"Alles van waarde is weerloos." ("Everything valuable is defenseless.") — Lucebert Although it's Summer in The Netherlands, it feels like the country is going through a cold and grey Winter. With its empty politics of symbolism, our populist right-wing coalition destroys what civilization needs: beauty, innovation, care, trust, openness and tolerance. Its plans for draconic cuts in Dutch art funding will lead to irreparable cultural and economic damage. Dutch government spending on the arts will be severely reduced from roughly 950 to 750 million euros. These cuts are not distributed evenly: the remaining funds will be directed at traditional, established art forms and museums. The frustrate the Dutch cultural world even more, the government has also approved plans to raise sales tax on theater, cinema and concert tickets from 6% to 19%. It's time to take a stand together and fight the cultural meltdown. Please sign the petition, participate in the March for Civilization on 26 and 27 June, or do something else. Check out the Dutch Art Damage Map for an overview of all protest actions. Thank you! Image courtesy of Mediamatic, Amsterdam.
Thursday 12 May, 10:00-18:00, at Uferhallen, Berlin. Organized by Urbanophil and Architekturvideo. Click here for more information. The Internet has become the most powerful communication infrastructure developed and used by mankind. It is changing our communication habits and ways of interaction and collaboration, and opens up new ways to disseminate information and knowledge. The Internet is also changing the discussion of urban issues, the distribution of information, how actors communicate and participate in the shaping of our (built) environment. Instead of passively consuming, one can now participate, publish and network. This opens up new opportunities for civil society engagement. It is not just the technology that makes things special — much more important is the change that goes along with the societal penetration of these technologies. Its great social and communicative consequences are not yet sufficiently discussed and understood. Especially in the fields of urban planning and architecture, the possibilities and new challenges are underestimated and slowly accepted. But there is a growing group of young urban planners, architects and activists, which explore the design challenges and opportunities that derive from the digitalization of space and society. But despite these developments, the urban-architectural blogosphere is just at the beginning. Therefore a conference is organized to discuss the changes, possibilities and limits, but also the challenges. Check out the Blogging the City website to learn more about the conference.
