During the State of the Internet, Waag Futurelab gauges the state the internet is in each year. On the 30th anniversary year of Waag, the lecture will be given by none other than Waag's founder and director Marleen Stikker.
Since tech billionaires have access to the White House, there is an urgent realisation that we are extremely dependent on big tech. With one decree from Trump or a push of a button from Musk, our society is completely disrupted. According to Rutte, secretary general of NATO, we must "prepare for war". The question is whether we have already lost that war in the digital domain. Can we reclaim ownership?
Marleen Stikker has the answer. During this seventh edition of the State of the Internet, Stikker will elaborate on how we can regain our control over technology and our data. The focus should not be on shareholder interests or the big pockets of corporate Netherlands, but on the resilience and agency of European citizens, organisations and its democratic institutions.
This means not only enforcing necessary European laws, but also investing in knowledge and technology based on public and democratic values, the so-called EuroStack. A first step has already been taken by civil society and cultural organisations and people to become less dependent on big technology companies. Which alternatives to big tech already exist, how do we make them into a big success by joining forces, and how can social movements and individuals play a role in this?
The talk will be followed by a panel discussion. The panel will be moderated by Dymphie Braun, programme maker & facilitator, driven by the principles of equality and inclusion. Her mission is to promote creativity as a tool for social justice.
| Walk-in | 15:30 - 16:00 hrs |
| Programme | 16:00 - 18:00 hrs |
| Drinks | 18:00 - 19:00 hrs |
Panel
Bert Hubert is the founder of PowerDNS, software that powers a significant fraction of the Internet. He also did government cybersecurity work, and co-founded a software company in that field. These days Bert does DNA research and until recently was part of the government board that regulates the Dutch intelligence and security agencies. Bert is now a very part-time technical advisor at the Dutch Electoral Council ("FEC").
Savriël Dillingh is a market philosopher and business ethicist at Erasmus University Rotterdam. He researches how political choices steer the free market, and what a new, fairer economy might look like in concrete terms. Savriël wrote publications in NRC, De Volkskrant, Trouw, Het Parool and De Groene Amsterdammer, among others, and is currently writing on the tyranny of the shareholder.
Tessel Renzenbrink is communication officer at NLnet, a foundation committed to a free, robust and open internet for all. Together with Ronny Lam, she makes the NGI Zero podcast in which they talk to people building the Next Generation Internet. In 2021, she became co-director of Network Democracy and committed to a vital democracy in a digital society. Tessel has a master's degree in philosophy and created a post-collapse mesh network device as a final project for the FabAcademy in 2020.
Accessibility
If you are tight on funds and want to participate in this event, please get in touch with thieu [@] waag [dot] org.
For more information on the accessibility of the location please see the accesibility page of Vlaams Cultuurhuis De Brakke Grond (Dutch).
30 years of Waag
This year marks Waag Futurelab's 30th anniversary. From the first ‘social medium’ De Digitale Stad (The Digital City), accessible to a wide audience, via designing a sustainable modular Fairphone, or the first training for Biohackers in Europe, to advising the State Secretary for Digital Affairs and a citizens' network in North Holland: for 30 years, Waag has been working on creating a firm grip on technology for everyone. That grip on technology is the central theme of our anniversary year, in our stories and in our programming.
