Ars Electronica Festival 98
INFOWAR - information. macht. krieg.
7. - 12.9.1998
Linz, Austria

Pressrelease
10.04.1998

Starting point for Netsymposium

For the first time in two languages

The official starting point for the Netsymposium INFOWAR - information.macht.krieg., the vorrunning discussion to the Ars Electronica Festival Symposium (sept 8th- 9th, Brucknerhaus Linz) takes place on April 15th 1998.

An in-depth discussion of the festival theme on the Internet as an additional feature of the program leading up to the Ars Electronica Symposium in Linz took place for the first time in 1996. The 1996 netsymposia "Memesis" as well as the 1997 "FleshFactor" online discussion served not only as a highly stimulating environment encouraging an exchange of ideas, but also as an opportunity to prepare conceptual approaches and to define views more sharply.

In accordance with the multilayered nature of this year's topic INFOWAR, we are planning to take another step forward and break out of the linear form of the discussion forum. Thus, in contrast to prior netsymposia, three experts have been invited to serve as moderators and to facilitate the discussion of the topic's key issues:

Cultural philosophy, military history and history of media

Network culture and hacker myths

Military strategies and weapons technologies

Global and digital economy

The moderators are media theoretician Dr. Friedrich A. Kittler from Berlin, the Dutch media activist and theorist Geert Lovink and Austrian armaments expert Dr. Georg Schöfbänker.

Furthermore, in order to provide participants with in-depth background information in preparation for the symposia, a comprehensive collection of material is being assembled and being made available on the Web.

In order to ensure an even more free-flowing discussion, as well as to take full advantage of the dynamics and diversity that are defining characteristics of the WWW, this year's discussion will be conducted simultaneously in two languages¬English and German. Despite the risk we thus run of irritating certain network discussion participants, the two discussion forums will not be synchronized; rather, they ought to be free to develop as two independent, equally valid versions of the network debate. Participants can subscribe to either the English or the German mailing lists¬or both. Texts and contributions are also available at http://www.aec.at/infowar/netsymposium.

Presseinformation:

Ars Electronica Festival Hauptstraße 2 4040 Linz Austria

Maria Falkinger T: ++43.732.7272Ð16 F: ++43.732.7272Ð2 maria@aec.at

Gabriele Hofer T: ++43.732.7272Ð780 F: ++43.732.7272Ð77 gabriele@aec.at