Berlin Questions - Conference for the immediate present

11 — 14 AUGUST 2021 • Berlin and Online

News

New Speaker: Liz Diller

Liz Diller is considered one of the most renowned architects in the world. She has designed not only many famous buildings worldwide, but also the High Line Park in NYC. We are proud to welcome her as one of the speakers at Berlin questions 2021: Metropolis The New Now.

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Michael Müller hosts Berlin questions 2021

This year’s edition of Berlin questions, “Metropolis: The New Now,” is dedicated to global challenges and (municipal) solutions to “re-evaluate, re-assess and re-start” cities after the coronavirus pandemic. It will focus on the future of the metropolis and will be hosted by Michael Müller, Governing Mayor of Berlin.

See program

Tickets are available now

In 2021, Berlin questions will take place in hybrid format: both online and live at various locations in Berlin. Hurry up and save your ticket now!…

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New partner: Arts of the Working Class

Berlin questions 2021 is proud to partner up with Arts of the Working Class. The multilingual street newspaper for poverty, wealth and art is published every two months and contains contributions from artists and thinkers from different fields and countries. We look forward to learning more about the project at…

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About

Berlin questions is an annual, multi-day conference and a platform for transdisciplinary dialogue - providing ideas for structural change and collective action. Since 2017, the conference has made Berlin a home for debate, inviting politicians, journalists and artists from all over the world to address topics of global importance. This year's edition of Berlin questions, "Metropolis: The New Now," is dedicated to global challenges and (municipal) solutions to "re-evaluate, re-assess and re-start" cities after the coronavirus pandemic. It will focus on the future of the metropolis and will be hosted by Michael Müller, Governing Mayor of Berlin, from 11-14 August 2021. This year, Berlin questions will take place in hybrid format: both online and live at various locations in Berlin. Experience the conference in several different ways besides being there in person: via livestream or via cutting-edge VR technology that makes it possible to enter the conference locations in a 3D environment. The conference will cover several deep dive topics in different formats, such as dialogues, panels, keynotes or short "video flashes." In increasingly complex times, we need spaces reserved for dialogue, where today's most pressing questions can be discussed in order to provide a sense of direction. Berlin questions is such a space.

Nadia Murad, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2018 at Berlin questions 2019, Photo: Kevin McElvaney
Berlin questions 2019, Photo: Kevin McElvaney
Vicente Fox, Former President of Mexico at Berlin questions 2018, Photo: Sebastian Gabsch
Berlin questions 2019, Photo: Kevin McElvaney
Berlin questions 2019, Photo: Kevin McElvaney
Berlin questions 2017 at Schillertheater Berlin, Photo: Sebastian Gabsch
Author Nathaniel Rich at Berlin questions 2019, Photo: Kevin McElvaney
Berlin questions 2019, Photo: Kevin McElvaney

Speakers 2021

Michael Müller

Governing Mayor of Berlin

Liz Diller

Architect, artist & designer

María Inés Plaza Lazo

Founder & editor of Arts of the Working Class

Benjamin Bratton

Sociological, media, and design theorist

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Rosebell Kagumire, Editor African Feminism at Berlin questions 2019, Photo: Kevin McElvaney

Berlin and Online • 11 — 14 August 2021 • Berlin and Online • 11 — 14 August 2021 • Berlin and Online • 11 — 14 August 2021 • Berlin and Online • 11 — 14 August 2021 • Berlin and Online • 11 — 14 August 2021 • Berlin and Online • 11 — 14 August 2021 • Berlin and Online • 11 — 14 August 2021 • Berlin and Online • 11 — 14 August 2021 •

Metropolis: The new now » Get your ticket

Mayors Statement

Message from the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Michael Müller

The New Now – What does the present mean for the future? What lessons do we need to learn from the here and now in order to hit the ground running after the pandemic? What role will metropolises play in this process? And why are we asking this question in Berlin? One thing is certain: around the globe, for more than a year now, we have seen the coronavirus turn our world upside down. All spheres and all facets of the urban life we knew are under siege. As though it were a magnifying glass, the pandemic is bringing not only ordinary challenges into sharp focus, but society’s big questions as well. That’s because the pandemic struck in the midst of what were already sweeping changes – digital transformation, urbanization, and climate change – and their corollary impact on social justice, democracy, and freedom. These are all issues that still have special urgency in these pandemic times. (...)

Read the full statement

Program

Metropolis Futures

This year’s edition of Berlin questions, „Metropolis: The New Now,“ is dedicated to global challenges and (municipal) solutions to „re-evaluate, re-assess and re-start“ cities after the coronavirus pandemic. Cities are not only where the consequences of human actions are most visible, but also where new and trailblazing solutions to the…

See program - 11 Aug 2021

Urban Luxuries

Cities are the centres of creativity, diversity and science; they fulfil citizens’ need for connectivity by offering density and spontaneity. Never has the abundance of possibilities been so evident as in times of lockdown and isolation. Urban living in this sense is pure luxury. It offers possibilities in all spatial…

See program - 12 Aug 2021

Disrupted Mobilities

Many companies and political institutions tend to view mobility as a means to an end, when in reality it is the driving force of human existence: it determines where we can or cannot go, with whom we travel and what our journey looks like. It is the nexus of all…

See program - 13 Aug 2021

Civil Responsibility

The social challenges that we are currently facing are perhaps the greatest of our generation. What impact will Covid-19 have on local and international politics? Will we see a rise in nationalist tendencies as a long-term result? At the local level, confrontations, riots and hostile communication are on the rise.

See program - 14 Aug 2021

A humane world of work - in the age of intelligent machines

Dr. Max Neufeind

With the rise of advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence the role of the human being in the production process changes. Human subjectivity becomes ever more important. Constant skills development over the life course becomes a necessity. At the same time, rising productivity could set people free to engage in activities directed at others or society at large. A more humane working world is possible in the age of intelligent machines - if we set the right course today.

Culture and AI - Creatives can never be replaced by AI - or can they?

Florian Illies

Florian Illies has a remarkable talent for making creativity come alive – whether art or literature – and for bringing the past into the present. His enthusiasm for art history is as infectious as his writing. Illies, who studied “History of Taste” in Oxford, is the author of international bestsellers like “Generation Golf” and “1913: The Year Before the Storm”, which the “Guardian” called “an absolute gem of a book” and which has been translated into 28 languages. Florian Illies is the publisher of the weekly “DIE ZEIT”, founder of the art magazine “MONOPOL” and former director of the “Grisebach” auction house.

Revolutionary revelations in climate studies

Dr. Friederike Otto

Co-Developed by Friederike Otto, “Event Attribution Science” makes it possible to determine the extent to which any weather event is caused by human-made climate change. The 36-year-old is acting director at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute and leads several scientific projects as associate professor at the university’s Global Climate Science Program. Otto’s approach serves as a starting point for designating responsibility. She offers a basis for providing concrete global measures to understand and fight the impacts of climate change and discredit false information.

Sustainability as a principle of city planning

Jeffrey Inaba

Jeffrey Inaba’s city planning concepts map out a future that starts today. His work considers essential urban factors such as growing housing needs, geopolitical conditions, and sustainable environments. A key example is his planning vision project for Los Angeles in which the entire city is conceived as a continuous network of open spaces and transportation corridors with the car taking a back seat. Inaba’s approach is guided by his fundamental belief that interdisciplinary research leads to unlikely results, making unforeseen planning concepts possible. The 56-year old architect and writer is the former Features Editor of “Volume” magazine, a collaboration between “Archis”, “C-Lab” which Jeffrey founded, and “AMO”, the think tank of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), which counts Rem Koolhaas and Ellen van Loon among its partners.

Women’s empowerment through volunteer work

Suhani Jalota

Suhani Jalota’s work starts where few care to look: in the slums of Bombay. Her Myna Mahila Foundation is committed to creating equal health opportunities for men and women, encourages women to discuss hygiene education that is taboo in India and provides sanitary products. The 24- year-old started a business to produce these products while offering job opportunities to women. Over the last four years, Suhani Jalota has created a network providing education and job opportunities for increased independence. Forbes Magazine named Suhani Jalota one of their “30 under 30 Asia 2018” and since 2017, she has been carrying the designation of “Queen’s Young Leader representing India”. Her vision is set on a future in which the increased deployment of artificial intelligence allows human labourers to invest more time in volunteer work.

The Quest for Stability and Dignity in Society

Heather Brown

Heather Brown has specialised in the analysis of social issues and the development of concrete proposals for decision-makers in politics for a number of years. Her thematic focus revolves around social movements, globalisation, civil society, inequality and the question of whether Western social values need to be renegotiated. Would universal basic income contribute to people feeling more at home in the place they live? In the face of increased inequality, could UBI provide people with an increased sense of dignity and freedom? And would it require a shift in the taxation of assets to finance universal basic income? Prior to her work at Berlin’s DOC Research Institute, the 37-year-old was editor and research analyst at Istanbul’s European Stability Initiative, and researcher and media analyst at Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C.

Where is the ethical line in the development and use of AI?

Thomas Metzinger

Philosopher Thomas Metzinger has been exploring the intersection between philosophy of mind and cognitive neuroscience for many years. In addition, he deals with the ethical, anthropological and socio-cultural consequences of progress in neuroscience and artificial intelligence. Since 2018, the 61-year-old is part of the European Commission’s High Level Group on Artificial Intelligence to develop guidelines for the beneficial use of AI.

The Fight against Plastic Waste

Eugenia Chow

At the age of 18, Eugenia is the founder and leader of Bye Bye Plastic Bags Hong Kong and a passionate advocate for everyday activism. As a strong believer in social responsibility, she kickstarted this local initiative to encourage individual action and inspire policy change. Working alongside students from across the globe, she hopes to combat plastic waste while demonstrating the capacity for youth empowerment to bring about widespread change. Eugenia works as a junior reporter for South China Morning Post and is involved with Kids4Kids, developing community projects and facilitating programs that empower the youth.

A humane world of work - in the age of intelligent machines

Dr. Max Neufeind

Culture and AI - Creatives can never be replaced by AI - or can they?

Florian Illies

Revolutionary revelations in climate studies

Dr. Friederike Otto

Sustainability as a principle of city planning

Jeffrey Inaba

Women’s empowerment through volunteer work

Suhani Jalota

The Quest for Stability and Dignity in Society

Heather Brown

Where is the ethical line in the development and use of AI?

Thomas Metzinger

The Fight against Plastic Waste

Eugenia Chow

Newsletter

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Metropolis

New

The

Now

11 — 14 AUGUST 2021 • Berlin and Online

News

New Speaker: Liz Diller

Michael Müller hosts Berlin questions 2021

Tickets are available now

New partner: Arts of the Working Class

About

Speakers 2021

Michael Müller

Liz Diller

María Inés Plaza Lazo

Benjamin Bratton

Mayors Statement

Message from the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Michael Müller

Program

Metropolis Futures

Urban Luxuries

Disrupted Mobilities

Civil Responsibility

Archive

A humane world of work - in the age of intelligent machines

Culture and AI - Creatives can never be replaced by AI - or can they?

Revolutionary revelations in climate studies

Sustainability as a principle of city planning

Women’s empowerment through volunteer work

The Quest for Stability and Dignity in Society

Where is the ethical line in the development and use of AI?

The Fight against Plastic Waste

Contact