TEACH YOU, TEACH ME: A RESEARCH ON THE PRESENCE AND POTENTIAL FOR ALTERNATIVE USES OF TECHNOLOGY IN EVERYDAY LIFE, ON THE STREETS OF BELGRADE

Make me! festival will feature a series of workshops on building and using different DIY devices, with a critical reflection on the presence of technology in public space. The workshops are intended for tech-savvy women and girls but also enthusiasts of all genders with no previous knowledge. Artists and activists gathered around independent, self-organised initiatives from the Netherlands, Austria and Serbia will teach a wide range of subjects, from listening to electromagnetic waves and analysis of wireless internet traffic to the use of satellite signal for GPS and solar energy. The attendants will learn how to make and modify devices for receiving and storing the data they gather. Through one and two days workshops where “everyone teaches everyone”, we will explore the presence of technology on the streets of Belgrade. We will play with the potential of alternative uses of technology in everyday life.

The main goal is to question what is given and imposed by the technology, through an approach on the intersection between technology, art and activism. The workshops are meant to enable and encourage the participants to work with everyday technology and adapt it to their needs. They are not expected to show high technical literacy but curiousity to get to know and possibly modify technology that is available to everyone.

The target group are primarily girls with an experience in some kind of activism and an interest in art and technology. It is expected from the participants to share the interest in ‘breaking the box’ and ‘looking inside’, and to have an affinity towards learning new skills. One of important outcomes of this programme will be to create and strengthen a network that would connect the ones who are active on this scene. Through this network, we expect to be able to can support each other even long after the events have ended.

The workshops will take place over the course of 4 days, with two or three workshops sometimes running in parallel. The main programme is meant for women only. It is thought of as a ‘women for women’ exchange of knowledge. The programme would be open in its parts for participation of everyone interested, with the idea to open up our activities and content to everyone we are sharing our everyday environment with, because this is what the workshops are about.