How can art, entrepreneurship and civil society thrive in an age of “hypernow”, short attentions spans and tl;dr ("too long; didn't read")? While society is undergoing a transformation, is it utopian for the digital society to find a common ground in tackling challenges? Our opening session addresses re:publica’s core mission of connecting the dots of a global republic.

New technologies have dramatically changed the way culture is consumed in the 21st century. While cultural artifacts have become globally available, there are now fewer reasons to physically visit museums; digital projects are providing new ways to access culture, shifting the focus from the consumer to the prosumer.

We know that stories shape the way we look at the world and other people. What’s more, they determine what actions we take. Stories have sparked crusades, revolutions and genocides. With Virtual Reality creators can impact audiences like never before. How do we use this power? What types of stories do we tell?

Rapid progress in the fields of biotech and implant technology are changing the human body as we know it. Tech companies, governments and body-hacker communities around the globe are attempting to push the boundaries of homo sapiens, bringing up new questions about the direction human progress will take in the future.

Today’s digital devices and apps are both powerful and powerfully distracting. Learn in this workshop how you can retune your daily use of digital devices.

How do we reimagine sports and leisure for the climate crisis? How do we experience the American wilderness without gas-guzzling cars? How to we fill our lives with fun and entertainment without giant server-farms busting the planet's energy budget? Solarpunk is a sci-fi genre that depicts what a sustainable world might look like, and envisions the joys and struggles on the way to building it. Climate fiction writer Andrew Dana Hudson gives a tour of low-carbon leisure in solarpunk.