Today is the start of first Q Berlin Questions

Conference to turn Berlin into a stage

400 guests from around the world expected 19-20 October at Schiller Theater
25 top speakers present their ideas: including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, star architectRem Koolhaas, and multimedia artistCao Fei
Key questions on work, governance, cultural identity, social justice, and urbanisation are being discussed

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Berlin, 19 October 2017 Today marks the beginning of the Q Berlin Questions conference. On 19 and 20 October, the Schiller Theater will host discussions about the many major challenges facing the world in the areas of work, governance, cultural identity, social justice, and urbanisation. Some 400 participants are expected to attend the first Q Berlin Questions. On Friday the conference will open with the Q Marathon for up to 600 Berliners.

“With Q Berlin Questions Berlin has for the first time developed its own international conference where the major questions of our time will be discussed,” says Burkhard Kieker, CEO of visitBerlin. “We have already received a great response whilst organising Q and many interesting speakers have agreed to come.”

25 top speakers to present their ideas: including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, Dutch star architect Rem Koolhaas, Chinese multimedia artist Cao Fei, politician Hlomela Bucwa, the youngest member of the Democratic Alliance in South Africa, Italian philosopher Luciano Floridi, and British publicist and urban explorer Charles Landry. With their experiences and ideas they offer different perspectives on current global issues.

The Schiller Theater was specially redesigned for Q by Indian architect Anupama Kundoo, lecturer at the Technical University of Berlin.

Anchored in Berlin: excursions to the city’s neighbourhoods

A special feature of Q: the conference will cover the entire city and make Berlin a stage. Q will also address current questions from the perspective of the host city Berlin. Investigations in the field are therefore part of the conference agenda. In this way, participants will experience the challenges and opportunities of Berlin as exemplary of those facing many other major cities.

For example, participants will be invited to dine privately with leading Berlin personages from society, business, and science. Immersive experiences in various parts of the city will be linked to the topics being discussed at Q, for example, Berlin’s new Mitte district and the Humboldt Forum, the Moritzplatz quarter, and the former industrial and commercial area that has been turned into the largest Asian market in Europe, the Dong Xuan Center.

Active participation of locals: Q Marathon

On the second day of the conference, the Q Marathon will offer locals the opportunity to participate actively in the conference and engage in dialogue directly with international experts. There will be a live programme with talks, discussions, and performances. The Q Marathon will be opened by BÄM, the Berlin Academy for Marching Drums, a music project by German hip-hop musician Peter Fox. Tickets for the Q Marathon cost €15. Tickets are available at www.q.berlin.

Further refinement to Berlin’s brand profile in the meetings industry

The international Q Berlin Questions conference was commissioned by the city of Berlin. With Q, the German capital seeks to position itself internationally even more clearly as a place of tolerance and open and honest dialogue about the important questions of the present and its consequences. Q is intended to strengthen Berlin’s role as a venue for innovative conferences.

Q Berlin Questions is an initiative of visitBerlin. A curator team under the guidance of Michael Schindhelm will design the conference agenda. The organiser is Curages Conference Management GmbH, Berlin, which has already had a lot of experience organising TED conferences.