The Society 5.0 Festival – taking place 3 & 4 November – invites researchers, teachers, and collaborators from the CoE CI institutes to propose installations, workshops, and discussions that explore this year’s theme Reimagining Autonomy. Proposals are due by 5 May 2025.
This year’s theme: Reimagining Autonomy
In a world shaped by platforms, data flows, apps and devices that mediate our lives, autonomy is under pressure and ready to be reimagined.
Concerns about autonomous technologies, addictive algorithms, and dependency on big tech are increasingly shaping public debate. Autonomy is often framed as the ability to think and act independently, free from external influence. But in practice, our actions are always embedded in social, technological and ecological systems.
At the Society 5.0 Festival 2026, we approach autonomy as a relational practice – not something we possess individually, but something shaped and sustained collectively through our relationships with others, technologies, and environments. Autonomy, in this sense, is not a fixed state but an ongoing collective practice of safeguarding the personal freedom of interconnected individuals.
Together we explore questions like: What does it mean to act autonomously in a world of intelligent systems? How can we design for autonomy while acknowledging interdependence? And what role do education, research and creative practice play in shaping these perspectives?
Through talks, workshops, installations and performances, the festival creates space to critically examine and collectively experiment with new forms of autonomy. Forms that balance control and care, resistance and responsibility.
Call for Proposals
We invite contributions from researchers and teachers from CoE CI institutes – workshops, performances, installations, discussions – that reimagine autonomy in an active and creative manner. The topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Autonomy of technology
- Autonomy within technology
- Autonomy facilitated by technology
- Autonomy as an interdependent practice
- Autonomy of the body
- Autonomy and provenance
- Autonomous spaces
- Autonomy changing meaning over generations
Call 2026
Who can submit?
Who can submit?
This call is open to researchers and teachers from the CoE Creative Innovation 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?
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 closely with the main festival theme. 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 theme and offer tangible trajectories for addressing them in practice. These can be hands-on, provocative, or simply inspiring. - Workshops (max. 75 minutes)
Workshops may be part of research projects, focus on sharing knowledge and insights, or offer opportunities to develop skills with peers and festival visitors. - Discussions (max. 75 minutes)
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 such as fishbowls. Active and engaging approaches are strongly encouraged. - 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. Also, if you feel that you have something to say about this topic, but do not need a full session, you can let us know and we might be able to programme you in a panel.
Please note: workshops and discussions will be scheduled on 4 November.
We have a small budget for material costs for sessions, 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?
How to propose a contribution?
Send us your proposal via de button below. All submissions must be completed by 5 May 2026.
In May, the Society 5.0 programme team will review all submissions and select the contributions that best align with the theme and goals of the festival.
Timeline
timeline 2026
- 2 April: Call opens
- 5 May: Deadline for proposals
- 29 May: Notification of acceptance
- 3-4 November: Society 5.0 Festival
Questions?
Please get in touch!
