, filesharing, Free University Berlin, General Public, German Theater Abroad, Haus Schwarzenberg e.V., Heinrich Böll Foundation, Humboldt University Berlin, Italian Institute for Culture Berlin, iq consult, Media Arts Lab/ Artist House Bethanien, Mediamatic Foundation, neue berliner initiative (nbi), Sophiensaele, Foundation kulturserver.de gGmbH, Suhrkamp publishers, transmediale, transversale, transcript publishers, University of Hokkaido, uqbar, urban drift.

In addition, the activities of the Berliner Gazette e.V. have been supported by public funds (e.g. German Federal Cultural Foundation, Berlin Fund for Cultural Education) and sponsors (e.g. FRED, Get Digital, Multitask).

Boasting 10 years of experience, the Berliner Gazette e.V. enriches its mode of operation by offering its skills, which are acquired at the intersection of media, culture and education, for consultancy and service. The latter especially in the context of its seminar program. Questions regarding this matter can be answered by the Executive Board of the Berliner Gazette e.V.

The Berliner Gazette e.V. ties together different media formats: the nonprofit and nonpartisan association publishes the berlinergazette.de as an independent and non-commercial medium, organizes symposia, launches initiatives, edits anthologies and offers seminars.

All of these formats are highly permeable and allow dialogues, with the Berliner Gazette e.V. acting as a facilitator, creating conditions for participation, communication and the formation of publicity. Along these lines the formats become both technical and discoursive tools.

The formats as tools, allow a heterogeneous group of people to digest their experiences, views and problems and to put them in a wider context. In this way anyone can get actively involved in the major debates of our time and influence them. That means: the formats of the Berliner Gazette e.V. are not only made for media users, but also, in a high degree, by them.

At the end of the 1990s, the cultural scene in Berlin had no platform on the Internet. First online projects had already failed, the commercialization of the Internet was progressing. Facing these conditions, Krystian Woznicki started a new publishing project. Its aim was to take both the social dynamics of the Internet and the idea of the classic feuilleton seriously (the culture section of the conventional newspaper). Thus, in July 1999, Woznicki founded, within the online community Kulturserver, the Berliner Gazette.

At first, Woznicki’s project took the form of a weekly electronic newspaper: not a newsletter, but a weekly feuilleton in the form of an e-mail, delivered every Wednesday to its readers’ mailboxes. Choosing the content, the editorial staff followed guidelines still relevant today: turning readers into authors, while also inviting outsiders to become authors. In order to distribute the content, the staff also seeks synergies with various offline formats: symposiums, anthologies, etc. In this way, the network of the Berliner Gazette has continued to grow – leaving the physical boundaries of Berlin far behind.

When in 2002 – after the crash of the new economy – the Internet was declared dead by many, the Berliner Gazette presented itself with an extended Web site. The staff launched Germany’s first collective blog and systematized their thematic work: the editors interview representatives of various sectors of cultural innovations ((sub-)politics, economy, technology, art, science) on annual focus themes and publish weekly protocols of these interviews. Be it “Work,” “Language,” “Time” or “Water” – the annual themes continue to question important issues of our time as the commons of the 21st century.

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In the press:

The voice of Post-Germany.
Geert Lovink/fibreculture

A new form of journalistic intervention.
Christoph Dreher/Digital Spirit

Smart selection of authors.
Anne Heaming/fluter.de

Authors and editors of the Berliner Gazette get together at the symposiums. People who have met virtually are given the chance to gather and talk in a material space. Regarding the topics, the events are based on the annual theme of the digital mini-feuilleton. The two most important formats are: 1) The annual anniversary event (Gala) presents the contributors to the feuilleton of the Berliner Gazette from within the contexts of their primary profession: art, film, music, literature, etc. 2) The panel discussion enhances the annual theme of the Berliner Gazette’s feuilleton by inviting interviewees from various fields of work from different countries for discussions.

In previous years, the Berliner Gazette e.V. organized more than 50 symposiums at locations on the independent cultural scene (Dr. Pong, filesharing, General Public, German Theater Abroad, Kim, NBI), 80 percent of which were realized without outside financial support. Between 30 and 300 guests attended the events without being charged admission. About 20 percent of the symposiums were realized in cooperation with the German Federal Cultural Foundation, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Italian Institute for Culture Berlin, Media Arts Lab/ Artist House Bethanien and transmediale. Among the locations that hosted the symposiums were Amerika Haus, Museum for Communication and the The House of World Cultures.

Symposium, “Wir-Maschine ’68”, Amerika Haus, May 2008

The issues developed for the Berliner Gazette’s feuilleton take shape within an international network of cultural producers. In this way, specific needs are made visible and new forms of knowledge are created. Moreover, certain demands are voiced. But how can these needs, forms of knowledge and demands become politically effective? The initiatives of the Berliner Gazette e.V. are to be understood as movements of inquiry. The focus of those movements is the search for a political context, in which the annual theme of the Berliner Gazette’s feuilleton can unfold its whole potential, even overcoming the boundaries of established formats.

The first initiative of the Berliner Gazette focused urban conflicts. In spring 2003, temporary embassies of the “Neue Republik Schwarzenberg” (“New Republic Schwarzenberg”) were installed in several parts of Berlin. The initiative was entitled “Temporäre Botschaften” (“Temporary Embassies”) and took place in the framework of the art project “Aktion Territorium Jetzt” (“Territory Now”). The initiative was provoked by the threat to clear “Haus Schwarzenberg”, one of the most important institutions of independent and alternative culture in Berlin. On the one hand, the initiative “Temporäre Botschaften” led to a debate on gentrification in Berlin, on the other hand it helped to develop a stronger awareness of the meaning of “Haus Schwarzenberg” in the cultural scene of Berlin. One result of the initiative: the concept of temporary embassies was institutionalized.

The anthologies, which have up to now been published by Krystian Woznicki, are editorially supervised by the editors of the Berliner Gazette. The purpose of the publications is to break new ground for the translation between “new” and “old” media. When working on the Berliner Gazette’s digital feuilleton, the aim is to translate the format of the newspaper into the language of digital-networked media, whereas the anthology’s aim is to translate the digital-networked media back into the printed word.

Each anthology underlines two aspects: first, the accomplishments and importance of the printing tradition; secondly, the richness of digital-networked media. The book is a tangible archive of the contents of the Internet, reaching a public outside the digital world. The anthologies of the Berliner Gazette assemble, on the one hand, texts on specific annual themes – and thus serve as a documentation of these. On the other hand, the anthologies compile articles from different annual themes, to point out important aspects of writing digitally and in a network.

With the aim of offering its long-standing experiences systematically to others, the Berliner Gazette e.V. develops seminars on a regular basis. The imparting of media skills is of central concern. This means that the seminars are about both the operating mode of media and its contents as well as social dynamics. The audience of the Berliner Gazette Seminar are people who have no or little experiences with new media as well as prospective or rather young publicists, press spokespeople, copywriters but also cultural producers, who are interested in word-based mediamaking under digital-networked conditions.

The Berliner Gazette Seminars consist of theoretical and practical classes which enable the students to take part in the work of the digital mini-feuilleton berlinergazette.de. The seminar program is based on a practical approach, ‘learning by doing’ and the acquisition of knowledge on par with the tutors. The participation in the seminar opens the access to a big network of people engaged in the cultural sector. Thus social sustainability is ensured.

The Berliner Gazette Seminars are developed and realized in cooperation with cultural institutions, political foundations, consulting companies as well as universities. Previous partners include: Grips Theater, iq consult, Sophiensaele, Transient Spaces – The Tourist Syndrome.

Ein Jahr endet, das naechste beginnt. Eigentlich kein schlechter Zeitpunkt fuer einen Perspektivenwechsel. Doch das ist gar nicht so einfach heutzutage, meint Krystian Woznicki. weiterlesen »