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International
Futur en Seine presents a unique and pioneering international program and perspective. It stands alone in its open, inclusive and interactive format, bringing together leading international visionaries, thinkers, creatives and practitioners with “grass-roots” interaction and public participation. At the same time, the festival offers the international visitor a uniquely broad and mixed program, with conferences, exhibitions, prototypes, and demonstrations, also in English, and free of charge across the city.
During the festival there will be ample opportunity for international visitors to present innovative technology, prototypes and services and explore new research, development and business opportunities.
The festival also has a profound social and ethical perspective. At a time of global economic crisis, doubt in the future, and lack of trust in traditional social and economic institutions, the international festival and conference will focus not only technological progress and services in the city, but also on the social and ethical potential of media to (re)establish trust and collaboration between the "grass-roots" public, digital research and development, government and business.
The social and ethical impact of digital media and information technology on the structure, form and experience of life in the city of the future, from new products, services, tools, applications, to our physical and virtual space and relationships, is a subject of concern throughout the world.
The international program of Futur en Seine addresses this concern directly. Over the festival, the Futur en Seine international program will bring together renowned international thinkers and visionaries with creatives and practitioners from leading European (and US) cities to discuss new approaches and prototypes, design new blue-prints, and formulate recommendations for a more “livable”, humane, and sustainable digital city of the future.
The International "Futur en Seine" Program
Within this context, the international program will focus throughout the festival on certain central themes, which will directly affect the lives of the citizen in the next few years. These include:
- Mobility
- Space, Security, Trust
- Collaborate Design, Mapping Complex networks across cultures and social layers
- Environmental and Social Sustainability
To open the international program on 30th/31st May, leading international thinkers will address these themes at the World Information City, which has chosen to hold its major annual event in Paris, with such eminent speakers as Saskia Sassen (US/NL), Stephen Graham (UK), Bruno Latour (FR), John Urry (UK), Carlo Ratti (IT/US), Solomon Benjamin (IN), Eyal Weizman (IL), Christophe Aguiton (FR), Dominique Cardon (FR), and Brian Holmes (US). This major event promises new insight and debate at the highest international level, and is a fitting way in which to open the international festival.
These themes are addressed throughout the following days in a wide and colourful range of conferences, exhibitions, prototypes and demonstrations throughout the city and region, with diverse cultural, artistic and media-related perspectives. On an international level, events in English will include ongoing workshops and presentations on such subjects as geo-localization and cultural mapping, audio-visual and open software innovation, and architectural experimentation in the WikiPlaza on the Place de la Bastille. The "Immaterial" Digital Season in the Maison des Métallos hosts such events as the “Arctic Perspective Initiative”, focusing on an international project to design a mobile, media-centric facility, life-support habitation and work module with renewable energy supply, waste cycling and communications systems, and a range of other international exhibitions, conferences and performances. To the north of the city in Saint-Ouen, Mains D’Oeuvres hosts the "Mal au Pixel" (Pixelache) International Festival of Electronic Art and Culture, featuring installations, performing arts, meetings, workshops and concerts around the themes of public space, urban electronics and ecology. The list of international events continues with Eurodigimeet, featuring key players from the Digital Industries, and Read Digital at the Bourse de Commerce, Dimension 3: The future of 3D at the Centre National de la Danse, Peter Greenaway’s "Tulse Luper VJ Tour" at the Bains Numériques in Enghien-les-Bains, and many more diverse and fascinating spectacles.
The international festival culminates in Cap Digital’s international event "World Future Digital City@FenS", under the heading "The Digital City in the Next Five Years", which takes place over two days in the inspirational setting of the refurbished Hermes factory, in the historic heart of the city, near the Place de la Bastille.