Radio Lab

Talk • Festivals and Cultural Activities in the Time of Extreme Weather

Maison de l’environnement

Free, registering is recommended

Can we keep on dancing in a world on fire? As climate change intensifies and extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, significant challenges are posed to festivals—and more broadly to the entire cultural scene. How can organizers adapt to such changes? What measures should be put in place in this context to ensure the mental health of artists, festival-goers, and audiences of such cultural events? How to envision the future of cultural and artistic activities in a world subjected to these extreme weather phenomena? By giving voice to one of the organisers of the Italian festival Terraforma—an event putting environmental sustainability as one of its priority—as well as to the artist and theorist Gigsta who ≠reflects on the links between the music industry and social justice, this exchange aims to explore strategies for managing and adapting to these challenges for the entire contemporary cultural scene.

The talk will be held in English.

With:

Nono Gigsta (Cashmere Radio I DE)

Mariavittoria Perrone (Terraforma I IT)

In cooperation with TIMES (The Independent Movement for Electronic Scenes)

A journalist welcomes music personalities and artists from the lineup to discuss their artistic practices and future of music.

A Conversation with Del4raa and Geopoet by European Lab

In Slovakia, the new Minister of Culture Martina Šimkovičová recently announced the cessation of funding to cultural organisations offering spaces for expression to queer cultures, such as the Kunsthalle in Bratislava. A member of the Slovak People’s Party that came to power in October 2023, the Minister embodies the drifts of the government of Robert Fico, openly homophobic and pro-Russian. In Italy, the national-conservative right-wing government is also investing in the cultural sphere, with its Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano calling for the development of a ‘new Italian imaginary.’ Also in the crosshairs of Giorgia Meloni: public broadcasting, which she seeks to control entirely in the cultural war she has initiated since her election.

In Hungary, Viktor Orbán’s illiberal drifts against the cultural landscape are more extensively documented, including the gradual extinction of independent media, repeated attacks against minorities, or the glorification of a national cultural narrative—Hungary being the European Union country proportionally allocating the highest percentage of its GDP to culture, as highlighted by the French author Antoine Pecqueur. Faced with these declarations of war against independent cultural scenes, how can resistance be expressed? In Budapest, actors from the artistic sector or young activists like Lili Pankotai lead the charge and raise awareness about the abuses of power in place. In Slovakia, networks of independent venues such as Anténa sound the alarm. The European network Reset! also aligns with this momentum and intends to offer a platform in support of these alternatives. How can one stand firm in this declared cultural war by an increasing number of regimes across Europe?

With:

Lili Pankotai (Activist, HU)

Ľudovít Nápoký (Anténa I SK)

Moderated by: Manon Moulin (Reset! network, FR)

In partnership with Reset! network

In a digital landscape where technology giants dominate and artificial intelligence flourishes, ensuring fair and equitable compensation for artists has become a major challenge. Artists, in this competition, are rising to demand better financial recognition and invent new cooperation models. From established artists to lesser-known ones, how can we reduce artists’ dependence on large platforms? What are the alternative models that allow artists to work more interdependently rather than competitively? How can we help artists embrace artificial intelligence in a fair way?

With:

Griigg (CLMxGUN, FR)

Max Tiel (Open Culture Tech, NL)

DVS1 (Aslice, US)

Moderation : Lisa Blanning (author, US)

The reading oscillates between a wish to share and convey the authors voices and another one to archive them for their memory to be shared. The selection of texts wishes to underline the cultural and political ties between several decolonial contexts. The texts will convey the voices of, cultural workers, journalists and story-tellers and commented by the readers carefully crafting the links between them.

As the first part of the reading establishes links through words, the second one does so with the help of images sharing with the audiences « Quinquina Diaspora », a video work by Samir Laghouati-Rashwan aligned with the topics carried through the texts.

With:

Zola Chichmintseva-Kondamambou (Beyond the post-soviet I FR)

Iris Ouedraogo (Association des Journalistes Antiracistes et Racisé.e.s I FR)

The European media space could use some good design. The intersection between journalism and design is there to be explored. New media projects need better good designed set-ups, models and inclusive approaches, meant to be accessible to all, without technical, structural, and societal barriers. The new creed of Are We Europe – Designing Europe’s Media for All – is meant to be a rallying cry for all actors, for media big & small, legacy & independent, team & creator. A call for media to design their project and publications with the end user – the audience, the partners – in mind, to design adaptable, resilient organisations and diversify their revenue models. And to break down barriers to access to highly important information, whether these are visible or invisible barriers, and for those with visible or invisible disabilities. The keynote will be the center point of The Circle event, by its initiator, part of this partner-led consortium that has gone to 8 cities across Europe to build better bridges between media organisation.

With:

Mick ter Reehorst (Are We Europe / NL)

The digital scene is no exception to the strong concentration observed in the media landscape. Once a space of diverse opinions, the internet is now deeply influenced by Tech Giants, who, through major acquisitions, wield considerable power over key platforms of democratic discourse (for example, Twitter, which has become X). Technology has become an instrument of power and sovereignty, creating a new dimension in international relations. Technological races, particularly between China and the United States, shape the contours of this new hegemony, where the possession and control of technological advancements equate to power. This is now known as the ‘splinternet’: a concept that considers the global internet, once seen as a utopia for democracy at its inception, is giving rise to the formation of distinct ideological blocs guided by specific political and ideological interests. These blocs are recreated online thanks to algorithms which limit the free diffusion of information. By creating information bubbles based on a little research, the audience – and in consequence media and journalists – finds itself locked into a spiral of similar news – or fake news. How can we keep online democratic discourse free from ideological interests? What is cyber-skepticism? How does the action of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) unfold in support of the media and safeguard democracy? What consequences will the development of Artificial Intelligence have in this debate?

With:

Asma Mhalla (Geopolitics of tech specialist I FR

Evgeny Morozov (Author I IT)

Andrei Petre (The Circle I RO)

Moderation: Amaelle Guiton (Libération I FR)

In co-programming with Europod , to mark the launch of the podcast Les Santiago Boys.

Building collaborative, resilient communities is at the core of a strong independent media landscape in Europe. For this, new ways of doing journalism need to be designed and discussed. The Circle is a first answer to the sector’s renewal. It is a new approach to cross-border journalism and collaboration. By bringing together creatives, journalists & media entrepreneurs to set up the next generation of collaborative media hubs, the project proposes a new vision for the European media landscape, more inclusive, cross-border, and collaborative. This crossborder collaborative approach also aims at building bridges between legacy media and new media organisations to explore the latest formats.

How can this vision be spread in a more effective way across Europe? What challenges are crossing these practices? How can we elaborate solutions to these challenges to better navigate these spaces? How to better enhance these collaborations to make European independent media more balanced and represented?

With:

Christina Lee (Hostwriter / Unbias the News I US / DE)

Lara Rindt (n-ost I DE)

Rimma Sammir (Are we Europe I KZ)

Clarisse Teyssandier (Arty Farty I FR)

Moderation: Sabrina Faramarzi (Are We Europe I UK / DE)

Dive into the rich tapestry of European storytelling at our Radio Lab, an integral part of our crossborder collaboration-focused media event. Immerse yourself in the diverse world of European podcasts through captivating presentations, riveting extracts, and exclusive mini-interviews with the brilliant minds behind the shows. Join us in exploring the significance of podcasts in the European media landscape, celebrating the vast array of formats and topics that make this medium a dynamic force in storytelling.

With:

Marie-Yemta Moussanang (Independent researcher I FR / TD)

Karolis Vyšniauskas (NARA I LT)

Laetitia Chabannes (Europe et Sentiment I FR)

Zsofi Borsi (Lazy Women I HU)

Ricardo Esteves Ribeiros (Fumaça I PT)