1st Digital Freedom Day


4 minutes to read | August 2022

The 1st Digital Freedom Day in Tübingen, which we initiated and organized, was held two months ago. We want to look back on the event and report on what has developed since then.

By Steffen Schnürer

To begin with, we would like to start this review with a big thank you. First of all, to all the interested visitors for their participation in the offers, the exciting discourses and the exchange. Many thanks also to all those who supported us in the organization and realization of the event: The Shedhalle for providing the location and technology as well as the good cooperation. The KI-Makerspace, the FabLab and the Pirate-BW, who have significantly filled the day with life with their setups and program. The Wirtschaftsförderung Tübingen, which supported the event financially and covered the costs for the room rental and the equipment. And in addition, many other participants and organizations who have supported the event with contributions.

The day in overview

On Saturday, June 4, the doors of the Shedhalle were opened to the public from 12:45 p.m. for the 1st Digital Freedom Day Tübingen. During the day twelve lectures, four workshops and a theater performance were offered. There were all-day assemblies and exhibitions where you could experience and experience digital artworks and tools, as well as informational and educational offerings that allowed you to delve deeper into current local and global contexts. Opportunities for exchange and networking were plentiful and actively used.

So we can report that the goals we set ourselves in the planning were met and exceeded. We received a lot of good feedback on the implementation, how well it went and how important the event itself was. We were surprised about the abundance of participation, support and interest we experienced. Already on the day itself, the joy for a repetition of the event next year was emphasized several times.

Formation of the Chaostreff Tübingen

A chaos meeting has been newly established. About 25 people came together for the kick-off at the event already. There are now regular open meetings at least twice a month:

  • Every last Sunday of the month at 6 p.m. in the KI-Maker Space with food and a program.
  • Every second Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the FabLab for an open hack and tinker meeting.

The first meetings so far have been about getting to know each other and discussing and creating our own infrastructure. Various projects were presented and ideas for internal as well as external collaborations were discussed. In short: It remains exciting to see what will develop from this. Above all, the meetings were a pleasant exchange between people with partly similar interests. A friendly invitation to all of you to come and join us! More information online.

Maker Spaces networking meeting:

A by-product of this day was that some of those responsible for the various Maker Spaces in Tübingen sat down at a common table for the first time. Representatives of the KI-Maker Space, FabLab, FRANZ!werk, Pixelwerkstatt and the Innovation Space of the University of Tübingen were present. The meeting was welcomed by all. It would be helpful to get to know the other local offerings and the people behind them better, for example, in order to be able to recommend guests and users from different target groups to the right place. What other collaborations form remains open and is the responsibility of the Maker Spaces themselves. A joint overview document as well as a joint event calendar is already foreseeable.

Public education and networking:

Immeasurable are also the numerous traces and inspirations that stuck with the respective guests. As a highlight, for example, MEP Patrick Breyer presented the EU's current plans for chat control and pointed out the contradictions and dangers of the project. A teacher told us to request the lecture about supply chains of smartphones so also for his school. Many organizations here from Tübingen could point to their active work and inform about it. The event was also very successful for us as the iconet Foundation in terms of establishing ourselves locally, making contacts and demonstrating our charitable intentions for research funding and consumer protection. A content-related cooperation with DAASI International is in prospect. Our knowledge will also be integrated into the educational work of Cryptoparty Tübingen in the future.

2nd Digital Freedom Day Tübingen

We are excited about the broad interest in making this event a tradition. The date is already fixed: Saturday, June 17th 2023. One can only guess how far next year's event will surpass it.

The full collection of images made public is available at Pixelfed.

Back to the overview