On 17.-18.1.2020, the HOW TO ACT Symposium at the HBK Braunschweig took place, organised by the MA students of the course Transformation Design at the same university. The course is based on a transdisciplinary approach which aims to explore how designers can contribute to the societal transformation towards more desirable futures.
The symposium was divided into the following three strands: Gestaltungsgegenstände (what to design), Ressourcen (resources), and Betriebssysteme (operating systems). Invited guest speakers included Bianca Elzenbaumer (comunFare/Brave New Alps), Christian Grauvogel (Bündnis digitale Stadt Berlin), Anke Strauß (Working Utopias) in the first strand; Arved Bünning, Folke Köbberling, and Marco Clausen (Prinzessinengarten) in the second; and art collective Muerbe & Droege/ Andrea Vetter (Haus des Wandels), Martin Pairet (European Alternatives), and Tatjana Schneider in the third. The panels were followed by open spaces on the second day of the symposium, where, amongst others, questions on queer-feminist strategies in (wage) labour and (infra)structures for overcoming our (economic) system were discussed.
Thanks to all the people involved in organising and making possible this event. Let’s continue the discussion