The Society 5.0 Festival invites researchers and lecturers from CoE CI institutes to propose installations, workshops, and discussions that explore the intersection of digital and physical spaces. Join us 15–16 October 2025 at The Social Hub Amsterdam City. We’re looking for interactive formats that foster creativity, participation, and engagement, with a focus on accessibility, generative practices, sensing, and reclaiming space in digital-physical realities. Proposals are due by 5 June 2025.
This call is now closed.
This year’s theme: Shaping Hybrid Realities
Due to digitalisation, our lifeworld is becoming increasingly hybrid. The world as it appears to us – how we see it, understand it, and navigate it – is now a blend of digital media technologies and physical environments. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and immersive experiences (IX) are set to deepen this fusion in the coming years. Polarising forms of debate, a surge of artificial content, and personalisation of information within digital-physical spaces disperse our shared reality and truths. This shift has far-reaching implications for both our everyday lives and our democratic society.
At the Society 5.0 Festival, we dive into these hybrid realities and seek ways to shape them, working towards a desirable future society. As creatives, researchers, citizens, technologists, educators, designers, students, and (policy)makers, we all have the agency to access, generate, sense, and reclaim our future society.
The programme of the Society 5.0 Festival is structured around four tracks:
- Access: In a hybrid world, access is becoming more important than ever: access to technology becomes access to life and digital rights become human rights. This track focuses on infrastructural justice in a hybrid society. How do we shape inclusive hybrid realities? And which literacies are needed?
- Generate: Humans are inherently generative: we create. And by doing so, we – as artists, researchers, technologists, teachers, designers, students, and (policy)makers – shape hybrid realities. This track invites reflection on both human and non-human generative practices and provides space for creativity as a way to devise our future society.
- Sense: Technology-driven environments often focus on cognition and rely heavily on visual elements. But what about our other senses? Sensing can help us take better care of ourselves and avoid being rushed by the efficiency-driven pace of technological systems. It drives us to build connections with others and stay attuned to the physical world. This track also explores a broad spectrum of sensing in immersive experiences.
- Reclaim: Whose world? Our world! How can we reclaim space in hybrid realities? This track explores placemaking through play and creativity. It also addresses the urgent need to reclaim digital infrastructures for people and civil society. Finally, it looks at constructive ways to voice and discuss ideas, to express oneself, and to disagree.
Who can participate?
The call is open to researchers and teachers from CoE CI institutes and their partners. Main applicants should be involved in one of the CoE CI institutes, but external co-organisers, guest speakers, and facilitators are more than welcome to join! We are especially interested in proposals for installations, workshops or discussions in which partners from different CoE CI institutes and external partners cooperate.
What are we looking for?
The festival programme includes several open slots for researchers and lecturers from CoE CI institutes to engage with participants through prototypes, interactive installations, workshops and discussions. Activities should align with the main festival theme and at least one of the four tracks. We are especially interested in active formats in which visitors can participate. Even better if they can have some fun too!
Activities at the Society 5.0 Festival should foster a sense of agency, not only during the festival itself but also beyond it. Sessions may focus on sharing knowledge, insights or skills among participants, generating new ideas (for instance, as input for a research project), testing prototypes, debating key issues in research and education, contributing to agenda-setting, or building and strengthening networks.
We have room for three types of activities:
- (Interactive) installations
Installations or prototypes that demonstrate, explore, or question the festival’s themes and offer tangible trajectories for addressing them in practice. These can be hands-on, provocative, or simply inspiring. - Workshops
Workshops may be part of research projects, focus on sharing knowledge and insights, or offer opportunities to develop skills with peers and festival visitors. Sessions can last up to 75 minutes. - Discussions
Discussions should aim to share insights and contribute to agenda-setting around the festival’s core themes. Formats may range from panel conversations with invited speakers to open, participatory dialogues. Active and engaging approaches are strongly encouraged. Sessions can run for up to 75 minutes. - Surprise us! We warmly welcome bold, playful or unconventional formats – especially the ones we haven’t thought of yet. If it sparks curiosity, gets people talking, or brings the theme to life in an unexpected way, we want to hear about it.
We may have a small budget for material costs, but cannot contribute to speakers’ fees, travel expenses or other costs. Contact us if you have questions about this: society5@hva.nl.
How to propose a contribution?
You can submit your proposal using this form by 5 June 2025.
In June, the Society 5.0 programme team will review all submissions and select the contributions that best align with the themes and goals of the festival.
Questions? Feel free to reach out to us at society5@hva.nl – we’re happy to help!
Timeline
5 June 2025
Deadline for proposals (submit via this form)
30 June 2025
Notification of acceptance
15-16 October 2025 Society 5.0 Festival
(note that workshops and discussions will be scheduled on the 16th).
