G8 in Heiligendamm: We Are Watching You!

WELCOME to the dropping knowledge Summer Camp weblog: a brief, rolling chronicle of questions, action and activism relating to the 33rd annual Group of 8 summit, convening this June 6-8 in the Baltic Sea resort of Heiligendamm, Germany. Hosted by Chancellor Merkel, Presidents Bush, Harper, Putin and Sarkozy will join Prime Ministers Abe, Blair and Prodi within the well-barricaded confines of the five-star Kempinski Grand Hotel (take the “360-degree virtual tour” here).

We, meanwhile, will be establishing our own zero-star, makeshift campsite and multimedia upload outpost in the nearby city of Rostock: the focal point of locally and internationally mobilized demonstrations, exhibitions and cultural events exploring, protesting and downright castigating the current policies of the G8 leaders.

We’ll be posting films, photos and blog entries, bringing you the sights and sounds, engaging people and their questions, webcasting from within the week-long “choreography of resistance”, talking with concerned citizens and maybe wondering out loud now and then whether another world isn’t possible. All the material we publish will, of course, be under a Copyleft license. You can sample, recreate and redistribute it freely and we actively encourage you to do so.

Building momentum as we go, we’ll give you our take in the hope that you may give us yours. Drop your comments; send us your questions (and who knows who might end up answering them?); or take a moment to engage with one of ours. There are ten on the right-hand column of this page that we invite you to ask yourself right now...

Last but not least, a final shoutout to all renegade webcasters. If you’re in the vicinity and have some conscious creativity to spare, if you’re questioning the status quo and seeking artistic adventure, drop by our HQ at the Rostocker Technische Kunstschule (Lagerstraße 26) and post your work online with us. For all those who can’t be around but still want to contribute, an upload function for your G8-related video and photography will be available (I’m reliably assured) from the middle of next week.