38C3 Community Stages – Call for Participation

➝  deutsch

The Event

The Chaos Communication Congress is the Chaos Computer Club’s (CCC) annual symposium and hacker party.

During four days between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, thousands of hackers, technology freaks, artists, and utopians get together in Hamburg to communicate, learn from each other, and party together.

The Congress is the longest running German IT security conference, the biggest European hacker gathering and grew into one of the most important conferences on digital transformation. We focus on topics such as information technology, digital security, making, and breaking. We engage in creative, sceptical discourse on the interaction between technology and society.

Community Stages

This year, there will be two stages, with programs jointly planned and selected by a Community Content Team consisting of representatives of the habitats of the 38C3.

Dates & deadlines

We offer our hand

The participants of the 38C3 are eager to challenge outdated ideas, conventional perceptions of reality, and yesterday’s approaches to tomorrow’s problems. That’s why we encourage individuals from underrepresented groups, particularly those from the Global South, to apply. We look forward to your contribution toward a just digital future.

Tracks

Diversity & Inclusion

When people are asked whether our work, social, and educational environments are already diverse enough, the answer is often neither a definitive ‘yes’ nor ‘no’. Instead, the first response is usually a counter-question: What does diversity even mean?

This session is very diverse (pun intended) and covers topics across the entire spectrum of the terms diversity and inclusion: from neurodivergences like ADHD and autism, to polyamory, choosing one’s own gender and name, to strategies against discrimination and (digital) accessibility.

What opportunities are there to foster and increase diversity and inclusion in various areas of our lives? How can people who previously withdrawn into Safe Spaces be reached? And how can technology help us achieve this?

Hack, Make & Break

Hacker culture, once a symbol of autonomy and resistance, is increasingly being diluted by commodification. Many of its achievements have been turned into commodities over the years. Maker Culture, often celebrated as a driver of innovation, is also facing growing criticism. Critical Making and Repair Culture challenge the Maker Culture as unreflective and hedonized practice by urging us to question the technologies we create and use. This raises the question of whether mere building and tinkering, without considering social implications, can truly be seen as a radical act.

“Breaking” not only means modifying devices but also reclaiming control over technology and challenging power structures. Alternative firmware like Libreboot, GNUboot, and LibreCMC give people back control of their devices, free from manufacturer control and opaque proprietary software. There are many communities that form around alternative firmware projects, as they enable different and prolonged use of technologies. (cf. OpenWRT, PostmarketOS, CHDK and many others)

Running a hack or hack+make space requires a lot of time, energy, and often money. What experiences have different spaces gathered that they would like to share with others? How much does it actually cost to maintain such a space, and where can funding, for example, be obtained? Is a Code of Conduct really necessary? And what legal structures are suitable for such a space?

Note:
At 38C3, there will be an opportunity to briefly present your own hack or hack+make space on one of our stages. No submission via Pretalx is required for this. Instead, a separate registration option for these slots will be available around mid-December.

Privacy, Anonymity & Decentralisation

The fight for privacy and anonymity is becoming increasingly difficult in a digitally monitored world. Closed systems like smartphones and proprietary apps tie users to manufacturers. The constant collection of data by digital platforms facilitates surveillance by both governmental and commercial actors.

Digitalzwang refers to the lack of analog or privacy-friendly alternatives to digital services, forcing users to adopt digital solutions, often at the expense of their data privacy.

Decentralised and open technologies promise users greater control and security. Anonymity and data protection are essential in safeguarding against surveillance and preserving digital freedom.

Technologies that were originally developed to enhance privacy and anonymity, such as those promoted by the Cypherpunk and hacker movements, are often quickly commercialized. This commercialization shifts control back into the hands of a few actors, undermining the promises of anonymity and privacy. This raises the question of whether decentralized technologies genuinely contribute to the preservation of privacy or if they are merely becoming trends that reproduce the same surveillance and control structures of the past.

Open Source & Platform Decay

The discussion around open source goes beyond mere ‘openness’. While open source is often synonymous with transparency, many systems are actually “fauxpen source” – they appear open but have hidden limitations or commercial interests in the background. The term ‘Libre’ emphasizes true user freedom: users can freely use, modify, and distribute software and hardware without restrictions. In contrast to open source, which is often controlled by companies, Libre aims for independence and critical engagement with proprietary and semi-open technologies.

Platform Decay and Enshittification describe how digital platforms, after initial user-friendliness, become increasingly commercialized, often at the expense of users. This phenomenon also occurs in open-source technologies when commercial actors co-opt projects to maximize control and profit. What was originally intended to promote transparency, privacy, and anonymity gradually turns into closed, profit-driven systems, restricting user freedom and undermining the core values of the open-source movement.

Sustainability

This track covers topics at the intersection of sustainability and digitalization: from connected mobility and resource/energy consumption to data literacy, cooperative platform economies, and societal IT issues, to social and political emancipation movements, new forms of protest, digital compulsion, and critiques of digital greenwashing. Together, we seek answers and pathways towards a sustainable society that respects both our environment and natural resources as well as freedom, democracy, and human rights.

Note:
For this track, we particularly welcome submissions in English and talks that offer perspectives beyond the German context.

Entry-Level & Education

In an increasingly digital world, it is crucial to equip people with the skills and knowledge they need to navigate the digital landscape and help shape it. Not everyone is a “digital native” and education institutions are often overwhelmed by their digital education mandate.

Nowadays, there is more learning material available than ever before, so the question arises: What content is truly relevant, especially for children, young people, and beginners? While hacking culture may be shaped by autodidacts, it is crucial to provide clear guidance for newcomers. The focus should be on delivering the essentials—those core competencies that simplify the entry, foster creative engagement with technology, and cultivate critical thinking. Our goal is to create lectures and learning materials that are easy to understand while inspiring enthusiasm for discovery and innovation in the digital world.

Note:
In this track, we particularly welcome submissions and/or accompanying materials in plain or easy language.

Submission guidelines

Formats
You can submit the following formats with us:

If your talk requires a longer time slot, feel free to contact us.

Language
We welcome submissions in either German or English.
Since the Chaos Communication Congress is an international event and we would like to facilitate exchange between different cultures, we encourage you to submit your contributions in English if you feel comfortable with the language.
All talks will be translated into German and English (c3lingo). If you have any questions, the Community Content Team is happy to assist you.

Online submissions only

Contributions can be submitted until November 16, 2024 via our conference planning system, which can be found at the following address: https://cfp.cccv.de/38c3-community-stages/cfp. Please follow the instructions provided there. If you have any questions regarding the submission, you can reach us at the email address 38c3-community@cccv.de. By December 16, 2024 at the latest, we will inform you whether your proposal has been accepted or not.

Publication

Your contributions will be streamed and recorded. The audio and video recordings will be published online on media.ccc.de in various formats and will be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. This license allows commercial use of excerpts for media as part of their reporting.

If you do not wish for such recording and publication, please indicate this directly when submitting your talk in the conference planning system. In this case, your talk will not be streamed either.

Admission & travel costs

An accepted talk on one of the two community stages does not guarantee you access to the Congress. Therefore, please make sure to purchase a ticket in advance.

Speakers will not receive reimbursement for travel expenses or the ticket price.

Requests from the Community Content Team

We are very excited about submissions that provide precise insights and/or propose courses of action in line with this year’s Congress theme: “Illegal Instructions”

The talks at the event should entertain and offer valuable content to the audience. The participants of the 38C3 are far more interested in the technical and social aspects of submitted topics than in a “product presentation.” Please take this into account when submitting your proposals.

Your Community Content Team wishes you a creative and inspiring time as you prepare your talks. We are looking forward to your submissions!