UTRECHT · in 2011 the Impakt Festival dives into the tension between the desire of openly accessible information and the urge to withhold information for others on for instance political, economical or privacy grounds. what does openness offer us and what are the possible downsides of total transparency? which set of skills do citizens need to empower themselves in this increasingly data driven society?

full schedule: during the festival politicians, artists, developers, journalists and academics face the dilemmas of the information era in symposia, innovation labs, expert meetings, civil disobedience, screenings, concerts and events. check out ticket info here.

we live in an information society in which data have become commercial goods and data are being stored and distributed in an increasingly massive manner. but how much do we need and want to know? when is it mandatory to have total transparency and when is it better to refrain from making data accessible at all or in a limited way only? how are privacy, efficiency and security balanced in this respect?

the complex nature of the issue shows that extreme positions in the debate are no longer tenable. neither radical transparency, nor strict secrecy is desirable. the main field of tension therefore seems to lie somewhere in the middle. and this is the immense playground of the festival’s explorations.

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