‘Together, we will explore the hybrid world we live in,’ says festival director Esther Hammelburg, who is also a media scientist at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS), with a PhD in media and live experiences. ‘This is important, because only when we recognise that our living world is also digital, and the associated impact, can we shape it ourselves. If we don't, we will be at the mercy of the big tech companies that now largely determine what our world looks like. Previous major social revolutions, mostly driven by new technology, have taught us how important it is to pay attention and stay in control. This applies to our target audience in particular. After all, the new generation's creatives, policymakers, societal stakeholders and educators are the ones shaping the world.’
When it comes to major social revolutions, it often seems as if we have no influence and must conform to a rapidly approaching future. But we don't have to. Society 5.0 puts people at the wheel of this fifth major social revolution. So that we can keep an eye on diversity, accessibility and inclusiveness. To that end, festival programmer Kitty Leering has put together a full and varied festival programme.
Agnes Callard, associate professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago, makes a plea for curiosity, for questioning everything: a 'Socratic lifestyle.
Internationally renowned journalist and tech thinker Jamie Bartlett will speak about how disinformation is endangering our democracy.
By drawing parallels with storytelling in literature, art and film, artist, researcher and writer Georgina Voss shows how fiction and reality influence each other.
You can experience the interactive art installation Otherworlds, previously shown in London and the International Film Festival Rotterdam. In it, you will experience via Augmented Reality how cultural heritage is threatened.
Also, Dream Archive: Live Collection will give visitors the opportunity to contribute to an archive of dreams, another form of a virtual world.
The Forgotten Promise of Machine Creativity by multi-instrumentalist Jacco Gardner will show what you can do with artificial intelligence in a creative context.
Students and staff can get free tickets for the festival here: society2025.event-hva.nl
The Society 5.0 Festival is organised by the Centre of Expertise Creative Innovation (CoE CI) – an initiative of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, the Amsterdam University of the Arts, Inholland University of Applied Sciences and Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. Within this network, we combine the power of researchers and education with creative makers, policymakers and civil society organisations. The festival is produced in collaboration with VPRO Medialab, EIT Culture & Creativity and The Social Hub.