- Wolfgang Kaleck, General Secretary, European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights
- Eyal Weizman, Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow, Robert Bosch Academy; Director, Forensic Architecture
Program
2:00 pm Introduction and talk
2:30 pm Reception, tour and networking
5:00 pm End
About
The defining characteristic of our era is a sustained attack by “counter-factual” neo-fascists groups against state institutions and judiciaries. A common response has been to cling to those traditional pillars of power-knowledge. But how should civil society react when those institutions themselves are responsible for crimes, state-terror and cover-ups? What is to be done when the necessary struggle has two fronts: both for independent verification and against institutional knowledge?
The Investigative Commons seeks to address this crisis by socializing the development and deployment of “counter-forensic” evidence. Initiated by Forensic Architecture (FA), FORENSIS and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), this community of practice works to expose state and corporate violence. Its investigations combine the situated knowledge of communities at the forefront of political struggle with the toolkits of investigative reporters, whistleblowers, activists, lawyers, scientists, artists, architects, and other cultural practitioners. All are working towards decisive casework that confronts urgent issues: border regimes, cyber-surveillance, environmental destruction and the persistence of colonial violence.
At this Open Day, the Investigative Commons will introduce their ambitious plan for a hub of investigative practices dealing with some of Germany's and Europe’s urgent questions: racist violence against migrants along the borders and in our cities and reparation for colonial crimes amongst others. They will introduce the team, show the offices and demonstrate some of the methods. The Open Day takes place a day before the Investigative Commons conference at Haus der Kulturen der Welt.
Registration for this event is closed.