40C3 is moving. Just around the corner. Come and help pack up
tl;dr: The Congress is staying in Hamburg, but is moving from the CCH to the exhibition centre. With the extra space, we aim to reduce overcrowding and support a return to decentralisation. The best way for us to achieve this is if you form tribes and alliances and help us design the new spaces for 40C3.
An Introspection
Having already rocked eight Congresses together at the CCH, we have to face up to a few realities: the Congress has clearly outgrown the building. We can see this in the people who’d love to take part but can’t get a ticket, or – if they’ve managed to get hold of one – can’t find space at the event for their installations or projects. In short: we’ve played through all CCH’s levels and successfully filled up nearly all creative vacuums.
The venue has been a real lifesaver, particularly after the COVID-19 hiatus: following the boundless freedom offered by the vast halls of the Leipzig Exhibition Centre – which required well-coordinated teams – we found the CCH once again equipped with ready-made stages, a continuous line of lockable rooms and all the luxuries that conference centres simply provide. This allowed us to focus fully on the community and the content once again, without being overwhelmed by the logistics. But now that muscle memory has returned to all our teams and we’re making use of every nook and cranny of the venue, the limitations of this location are also becoming apparent.
We have moved into a situation where we are now managing more than we are creating, and this has inevitably led to an increasing centralisation of decision-making – mostly involving rejecting proposals. But Chaos is a big fan of decentralisation, and all our events thrive on new and experienced members of the community who bring creative ideas and a burning desire to make things happen. We’ve found it increasingly difficult to give these important impulses, from both inside and outside, the space they deserve.
The Congress is now a flurry of activity in every corner. That’s brilliant, and anyone who fancies it can stock up on months’ worth of experiences in just four days. Yet at the same time, the Congress is a flurry of activity in every corner. This is also stressful; the space to take a breather, sit together in peace and make plans has shrunk. We can see that the density of people per cubic metre has risen to a level that is increasingly pushing parts of our community to their breaking point.
In order to maintain the familiar and much-loved structures and infrastructure within the community – which are already struggling to keep up well ahead of the Congress – following the move from the Leipzig Exhibition Centre, we’ve recently had to make cutbacks across the board: fewer lecture theatres, fewer quiet rooms, less party space and a lounge situated a little further away.
What now – and where to now?
Over the past few years, we have therefore been on the lookout for venues that could offer a fresh conference experience – all of which have to measure up to the CCH – and we have now made our decision for 40C3: we’re moving to the halls of Messe Hamburg, just round the corner.
We’ve grown fond of Hamburg as a city and want to stay there. Conveniently, the Hamburg Exhibition Centre is right in the heart of the city; we could already see it from the CCH, and we’ll have access to tried-and-tested infrastructure within walking distance. Getting there, accommodation, finding food: you’re already well versed in all of this. Organisational structures, logistical experience, support collectives: we’re already well versed in all of this.
At the same time, we want to put the wealth of experience we’ve gained at Messe Leipzig to good use to make the most of the new venue. We believe that Messe Hamburg offers the best of both worlds: radical freedom and the infrastructural advantages of a central location.
Leipzig’s lessons learned
We’re not just moving into larger halls; we’re packed with a wealth of experience from three years in Leipzig on how to creatively tackle the challenges posed by bare, grey exhibition halls. Because, as you know the character of the Congress, you’ll also know that we view bare walls as a ‘framework that simply hasn’t been sufficiently designed yet’.
In the same way, we want to structurally design the halls for you in advance, rather than simply filling them up. We deliberately create neighbourhoods that offer a sense of security on the one hand, whilst at the same time providing the freedom to encounter the community in all its facets as you wander around, without feeling lost in the halls. We don’t just want ‘more space’; we want to create deliberately designed open spaces, whilst enriching them with infrastructure that provides a framework.
Although the fair tempts us with many more halls and thus more space to let off steam, we’re deliberately choosing not to use all the halls at first, but to grow very gently so that the Congress can breathe, to preserve the spirit of our community, and to manage both the pressure from crowd density and the pressure from ticket numbers in a measured way. Because let’s be honest: simply welcoming more participants doesn’t in itself make a community.
We know that ‘more space’ can also mean ‘longer distances’, and we want to ensure that every journey becomes an experience worth having by providing plenty of space everywhere to sit down, meet up, relax and chat.
We don’t see the exhibition centre as an end in itself, but as a canvas for our ideas.
What lies ahead for us
One of the main goals of the move is to provide the whole community with a much larger playground: from winding nooks and crannies to huge, unoccupied spaces, there’s everything our decentralised groups could wish for. And from the individual soldering station to Speakers’ Corner, from the Habitat to the project table, from Erfa karaoke to Bobby Car races, it’s now up to you to turn participants into enthusiastic accomplices whom we can welcome back next year – but then as angels and upcoming hackers.
And at its core, the Congress will remain what it is: you’ll still search in vain for sales stalls, hawkers’ trays with free samples and marketing spiel, and all creative displays – except billboards – are welcome.
We’re delighted that, with the space available at the exhibition centre, the central organising team’s space requirements no longer compete with those of the decentralised groups: On the one hand, more stages will give the main stage programme more breathing space and allow it to cover a broader range of topics. At the same time, Habitats can reclaim their freedom and design their own spaces – both physically and, crucially, in terms of content – with their own programme full of workshops, talks and parties.
The teams of volunteers, who in recent years have had to ‘dance ballet in a straitjacket’, will be given space to flourish and retreat so as not to burn out. And finally, there will be much more scope for art, culture, and both official and unofficial discos.
Keeping things possible
Keeping our events open and accessible does not simply mean increasing ticket quotas. We are aware that traditional trade fair prices are unaffordable for many of us. As we consider the diversity within our community to be of immeasurable value, we have been able to preserve the unique spirit of the Congress over the years through a combination of ‘Friends’ and ‘Solidarity’ tickets.
That is why it was clear to us from the outset that moving to the exhibition centre must not result in higher admission prices. For this reason, we have fought hard in negotiations with the exhibition centre to secure terms that ensure the move does not lead to any price hikes. We can therefore expand our venue without having to pass on the costs to the community.
That said: having done everything in our power over recent years to cushion the impact of rising costs and not pass them on to you, this leeway has now largely been exhausted. However, we will not increase admission prices beyond the rate of inflation.
So let’s get started: start preparing now to play a bigger part in shaping the event once again. Form groups that want to shine at the Congress with their own neighbourhoods, projects, activities, stalls and glorious, exquisite Fug.
Later in the year, as usual, we’ll be opening calls for participation for visual artists, DJs, VJs, bands, workshops, angels and speakers. But if you already have ideas for your space and want to create something exciting with the extra room available, get in touch with us at 40c3-assemblies@cccv.de!