Call for Submissions | twentyfifty: Utopias for a democratic society (Deadline: 15 June)
Dear network, The Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) and Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD) are inviting researchers at all career stages (at least final PhD phase) and from all disciplines worldwide to imagine democratic visions for the year 2050 in a narrative or essayistic form. Selected authors will be invited to an international writing retreat. Their stories will be published as a collection. Democracy is not a fixed construct, but an evolving practice, a negotiation, constantly in transformation. Yet much of democratic theory describes what is, where it comes from and not what could be. With the twentififty *essay competition*, we ask researchers to do something different: to use their expertise not to analyse the present or past, but to imagine the future. What might democratic life look like in 2050? And what kind of democracy do we want to live in? *Submissions (max. 1,000 words, English language) should connect to the following, overlapping areas:* *• Living, belonging, and community* *• Knowledge and learning* *• Work and purpose* *• Governing, participation, and public administration* *• Security and freedom* Additionally, your submission should include a paragraph on how this narrative relates to your own research, as well as your three most recent publications. Selection criteria include originality, research grounding, narrative potential, and democratic relevance. If selected by the review panel of researchers and storytelling experts, 10–12 submitting authors will be invited to a 3-day *international writing retreat* (in/around *Berlin* from *7–10 October 2026*), hosted by Dr. Nataliia Sokolovska, to develop their narratives towards a collective publication. *Deadline for submission: 15 June 2026* For further details on the call and ways to submit, please refer to the call's page: https://www.hiig.de/en/call-for-submissions-twentyfifty/ If you have any questions on the essay competition, feel free to reach out to Dr. Nataliia Sokolovska (nataliia.sokolosvka@hiig.de) and Sarah Spitz ( sarah.spitz@hiig.de). We look forward to your submissions! Kind regards HIIG -- Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft gGmbH Französische Straße 9 · 10117 Berlin T +49 30 200 760 82 · F +49 30 206 089 60 · www.hiig.de <http://www.hiig.de/> · Bluesky <https://bsky.app/profile/hiigberlin.bsky.social> · Instagram <https://www.instagram.com/hiigberlin/> · LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/school/hiigberlin/> Gesellschaftssitz Berlin | Amtsgericht Berlin Charlottenburg | HRB 140911B | USt-ID DE 291 151 171 Forschungsdirektorium: Prof. Dr. Jeanette Hofmann (Geschäftsführung) · Prof. Dr. Björn Scheuermann · Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer · Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz | Geschäftsführung: Dr. Karina Preiß
Greetings from Nairobi. At this rate, good Kenya will go very far -- but in the wrong direction. Shared just in case It would be an interesting research case study? regards, Alex
Dear network,
The Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) and Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD) are inviting researchers at all career stages (at least final PhD phase) and from all disciplines worldwide to imagine democratic visions for the year 2050 in a narrative or essayistic form. Selected authors will be invited to an international writing retreat. Their stories will be published as a collection.
Democracy is not a fixed construct, but an evolving practice, a negotiation, constantly in transformation. Yet much of democratic theory describes what is, where it comes from and not what could be. With the twentififty *essay competition*, we ask researchers to do something different: to use their expertise not to analyse the present or past, but to imagine the future. What might democratic life look like in 2050? And what kind of democracy do we want to live in?
*Submissions (max. 1,000 words, English language) should connect to the following, overlapping areas:*
*• Living, belonging, and community* *• Knowledge and learning* *• Work and purpose* *• Governing, participation, and public administration* *• Security and freedom*
Additionally, your submission should include a paragraph on how this narrative relates to your own research, as well as your three most recent publications. Selection criteria include originality, research grounding, narrative potential, and democratic relevance. If selected by the review panel of researchers and storytelling experts, 10–12 submitting authors will be invited to a 3-day *international writing retreat* (in/around *Berlin* from *7–10 October 2026*), hosted by Dr. Nataliia Sokolovska, to develop their narratives towards a collective publication.
*Deadline for submission: 15 June 2026*
For further details on the call and ways to submit, please refer to the call's page: https://www.hiig.de/en/call-for-submissions-twentyfifty/
If you have any questions on the essay competition, feel free to reach out to Dr. Nataliia Sokolovska (nataliia.sokolosvka@hiig.de) and Sarah Spitz ( sarah.spitz@hiig.de).
We look forward to your submissions!
Kind regards HIIG
-- Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft gGmbH Französische Straße 9 · 10117 Berlin T +49 30 200 760 82 · F +49 30 206 089 60 · www.hiig.de <http://www.hiig.de/> · Bluesky <https://bsky.app/profile/hiigberlin.bsky.social> · Instagram <https://www.instagram.com/hiigberlin/> · LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/school/hiigberlin/> Gesellschaftssitz Berlin | Amtsgericht Berlin Charlottenburg | HRB 140911B | USt-ID DE 291 151 171 Forschungsdirektorium: Prof. Dr. Jeanette Hofmann (Geschäftsführung) · Prof. Dr. Björn Scheuermann · Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer · Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz | Geschäftsführung: Dr. Karina Preiß
Very interesting! I strongly recommend interested researchers to consider: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EXb1a-ZXSZA On Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 3:25 PM NoC @HIIG via netsociety < netsociety@server-nexa.polito.it> wrote:
Dear network,
The Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) and Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD) are inviting researchers at all career stages (at least final PhD phase) and from all disciplines worldwide to imagine democratic visions for the year 2050 in a narrative or essayistic form. Selected authors will be invited to an international writing retreat. Their stories will be published as a collection.
Democracy is not a fixed construct, but an evolving practice, a negotiation, constantly in transformation. Yet much of democratic theory describes what is, where it comes from and not what could be. With the twentififty *essay competition*, we ask researchers to do something different: to use their expertise not to analyse the present or past, but to imagine the future. What might democratic life look like in 2050? And what kind of democracy do we want to live in?
*Submissions (max. 1,000 words, English language) should connect to the following, overlapping areas:*
*• Living, belonging, and community* *• Knowledge and learning* *• Work and purpose* *• Governing, participation, and public administration* *• Security and freedom*
Additionally, your submission should include a paragraph on how this narrative relates to your own research, as well as your three most recent publications. Selection criteria include originality, research grounding, narrative potential, and democratic relevance. If selected by the review panel of researchers and storytelling experts, 10–12 submitting authors will be invited to a 3-day *international writing retreat* (in/around *Berlin* from *7–10 October 2026*), hosted by Dr. Nataliia Sokolovska, to develop their narratives towards a collective publication.
*Deadline for submission: 15 June 2026*
For further details on the call and ways to submit, please refer to the call's page: https://www.hiig.de/en/call-for-submissions-twentyfifty/
If you have any questions on the essay competition, feel free to reach out to Dr. Nataliia Sokolovska (nataliia.sokolosvka@hiig.de) and Sarah Spitz ( sarah.spitz@hiig.de).
We look forward to your submissions!
Kind regards HIIG
-- Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft gGmbH Französische Straße 9 · 10117 Berlin T +49 30 200 760 82 · F +49 30 206 089 60 · www.hiig.de <http://www.hiig.de/> · Bluesky <https://bsky.app/profile/hiigberlin.bsky.social> · Instagram <https://www.instagram.com/hiigberlin/> · LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/school/hiigberlin/>
Gesellschaftssitz Berlin | Amtsgericht Berlin Charlottenburg | HRB 140911B | USt-ID DE 291 151 171 Forschungsdirektorium: Prof. Dr. Jeanette Hofmann (Geschäftsführung) · Prof. Dr. Björn Scheuermann · Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer · Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz | Geschäftsführung: Dr. Karina Preiß _______________________________________________ netsociety mailing list -- netsociety@server-nexa.polito.it To unsubscribe send an email to netsociety-leave@server-nexa.polito.it
.... alongside.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOgWxc0wjuE Greetings from complicated Kenya... On Mon, Jun 22, 2026, 2:16 PM Alex Gakuru <gakuru@gmail.com> wrote:
Very interesting!
I strongly recommend interested researchers to consider:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EXb1a-ZXSZA
On Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 3:25 PM NoC @HIIG via netsociety < netsociety@server-nexa.polito.it> wrote:
Dear network,
The Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) and Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD) are inviting researchers at all career stages (at least final PhD phase) and from all disciplines worldwide to imagine democratic visions for the year 2050 in a narrative or essayistic form. Selected authors will be invited to an international writing retreat. Their stories will be published as a collection.
Democracy is not a fixed construct, but an evolving practice, a negotiation, constantly in transformation. Yet much of democratic theory describes what is, where it comes from and not what could be. With the twentififty *essay competition*, we ask researchers to do something different: to use their expertise not to analyse the present or past, but to imagine the future. What might democratic life look like in 2050? And what kind of democracy do we want to live in?
*Submissions (max. 1,000 words, English language) should connect to the following, overlapping areas:*
*• Living, belonging, and community* *• Knowledge and learning* *• Work and purpose* *• Governing, participation, and public administration* *• Security and freedom*
Additionally, your submission should include a paragraph on how this narrative relates to your own research, as well as your three most recent publications. Selection criteria include originality, research grounding, narrative potential, and democratic relevance. If selected by the review panel of researchers and storytelling experts, 10–12 submitting authors will be invited to a 3-day *international writing retreat* (in/around *Berlin* from *7–10 October 2026*), hosted by Dr. Nataliia Sokolovska, to develop their narratives towards a collective publication.
*Deadline for submission: 15 June 2026*
For further details on the call and ways to submit, please refer to the call's page: https://www.hiig.de/en/call-for-submissions-twentyfifty/
If you have any questions on the essay competition, feel free to reach out to Dr. Nataliia Sokolovska (nataliia.sokolosvka@hiig.de) and Sarah Spitz ( sarah.spitz@hiig.de).
We look forward to your submissions!
Kind regards HIIG
-- Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft gGmbH Französische Straße 9 · 10117 Berlin T +49 30 200 760 82 · F +49 30 206 089 60 · www.hiig.de <http://www.hiig.de/> · Bluesky <https://bsky.app/profile/hiigberlin.bsky.social> · Instagram <https://www.instagram.com/hiigberlin/> · LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/school/hiigberlin/>
Gesellschaftssitz Berlin | Amtsgericht Berlin Charlottenburg | HRB 140911B | USt-ID DE 291 151 171 Forschungsdirektorium: Prof. Dr. Jeanette Hofmann (Geschäftsführung) · Prof. Dr. Björn Scheuermann · Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer · Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz | Geschäftsführung: Dr. Karina Preiß _______________________________________________ netsociety mailing list -- netsociety@server-nexa.polito.it To unsubscribe send an email to netsociety-leave@server-nexa.polito.it
.. Of course (and with all due respect to my especial Brazilian friends) I could be wrong, I stand guided. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bg1sT4ILG0w On Mon, Jun 22, 2026, 2:56 PM Alex Gakuru <gakuru@gmail.com> wrote:
.... alongside..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOgWxc0wjuE
Greetings from complicated Kenya...
On Mon, Jun 22, 2026, 2:16 PM Alex Gakuru <gakuru@gmail.com> wrote:
Very interesting!
I strongly recommend interested researchers to consider:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EXb1a-ZXSZA
On Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 3:25 PM NoC @HIIG via netsociety < netsociety@server-nexa.polito.it> wrote:
Dear network,
The Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) and Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD) are inviting researchers at all career stages (at least final PhD phase) and from all disciplines worldwide to imagine democratic visions for the year 2050 in a narrative or essayistic form. Selected authors will be invited to an international writing retreat. Their stories will be published as a collection.
Democracy is not a fixed construct, but an evolving practice, a negotiation, constantly in transformation. Yet much of democratic theory describes what is, where it comes from and not what could be. With the twentififty *essay competition*, we ask researchers to do something different: to use their expertise not to analyse the present or past, but to imagine the future. What might democratic life look like in 2050? And what kind of democracy do we want to live in?
*Submissions (max. 1,000 words, English language) should connect to the following, overlapping areas:*
*• Living, belonging, and community* *• Knowledge and learning* *• Work and purpose* *• Governing, participation, and public administration* *• Security and freedom*
Additionally, your submission should include a paragraph on how this narrative relates to your own research, as well as your three most recent publications. Selection criteria include originality, research grounding, narrative potential, and democratic relevance. If selected by the review panel of researchers and storytelling experts, 10–12 submitting authors will be invited to a 3-day *international writing retreat* (in/around *Berlin* from *7–10 October 2026*), hosted by Dr. Nataliia Sokolovska, to develop their narratives towards a collective publication.
*Deadline for submission: 15 June 2026*
For further details on the call and ways to submit, please refer to the call's page: https://www.hiig.de/en/call-for-submissions-twentyfifty/
If you have any questions on the essay competition, feel free to reach out to Dr. Nataliia Sokolovska (nataliia.sokolosvka@hiig.de) and Sarah Spitz ( sarah.spitz@hiig.de).
We look forward to your submissions!
Kind regards HIIG
-- Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft gGmbH Französische Straße 9 · 10117 Berlin T +49 30 200 760 82 · F +49 30 206 089 60 · www.hiig.de <http://www.hiig.de/> · Bluesky <https://bsky.app/profile/hiigberlin.bsky.social> · Instagram <https://www.instagram.com/hiigberlin/> · LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/school/hiigberlin/>
Gesellschaftssitz Berlin | Amtsgericht Berlin Charlottenburg | HRB 140911B | USt-ID DE 291 151 171 Forschungsdirektorium: Prof. Dr. Jeanette Hofmann (Geschäftsführung) · Prof. Dr. Björn Scheuermann · Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer · Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz | Geschäftsführung: Dr. Karina Preiß _______________________________________________ netsociety mailing list -- netsociety@server-nexa.polito.it To unsubscribe send an email to netsociety-leave@server-nexa.polito.it
Professor William Fisher, God bless you. Let me shut up now. pamoja! On Mon, Jun 22, 2026, 2:16 PM Alex Gakuru <gakuru@gmail.com> wrote:
Very interesting!
I strongly recommend interested researchers to consider:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EXb1a-ZXSZA
On Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 3:25 PM NoC @HIIG via netsociety < netsociety@server-nexa.polito.it> wrote:
Dear network,
The Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) and Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD) are inviting researchers at all career stages (at least final PhD phase) and from all disciplines worldwide to imagine democratic visions for the year 2050 in a narrative or essayistic form. Selected authors will be invited to an international writing retreat. Their stories will be published as a collection.
Democracy is not a fixed construct, but an evolving practice, a negotiation, constantly in transformation. Yet much of democratic theory describes what is, where it comes from and not what could be. With the twentififty *essay competition*, we ask researchers to do something different: to use their expertise not to analyse the present or past, but to imagine the future. What might democratic life look like in 2050? And what kind of democracy do we want to live in?
*Submissions (max. 1,000 words, English language) should connect to the following, overlapping areas:*
*• Living, belonging, and community* *• Knowledge and learning* *• Work and purpose* *• Governing, participation, and public administration* *• Security and freedom*
Additionally, your submission should include a paragraph on how this narrative relates to your own research, as well as your three most recent publications. Selection criteria include originality, research grounding, narrative potential, and democratic relevance. If selected by the review panel of researchers and storytelling experts, 10–12 submitting authors will be invited to a 3-day *international writing retreat* (in/around *Berlin* from *7–10 October 2026*), hosted by Dr. Nataliia Sokolovska, to develop their narratives towards a collective publication.
*Deadline for submission: 15 June 2026*
For further details on the call and ways to submit, please refer to the call's page: https://www.hiig.de/en/call-for-submissions-twentyfifty/
If you have any questions on the essay competition, feel free to reach out to Dr. Nataliia Sokolovska (nataliia.sokolosvka@hiig.de) and Sarah Spitz ( sarah.spitz@hiig.de).
We look forward to your submissions!
Kind regards HIIG
-- Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft gGmbH Französische Straße 9 · 10117 Berlin T +49 30 200 760 82 · F +49 30 206 089 60 · www.hiig.de <http://www.hiig.de/> · Bluesky <https://bsky.app/profile/hiigberlin.bsky.social> · Instagram <https://www.instagram.com/hiigberlin/> · LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/school/hiigberlin/>
Gesellschaftssitz Berlin | Amtsgericht Berlin Charlottenburg | HRB 140911B | USt-ID DE 291 151 171 Forschungsdirektorium: Prof. Dr. Jeanette Hofmann (Geschäftsführung) · Prof. Dr. Björn Scheuermann · Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer · Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz | Geschäftsführung: Dr. Karina Preiß _______________________________________________ netsociety mailing list -- netsociety@server-nexa.polito.it To unsubscribe send an email to netsociety-leave@server-nexa.polito.it
Are academics an overtly cautious bunch to possess freedom of expression? On Mon, Jun 22, 2026, 2:16 PM Alex Gakuru <gakuru@gmail.com> wrote:
Very interesting!
I strongly recommend interested researchers to consider:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EXb1a-ZXSZA
On Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 3:25 PM NoC @HIIG via netsociety < netsociety@server-nexa.polito.it> wrote:
Dear network,
The Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) and Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD) are inviting researchers at all career stages (at least final PhD phase) and from all disciplines worldwide to imagine democratic visions for the year 2050 in a narrative or essayistic form. Selected authors will be invited to an international writing retreat. Their stories will be published as a collection.
Democracy is not a fixed construct, but an evolving practice, a negotiation, constantly in transformation. Yet much of democratic theory describes what is, where it comes from and not what could be. With the twentififty *essay competition*, we ask researchers to do something different: to use their expertise not to analyse the present or past, but to imagine the future. What might democratic life look like in 2050? And what kind of democracy do we want to live in?
*Submissions (max. 1,000 words, English language) should connect to the following, overlapping areas:*
*• Living, belonging, and community* *• Knowledge and learning* *• Work and purpose* *• Governing, participation, and public administration* *• Security and freedom*
Additionally, your submission should include a paragraph on how this narrative relates to your own research, as well as your three most recent publications. Selection criteria include originality, research grounding, narrative potential, and democratic relevance. If selected by the review panel of researchers and storytelling experts, 10–12 submitting authors will be invited to a 3-day *international writing retreat* (in/around *Berlin* from *7–10 October 2026*), hosted by Dr. Nataliia Sokolovska, to develop their narratives towards a collective publication.
*Deadline for submission: 15 June 2026*
For further details on the call and ways to submit, please refer to the call's page: https://www.hiig.de/en/call-for-submissions-twentyfifty/
If you have any questions on the essay competition, feel free to reach out to Dr. Nataliia Sokolovska (nataliia.sokolosvka@hiig.de) and Sarah Spitz ( sarah.spitz@hiig.de).
We look forward to your submissions!
Kind regards HIIG
-- Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft gGmbH Französische Straße 9 · 10117 Berlin T +49 30 200 760 82 · F +49 30 206 089 60 · www.hiig.de <http://www.hiig.de/> · Bluesky <https://bsky.app/profile/hiigberlin.bsky.social> · Instagram <https://www.instagram.com/hiigberlin/> · LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/school/hiigberlin/>
Gesellschaftssitz Berlin | Amtsgericht Berlin Charlottenburg | HRB 140911B | USt-ID DE 291 151 171 Forschungsdirektorium: Prof. Dr. Jeanette Hofmann (Geschäftsführung) · Prof. Dr. Björn Scheuermann · Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer · Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz | Geschäftsführung: Dr. Karina Preiß _______________________________________________ netsociety mailing list -- netsociety@server-nexa.polito.it To unsubscribe send an email to netsociety-leave@server-nexa.polito.it
participants (2)
-
Alex Gakuru -
NoC ＠HIIG