October 1st and 2nd 2022, Berlin - Evening kick-off event on September 30th

Deadline Registration: June 21st 2022
Contact for questions: cfp@bits-und-baeume.org

We connect communities and stand up for political change in the interaction of digitalisation and sustainability. Support the movement with your contribtion to the conference.

After the successful Bits & Bäume Conference in 2018 the topics of digitalisation and sustainability are more present than ever within our society. For the purpose of achieving a fair and sustainable design of our world as well as our environment we are facing big societal and global challenges. That‘s why we want to stabilse and extend the collaboration between environmental- and social justice activists, technical experts and human rights activists via the conference Bits & Bäume 2022 which will take place from September 30th until October 2nd. In order to find common solutions for the pressing questions of our time one of our main goals is to initiate networking opportunities for communities and representatives of socially and ecologically oriented small companies, start-ups and founders. We want to discuss major political strategies and governance proposals, but also learn from each other through best practice examples on how to achieve climate and environmental protection, social justice, democracy and fundamental rights in our digital age.

Together in panel discussions, workshops and open spaces we want to reflect on how to take action and how to specifically implement sustainable digitalisation.

Our key questions are:

1. How should digitalisation be shaped in a way that it contributes to a sustainable and democratic transformation of our society?
2. What does a globally, economically, socially and ecologically just future look like in the digitalised world?
3. What can the tech community (bits) and the justice and environmental movement (bäume) learn from each other? And how can those communities get in touch with social-ecological pioneer companies, science and politics?
4. How can we become politically active together?

With this Call for Participation, we call on people from civic organisations and progressive players within science, economy and politics to help shape the conference with their own contributions! We are looking forward to various diverse and creative topics and formats. Possible formats include discussion rounds, lightning talks, project presentations, campaign planning, (hands-on) workshops, activist info tables, installations, film screenings, hackathons, design thinking sessions, interviews, live podcasts, small group work, cultural formats, world cafés, craft workshops, art performances, design elements or anything else creative and innovative you can think of!

In addition to all the stages and spaces of the broad call (1) we are also inviting initiatives and organisations to present themselves and their projects in our B&B-Forum to share knowledge and to engage with one another (2). Furthermore, we would like to welcome contributions from the business world with innovative approaches to the challenges described in this call (3). Therefore there will be three different formats: contributions to the programme, B&B-Forum and Pitch & Thrive for Sustainability.

1. Programme Contribution

Topics at Bits & Bäume cover all content at the interface of sustainability and digitalisation. They range from cross-linked mobility to the raw material and power requirements for digital devices, data sufficiency and cooperative platform economies to smart energy networks or monopolisation tendencies in the digital economy. Topics should be looked at from many different perspectives. What needs to be stopped, created or maintained? What lacks thoughtful criticism and who should be talking with whom? We‘re very much looking forward to hear your ideas! As a suggestion, here are some of the aspects that seem important to us, but do not look at them as a limit.

• Economy and Resources
• New social Question (“New social Deal”)
• Social Compatibility, Technology Design and Sovereignty
• Property, power and democracy in the age of knowledge
• Global north-south question
• Digitalisation and climate protection
• Smart new public, society and democracy
• Digital und sustainable – transformative business models

2. The B&B-Forum

We are going to offer a creative space within the conference where initiatives/organisations/ institutions/networks/start-ups etc. can be present and active on site. That way there will also be room for common areas of exchange beyond the programme. For this simply select Forum as the format. Hackathon or soldering sessions or the arrangement of networking corners, an info sofa or micro-exhibitions are some suggestions on how to design your space at B&B-Forum.
Note: We will provide space, table(s) and chairs but you will have to manage your own space.

3. Pitch & Thrive for Sustainability

The future belongs to sustainable business models. Save yourself expensive consultants and present your start-up, your challenge or your idea to a panel of selected experts and our community. Shark Tank in green aka Dragon's Den though sustainable and without a camera.
Are you or your company working in the IT sector, do you want to master a sustainability challenge and use digital technologies to do so? Would you like to know how sustainable you are? Do you want experts to take a closer look at your business model? If any or all of these things apply then you‘re in the right place at Pitch & Thrive for Sustainability – this year‘s special format for sustainable start-ups and/or alternative and ecologically oriented small and medium-sized enterprises.
During the conference we will offer daily slots where you can pitch your project, start-up, small business or simply your idea to a selected panel and to the Bits & Bäume community (Pitch - 10 min). Afterwards you will get valuable feedback and follow-up questions on the sustainability of your venture, but of course also on the potential profitability of your business case. An evaluation will be given by selected jurors and the audience (Thrive - 20 min).

We're looking forward to your submissions!

This Call for Papers closed on 2022-06-21 23:59 (Europe/Berlin).