Society 5.0 Festival
3 & 4 November 2026 | The Social Hub & Volkshotel
With an inspiring mix of talks, hands-on workshops, interactive installations, and boundary-pushing performances, the festival brings together creatives, researchers, designers, technologists, educators, policymakers, and citizens. It’s a collective space to explore the fusion of digital and physical worlds, spark new ideas, and co-create visions of a more inclusive, sustainable, and human-centred future.
Theme 2026: 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.
We invite creatives, researchers, educators, technologists, and citizens shaping our future, to explore autonomy as a relational and situated practice. 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.
Highlights
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Keynote: Brains Beyond Computers by Romain Brette
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Keynote: Weird Wins by Joey Zeelen
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Keynote: (Re)claiming Autonomy by Rebecca Gomperts
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Prologo d’Entrata / Intuition Machine
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Moving Machines
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My husband is an AI
Schedule
Tuesday 3 November
14:00-15:00
Registration
Have your ticket ready, collect your badge, and enjoy a coffee
15:00-16:15
Plenary session
Words of welcome, performance & keynote
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Words of welcome by Esther Hammelburg
Opening • Riet, Volkshotel -
Opening by moderator Abdelrahman Hassan
Opening • Riet, Volkshotel -
Prologo d’Entrata / Intuition Machine
Performance • Riet, Volkshotel -
Keynote: Brains Beyond Computers by Romain Brette
Keynote • Riet, Volkshotel
16:15-16:45
Break
Enjoy a tea or coffee and explore the installations and bookstand in the courtyard
16:45-18:15
Plenary session
Keynotes & Closing day 1
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Autonomy and the City of Amsterdam
Conversation • Riet, Volkshotel -
Keynote: Weird Wins by Joey Zeelen
Keynote • Riet, Volkshotel -
Keynote: (Re)claiming Autonomy by Rebecca Gomperts
Keynote • Riet, Volkshotel -
Closing words
Closing • Riet, Volkshotel
18:15-19:30
Drinks
Wrap up the day with drinks and good company
All day
Expo
The courtyard comes to life: all-day installations to explore
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Dark tech in progress: Student prototype showcase
Showcase • Expo in Volkshotel -
If these plants could talk – An interactive sonic installation
Installation • Expo in Volkshotel -
Make Me Less
Installation • Expo in Volkshotel -
Layering Histories – Exploring Interdependent Autonomy in the Negotiation of Layered Pasts
Installation • Expo in Volkshotel -
A Good Conversation: How digital spaces shape our dialogue
Installation/Intervention • Glass room, Volkshotel -
What the algorithm hides
Installation • Expo -
Is it AI or Real?
Installation • Expo in Volkshotel -
AlsDanBot
Installation • Expo in Volkshotel -
Touch. Feel. Notice: A Neurodivergent Sensory Wall
Installation • Expo in Volkshotel -
AHK Immersive Media student exhibit
Exhibit • Expo/Glass Room 4 in Volkshotel
Wednesday 4 November
09:00 – 09:30
Registration in Volkshotel
Have your ticket ready, collect your badge, and enjoy a coffee
09:30 – 11:00
Plenary session
Opening, words of welcome, performance & keynote
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Opening by moderator Abdelrahman Hassan
Opening • Riet, Volkshotel -
Words of welcome by Nynke van Dijk
Opening • Parool theater, The Social Club -
Moving Machines
Performance • Parool theater, The Social Club -
My husband is an AI
Performance • Parool Theater, The Social Club
11:00 – 11:20
Short break
Enjoy a tea or coffee and explore the installations and bookstand in the courtyard
11:20 – 12:30
Workshop round 1
Dive into the first round of workshops
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Puppet meet Robot by Ulrike Quade Company
Workshop • Parool theater, The Social Club -
Value Roulette
Workshop • Chapter One, The Social Hub -
Designing Dark Tech: A Speculative Prototyping Workshop
Workshop • Chapter Two, The Social Hub -
WE ARE… you and me
Workshop • Riet, Volkshotel -
The Hidden Cost Of AI
Workshop • Fransje, Volkshotel -
Reclaiming the future of work: challenging AI-and-work(replacement) narratives in vocational education
Workshop • Truus, Volkshotel
12:30 – 13:30
Lunch
Enjoy a fully vegetarian lunch
13:30-14:40
Workshop round 2
Join the second round of workshops
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oso.social
Workshop • Truus, Volkshotel -
Sensory Autonomy in Spaces: Why it matters to neurodivergent people and why it should matter to you
Workshop • Chapter One, The Social Hub -
Breaking the Grid: Mesh Communication Beyond Big Tech
Workshop • Chapter Two, The Social Hub -
AI Ethics Escape Room
Workshop • Riet, Volkshotel -
That’s the way the cookie crumbles: discussions on education and (banning) AI
Fishbowl discussion • Fransje, Volkshotel -
Abundant Intelligences: Reimagining AI through an indigenous lens
Discussion • Truus, Volkshotel
14:40-15:05
Short break
Enjoy a tea or coffee and explore the installations and bookstand in the courtyard
15:05-16:15
Workshop round 3
Wrap up the afternoon with a final set of workshops
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Resonance of Silence
Workshop • Parool Theater, The Social Hub -
When support feels like control: designing social robot interaction for autonomy
Workshop • Chapter One, The Social Hub -
Exploring Algorithmic Mediation and Perceptions of Autonomy in Online Discussions
Workshop • Chapter Two, The Social Hub -
Playing the Game of Love: strategies for managing intimacy, love, dating and marriage in modern times
Workshop • Riet, Volkshotel -
Tending to Curiosity in Times of Uncertainty
Workshop • Fransje, Volkshotel -
Let’s be candid!
Workshop • Truus, Volkshotel
16:15-16:40
Break
Take a longer break to connect with others or explore the installations
16:40-18:00
Final plenary session
Keynotes & Closing day 2
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Announcement of the winners of the Hackathon
Hackathon • Parooltheater, The Social Club -
Embodied Transition: From Thinking to Sensing
Performance • Parooltheater, The Social Club -
Reflections on Society 5.0 Festival
Closing reflections • Parooltheater, The Social Club
18:00-20:00
Closing drinks
Wrap up the festival with drinks, music and good company
All day
Installations
The courtyard comes to life: all-day installations to explore
-
Dark tech in progress: Student prototype showcase
Showcase • Expo in Volkshotel -
If these plants could talk – An interactive sonic installation
Installation • Expo in Volkshotel -
Make Me Less
Installation • Expo in Volkshotel -
Layering Histories – Exploring Interdependent Autonomy in the Negotiation of Layered Pasts
Installation • Expo in Volkshotel -
A Good Conversation: How digital spaces shape our dialogue
Installation/Intervention • Glass room, Volkshotel -
What the algorithm hides
Installation • Expo -
Is it AI or Real?
Installation • Expo in Volkshotel -
AlsDanBot
Installation • Expo in Volkshotel -
Touch. Feel. Notice: A Neurodivergent Sensory Wall
Installation • Expo in Volkshotel -
AHK Immersive Media student exhibit
Exhibit • Expo/Glass Room 4 in Volkshotel
Speakers & Performers
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Romain Brette
Theoretical Neuroscientist, Institute of Intelligent Systems and Robotics, Sorbonne Université
Romain Brette
Theoretical Neuroscientist, Institute of Intelligent Systems and Robotics, Sorbonne Université
About the speaker
Romain Brette is a theoretical neuroscientist exploring how we understand intelligence, cognition, and the brain itself. In his work, he challenges the computational metaphors that dominate modern brain theory, questioning ideas like neural “codes” and the brain as a machine. Author of The Brain, In Theory (Princeton University Press), Brette moves between neuroscience, philosophy, and biology to rethink what cognition really is, from human perception to unicellular organisms.
Romain Brette
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Joey Zeelen
Founder and Managing Director of Studio Øutlier
Joey Zeelen
Founder and Managing Director of Studio Øutlier
About the speaker
Joey Zeelen is the founder and Managing Director of Studio Øutlier, a cultural insights and strategy studio based in Amsterdam and London. Previously EMEA Managing Director at Crowd DNA, he works with brands including Nike, IKEA, Meta and the BBC to understand what’s shaping culture and where it’s heading. Joey believes brand relevance isn’t about collecting more data, but about developing a sharper sense of what’s happening around us.
Joey Zeelen
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Rebecca Gomperts
Medical doctor & Founder/Director Non-Profit Organization
Rebecca Gomperts
Medical doctor & Founder/Director Non-Profit Organization
About the speaker
Rebecca Gomperts is a physician, artist and reproductive rights activist who has spent decades challenging the barriers that shape access to healthcare. She founded Women on Waves, Women on Web and Aid Access, using ships, the internet and telemedicine to rethink how reproductive care can reach people who need it. Her work sits at the intersection of medicine, technology and activism, asking what happens when we stop accepting existing systems as the only way forward.
Rebecca Gomperts
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Ola Bonati
New media researcher and developer
Ola Bonati
New media researcher and developer
About the speaker
Ola Bonati is a concept developer on the Life team within the Designing Regenerative Technologies project from Waag Futurelab. Her work explores alternatives to tech dystopia, seeking kinder, more sustainable practices for both people and the planet. Previously, she has worked as a researcher, storyteller and designer, creating critical media pieces on the role of big tech in everyday life. Since joining the perma-computing community in 2021, she has been actively engaged in workshops and talks, introducing creative professionals and the public to this regenerative approach to technology.
Ola Bonati
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Jonathan Evans
Educator
Jonathan Evans
Educator
About the speaker
Jonathan Evans is a lecturer and researcher at the Faculty of Creative Business and Lectorate Diversity Issues at Inholland University of Applied Sciences. His work explores neurodiversity, creativity, media, popular culture and critical pedagogies in higher education. He brings together lived and academic insight, connecting research with educational practice. He led a project with OBA Next Labs on neurodiversity programming between March 2025 and June 2026, and has co-developed education at the University of Amsterdam, shaping inclusive approaches to learning and teaching across contexts.
Jonathan Evans
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Marise van Noordenne
Creative technologist, Researcher, Educator
Marise van Noordenne
Creative technologist, Researcher, Educator
About the speaker
Marise van Noordenne is a creative technologist, researcher and educator at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. Her background combines Creative Technology (BSc), Media Technology (MSc) and studies in Artificial Intelligence. Her work explores provocative and speculative design methods for AI literacy and explainability, focusing on how interactive and experiential prototypes can support ethical reflection and a deeper understanding of complex AI systems.
Marise van Noordenne
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Jolijn Friederichs
Critical Maker, Artistic researcher & Educator
Jolijn Friederichs
Critical Maker, Artistic researcher & Educator
About the speaker
Jolijn Friederichs is a critical maker, artistic researcher and educator at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. With degrees in Fashion Design (BSc) and Digital Design (MSc), her work explores how Value Sensitive Design can be integrated into technological making, focusing on responsible innovation and the ethics of hyper-personalisation. She investigates how design practice can help students engage with ethical boundaries and systemic effects of digital technology. Together with Marise van Noordenne, she leads the Dark Tech Studio within the HBO-ICT programme and develops the Dark Tech Method as a critical approach to making in a digital society.
Jolijn Friederichs
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Bernadette Schrandt
Lecturer & Researcher
Bernadette Schrandt
Lecturer & Researcher
About the speaker
Bernadette Schrandt has a background in media and performance studies, and has worked as a researcher, lecturer and project lead at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences since 2013. Her research focuses on how cross-disciplinary differences are negotiated and balanced in practice, situated at the intersection of sustainable immersive production, heritage and dialogue. With a broader interest in our relationship to our (digital) material environment, she explores how the meanings of sustainable production processes can be expanded. Central to her work is how judgements about these processes are formed and made in practice.
Bernadette Schrandt
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Rick van Kersbergen
Lecturer & Researcher
Rick van Kersbergen
Lecturer & Researcher
About the speaker
Rick van Kersbergen has a background in Applied Artificial Intelligence and works as a lecturer and researcher at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, within the Responsible IT research group. His work focuses on Sustainable AI and the practical conditions under which artificial intelligence can be developed and used responsibly. With a particular interest in the hidden environmental costs of AI, he explores how the energy use and infrastructure behind AI systems can be made more visible, measurable and actionable. In his teaching and research, he connects technical AI development with wider questions of ecological sustainability, responsible innovation and digital autonomy.
Rick van Kersbergen
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Willemine Willems
Lead Dialogue program Digital Futures, Rathenau
Willemine Willems
Lead Dialogue program Digital Futures, Rathenau
About the speaker
Willemine Willems leads the dialogue program ‘Digital futures’, which explores the social aspects of digitalisation in terms of social relations, democracy and living environments.
Willemine Willems
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Marcio Fückner
Lecturer & Researcher
Marcio Fückner
Lecturer & Researcher
About the speaker
Marcio Fückner is a senior researcher at the Responsible IT Lab at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and a lecturer on the Master of Applied AI programme. His research focuses on methodologies for building responsible AI systems. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Software Engineering and Computer Science from the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná in Brazil, and a PhD in Computer Science from the Sorbonne University Alliance (UTC) in France. He works with research and education partners, government agencies and media organisations to develop AI in ethical and responsible ways.
Marcio Fückner
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Merel Noorman
Associate Professor Responsible AI
Merel Noorman
Associate Professor Responsible AI
About the speaker
Merel Noorman is Associate Lector of Responsible IT, with expertise in responsible AI, AI regulation and governance, philosophy of technology and the societal impact of technology. Her work sits at the intersection of AI, ethics and governance, drawing on a background in Artificial Intelligence, Science and Technology Studies (STS) and philosophy of technology. A central theme is the democratisation of AI: how society can maintain a grip on increasingly complex technologies and sustain democratic oversight through transparency, explainability and embedding societal values in design and use. She collaborates with practice partners on responsible sociotechnical solutions for the challenges of digital innovation, with particular attention to public services, media and the creative industries.
Merel Noorman
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Joao Loupatty
Lecturer Data, Technology and Ethics
Joao Loupatty
Lecturer Data, Technology and Ethics
About the speaker
Joao is a lecturer at Smart Media Production at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, where he teaches about AI, ethics, media and new technology. Alongside his work in education, he is an artist whose practice explores Indigenous heritage, speculative futures, immersive storytelling and the relationship between new technologies and colonial histories. He regularly gives talks and workshops on AI, inequality, ethics and Indigenous perspectives on technology. Through his contact with the Abundant Intelligences research group and with Bima Satria Putra, Joao brings these international and Indigenous perspectives into the Dutch conversation around AI.
Joao Loupatty
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Laura de Groot
Researcher Digital Futures, Rathenau
Laura de Groot
Researcher Digital Futures, Rathenau
About the speaker
Laura de Groot is a researcher within the dialogue programme Digital futures.
Laura de Groot
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Flann Naji
Researcher
Flann Naji
Researcher
About the speaker
Flann Naji is a researcher at the Lectorate Diversity Issues at Inholland. His work focuses on embedding neurodivergent perspectives across society and higher education, with a particular attention to lived experience. He studies the experiences of neurodivergent students and the structural and cultural shifts needed to build more inclusive academic environments. His work extends into cultural and public spaces, supporting learning contexts where neurodivergent students feel valued, supported and able to participate fully.
Flann Naji
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Linda Kool
Research Coordinator Digital Society, Rathenau
Linda Kool
Research Coordinator Digital Society, Rathenau
About the speaker
Linda Kool is research coordinator within the theme Digital Society, which focuses on societal, ethical and political implications of emerging digital technologies.
Linda Kool
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Abdelrahman Hassan
Moderator
Abdelrahman Hassan
Moderator
About the speaker
Abdelrahman Hassan is a creative technologist, AI strategist, digital anthropologist and poet based in Amsterdam. His work brings technology, critical thinking and poetry together to imagine more liberating ways of living with AI. Moving between industry, culture and civil society, he works with organisations including IKEA and Decathlon, and develops workshops, reading groups and speculative rituals. Abdo asks who AI should serve, what futures it might open up, and which worlds we choose to build.
Abdelrahman Hassan
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Brett Perry
Dancer & Educator
Brett Perry
Dancer & Educator
About the speaker
Brett Perry is a dancer, choreographer and educator exploring movement as a tool for connection, creativity and change. A graduate of The Juilliard School, he has danced with companies including Trey McIntyre Project and Ballet BC, and now works as a freelance artist. Brett also brings his practice into education, leadership and social innovation, helping people develop greater body awareness and adaptability. At the heart of his work is a simple idea: the body often knows things the mind hasn’t figured out yet.
Brett Perry
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John Michael Schert
Leadership Artist
John Michael Schert
Leadership Artist
About the speaker
John Michael Schert is a leadership advisor, speaker and founder of JMS & Company, where he works on systems change across business, government, philanthropy and academia. A former ballet dancer and co-founder of Trey McIntyre Project, he brings the creative process into conversations about leadership, power and organisational behaviour. His multidisciplinary approach helps people navigate complexity, challenge established ways of working and find new ways to create change. John Michael holds a Master of Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School.
John Michael Schert
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Ulrike Quade
Artistic Director, Ulrike Quade Company
Ulrike Quade
Artistic Director, Ulrike Quade Company
About the speaker
Ulrike Quade is a theatre maker and artistic researcher exploring how technology shapes the way we see ourselves and each other. As artistic director of UQC, she uses performance as a space to experiment with AI, robotics and digital networks. Drawing on her background in Japanese puppetry and scenography, she brings technology into physical, tangible encounters. Working across art and science, Ulrike creates new ways to explore urgent questions about technology, bodies and society.
Ulrike Quade
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Sorcha Ní Bhraonáin
Dramaturg & Researcher
Sorcha Ní Bhraonáin
Dramaturg & Researcher
About the speaker
Sorcha Ní Bhraonáin is a dramaturg-researcher at UQC. Her work engages with critical and creative inquiry into digital technologies through cultural analysis, science & technology studies and artistic research. Her writings on art and technology have been published by Edinburgh University Press, Routledge and Amsterdam University of the Arts.
Sorcha Ní Bhraonáin
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Roberta Maimone
Choreographer
Roberta Maimone
Choreographer
About the speaker
Roberta Maimone is an Italian choreographer, dancer, performer and movement director based in Amsterdam. Working across dance, mime, puppetry and lights, she developed the MEM method, focusing on physical articulation and gesture as carriers of meaning. Her work was previously presented at Nederlands Dans Dagen 2023, the International Choreographic Competition Hannover 2024 and Amsterdam Fringe Festival 2026.
Roberta Maimone
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Pauline Hoogweg
Designer, Lecturer, Researcher
Pauline Hoogweg
Designer, Lecturer, Researcher
About the speaker
Pauline Hoogweg writes, designs and works as a designer-researcher at the research group Creative Media for Social Change (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences) and as a lecturer at the Communication & Multimedia Design Program. She studied at the Royal Academy of Art The Hague, at the St Joost School of Art & Design Breda and at the University of California Berkeley. She is the author of 22 + 9 (poetry book), Moed je doen! (a survival guide for doing your dream project) and De wereld maakt een koprol (a picture book). In her work, she focuses on creating space for people to explore, connect, and imagine. She loves to work on projects that spark energy and bring people together.
Pauline Hoogweg
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Madeleine Groenland
Lecturer & Researcher
Madeleine Groenland
Lecturer & Researcher
About the speaker
Madeleine is a lecturer and researcher exploring how media and technology shape the way we understand society. With over 20 years of experience in higher education, she teaches at the intersection of media, culture and social change, and coordinates graduation projects for Creative Business students. Trained as a photographer, she brings a visual perspective to questions about technology and society. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Applied Philosophy, deepening her interest in the ethical questions emerging from our changing media landscape.
Madeleine Groenland
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Lamia Elloumi
Lecturer & Researcher
Lamia Elloumi
Lecturer & Researcher
About the speaker
Lamia Elloumi is a researcher and lecturer in the Master Applied AI programme at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. Her work focuses on inclusive AI, human-centred design and the role of emerging technologies in education. She leads participatory research projects exploring how technologies such as AI systems and social robots can support autonomy, reflection and well-being. In collaboration with autistic students and community partners, she investigates how interaction design shapes trust, control and user experience in educational contexts.
Lamia Elloumi
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Robbin Jansen
Designer & Co-founder of Future Ready Design
Robbin Jansen
Designer & Co-founder of Future Ready Design
About the speaker
Robbin Jansen is a designer and co-founder of Future Ready Design. He specialises in human-centred design, design facilitation and prototyping for emerging technologies. His work helps organisations translate complex technological developments into meaningful experiences and practical design solutions. Robbin has extensive experience facilitating co-creation processes and developing exploratory prototypes that support discussion, learning and innovation. His approach combines creativity, accessibility and a strong focus on user needs.
Robbin Jansen
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Paulien Kreutzer
Design Researcher @Stby @OneTwentyone
Paulien Kreutzer
Design Researcher @Stby @OneTwentyone
About the speaker
Paulien Kreutzer is a researcher and service designer at Stby. She specialises in participatory research and collaborative design approaches that bring lived experiences into innovation processes. Her work focuses on understanding how people experience technologies and services in everyday life, and translating those insights into actionable design directions. Paulien has worked extensively with diverse and neurodiverse communities, supporting projects that connect research, design and social impact through meaningful stakeholder involvement.
Paulien Kreutzer
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Musa Murchison
Oratory Glory
Musa Murchison
Oratory Glory
About the speaker
Musa Murchison (she/they) is a cultural geographer, teaching artist and creative strategist exploring how work can become a space for personal and collective possibility. Over the past 15 years, they have worked across 19 countries, supporting leaders, organisations and communities to rethink systems, stories and ways of working. Musa is President of Oratory Glory, a communications consultancy and creative studio focused on co-creating more equitable futures through research, storytelling, creative practice and collaboration.
Musa Murchison
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Stuart Acker Holt
Filmmaker & Photographer
Stuart Acker Holt
Filmmaker & Photographer
About the speaker
Stuart Acker Holt is an Amsterdam-based visual ethnographer, photographer and filmmaker. He creates unconventional research methods that turn strangers into participants, using street interviews, nomination trails and playful challenges to spark honest, unscripted encounters. His work explores how people behave, connect and tell stories in real-world settings. He is also the founder of The Most Interesting Person and a lecturer at Fontys University of Applied Sciences. His photography and films have appeared internationally, including in The Guardian, The New York Times and Reuters.
Stuart Acker Holt
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Hiroki Nunogaki
Dancer
Hiroki Nunogaki
Dancer
About the speaker
Hiroki Nunogaki is a dancer at the ICK-Ensemble, ICK Dans Amsterdam. Hiroki trained at Miyashita Yasuko Ballet school, Kyoto, Japan, and at the Ecole Supérieure de Danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower, Mougins France. Before Joining ICK in 2019, Hiroki worked with Ballet National de Marseille.
Hiroki Nunogaki
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Emio Greco & Pieter C. Scholten
Directors ICK Dans Amsterdam
Emio Greco & Pieter C. Scholten
Directors ICK Dans Amsterdam
About the speaker
Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten (Netherlands) are the artistic and General Directors of ICK Dans Amsterdam. They have been working together since 1995 and have built up a versatile and internationally recognized oeuvre over more than three decades that ranges from contemporary dance to opera, theatre, music and film.
Emio Greco & Pieter C. Scholten
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Sander Veenhof
AI programmamaker, docent en spreker
Sander Veenhof
AI programmamaker, docent en spreker
About the speaker
Sander houdt zich bezig met de vraag hoe we als mens omgaan met de toenemende invloed van technologie in ons leven. Met toekomst-fictie verpakt in interactieve hands-on ervaringen, zoals de Futurotheek op Cinekid en het NFF, maakt hij inzichtelijk en invoelbaar waar het heengaat met de semi-digitale mens.
Sander Veenhof
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Alicia Framis
Artist
Alicia Framis
Artist
About the speaker
Alicia Framis is a Spanish-Dutch multidisciplinary artist, born in Barcelona, who lives and works in Amsterdam and is considered one of the world’s leading artists. Her practice explores technology, intimacy, loneliness, gender, and new forms of coexistence. As an artist, Framis creates large-scale interventions that challenge social systems and conventions. Often developed in collaboration with citizens, these social sculptures combine artificial intelligence, art, architecture, design, fashion, and performance. Public participation is central to her practice.
Alicia Framis
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Thieu Custers
Designer, Programme maker & Concept developer at Waag, Co-initiator of Print&Play
Thieu Custers
Designer, Programme maker & Concept developer at Waag, Co-initiator of Print&Play
About the speaker
Thieu Custers is a social design researcher working on creating making the world a bit more circular and open. Addressing serious topics with playful projects.
Thieu Custers
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Rosa Mul
Trainer, facilitator and researcher
Rosa Mul
Trainer, facilitator and researcher
About the speaker
Rosa Mul is a trainer and facilitator of the method Emotion networking and an independent researcher. Her research focuses on how emotions play a part in the dynamics of heritage making and (in)justice processes. From ‘Atelier Rosa’ she provides training and guides conversations at for example museums, municipalities and universities.
Rosa Mul
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Thomas Brand
Audiovisual artist, immersive director and filmmaker
Thomas Brand
Audiovisual artist, immersive director and filmmaker
About the speaker
Thomas Brand is an audiovisual artist, immersive director and filmmaker. From Studio BrandKracht and the FuseWorks Foundation, he develops interdisciplinary projects in which film, light, performance and immersive technology play a role. Brand investigates how people perceive the world differently and how those perspectives can influence the artistic form of a work. He has worked on the immersive projects Mergel and No- One Show and is developing a visual musical instrument with Silent Resonance in which deaf and hearing people can play and compose from an equal position.
Thomas Brand
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Joanneke Weerdmeester
Behavioral scientist
Joanneke Weerdmeester
Behavioral scientist
About the speaker
Dr. Joanneke Weerdmeester has extensive experience as a behavioral scientist researching and developing playful digital interventions for mental well-being. Her current work as a researcher at the research group (Dis)connected Technology & Creativity of the University of the Arts Utrecht (HKU) is located at the intersection of science, welfare and creative technology. She collaborates with scientists, game designers, artists and health experts, and combines theoretical and practical knowledge to understand how interactive and immersive digital experiences can create a positive impact.
Joanneke Weerdmeester
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Dennis Massar
Dancer, dance maker and dance teacher
Dennis Massar
Dancer, dance maker and dance teacher
About the speaker
Dennis Massar is a deaf dancer, dance maker and dance teacher. In 2025 he studied at the dance academy of ArtEZ University of the Arts. He is active in the field of inclusive dance, with a specialisation in working with people with a hearing impairment. Dutch Sign Language is an artistic starting point in his work: for him, gestures are a physical way of expressing and offer a connection between language and dance. In his graduation work, he investigated how hand gestures and dance can be combined.
Dennis Massar
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Rik van Eijk
Teacher at AUAS and PhD student at TU Delft
Rik van Eijk
Teacher at AUAS and PhD student at TU Delft
About the speaker
Rik van Eijk is a teacher at the AUAS, and a PhD-student in the philosophy of technology at the TU Delft. His research focuses on surveillance, digital educational technology, and student agency and autonomy. He looks for answers to questions regarding platform and AI-use by students, and the values that are at stake.
Rik van Eijk
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Stephanie Pan
Composer, interdisciplinary maker and performer, voice artist and textile artist
Stephanie Pan
Composer, interdisciplinary maker and performer, voice artist and textile artist
About the speaker
Taiwanese-American Stephanie Pan is a composer, interdisciplinary maker and performer, voice artist, and textile artist based in the Netherlands. Her work is a mutating combination of music performance/post-opera/soundart/(physical-)theater/(participatory-)performance art/durational performance/installation. Central to her art practice is the notion of ‘analog digital’, approaching contemporary art from an analog, hands-on approach while reflecting and digesting digital technology and aesthetics within the realm of human imperfection and interpretation.
Stephanie Pan
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Atser Damsma
Musician & Researcher
Atser Damsma
Musician & Researcher
About the speaker
Atser Damsma is a musician and researcher working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, cognitive neuroscience, and music. As a Senior Researcher in Music and Technology at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, he explores the artistic possibilities of algorithms in music performance. He is also a lecturer at the University of Amsterdam. In 2020, he received his PhD from the University of Groningen for his dissertation Adaptive Timing. As a postdoctoral researcher in the Music Cognition Group at the University of Amsterdam, he investigated how the brain processes rhythm during music listening. Alongside his research, Damsma works as a musician in several electronic music and art projects, and has performed at international venues and festivals including Glastonbury, Sziget, Rewire, and Amsterdam Dance Event.
Atser Damsma
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Arran Lyon
Multi-disciplinary coder
Arran Lyon
Multi-disciplinary coder
About the speaker
Arran Lyon is a multi-disciplinary coder who collaborates with artists, designers, performers and musicians to create interactive, immersive and dynamic installations, productions and performances through the intersection of art, sound, technology and algorithm. By bringing criticality and knowledge of the latest technologies, he works with creators to develop new practices and tools in storytelling and communication through open-source software and hacked hardware. With a background in computational science (MSc, University of Amsterdam 2020), he utilises scientific and technical expertise along with research practice to explore the possibilities of bridging disparate modes of inquiry through technology, enabling new artistic potentials and symbiosis.
Arran Lyon
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Marcel Wierckx
Multi-disciplinary coder
Marcel Wierckx
Multi-disciplinary coder
About the speaker
Arran Lyon is a multi-disciplinary coder who collaborates with artists, designers, performers and musicians to create interactive, immersive and dynamic installations, productions and performances through the intersection of art, sound, technology and algorithm. By bringing criticality and knowledge of the latest technologies, he works with creators to develop new practices and tools in storytelling and communication through open-source software and hacked hardware. With a background in computational science (MSc, University of Amsterdam 2020), he utilises scientific and technical expertise along with research practice to explore the possibilities of bridging disparate modes of inquiry through technology, enabling new artistic potentials and symbiosis.
Marcel Wierckx
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Wouter van der Horst
Mediacollege Amsterdam and Utrecht University
Wouter van der Horst
Mediacollege Amsterdam and Utrecht University
About the speaker
Wouter van der Horst works as a Practor at the Mediacollege in Amsterdam and is a PhD-researcher at Utrecht University, where he studies AI Labour Market Imaginaries and Vocational Education.
Wouter van der Horst
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Ani Encheva
PhD-Candidate at Utrecht University
Ani Encheva
PhD-Candidate at Utrecht University
About the speaker
Ani Encheva is a PhD-Candidate at Utrecht University, where she focusses on EdTech-imaginaries within the research project Reclaiming the Digital Classroom.
Ani Encheva
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Mohamed Negm
Electrical Engineering student
Mohamed Negm
Electrical Engineering student
About the speaker
Mohamed Negm is an Electrical Engineering student at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and is actively involved with COE AI. Drawing on his technical background and interest in artificial intelligence, he organizes interactive workshops that bring together technology, creativity, and societal issues.
In the AI Ethics Escape Room, he challenges students to think critically about the impact of AI on human autonomy, responsibility, and decision-making.
Mohamed Negm
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Ian Forrester
Digital futurologist and founder of Cubicgarden
Ian Forrester
Digital futurologist and founder of Cubicgarden
About the speaker
Ian Forrester is a digital futurologist, emergent technology expert, previously senior “Firestarter” at BBC R&D. He is based in Manchester, UK, European by heart, and uses data and insight to change people’s lives for the better; he is a leader and advocate who believes each of us should be the guardian of our own data. His projects focus on building and empowering the digital public space, digital legacy ensuring people can have dignity in death (https://machinereadablewishes.cc), and solving the loneliness epidemic by building richer digital connections (https://datingmanifesto.cc).
Ian Forrester
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Jessica Symons
Anthropologist, Technologist, Social Activist
Jessica Symons
Anthropologist, Technologist, Social Activist
About the speaker
Jessica Symons is a social anthropologist and founder of Visioning Lab, an independent R&D studio exploring how people, technologies and systems shape one another. Her work considers complexity – the rules we inherit, the technologies we adopt and the strategies we use to make sense of them. She is currently writing A Manifesto for Love: When the Games are Over, examining dating, intimacy and relationships and how we might rethink the assumptions and conventions that shape them.
Jessica Symons
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Vanessa Catalano Domínguez
Educator & researcher
Vanessa Catalano Domínguez
Educator & researcher
About the speaker
Vanessa Catalano is an artistic researcher based in the Netherlands, originally from Venezuela. Her work explores how technology shapes our relationships with communities and the places we call home. She is interested in what embodied, sensory and culturally specific knowledge can reveal before it becomes data. Vanessa works across art, research and education, creating spaces where different forms of knowledge can meet, be shared and experienced.
Vanessa Catalano Domínguez
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Danny van Zuijlen
Immersive storyteller
Danny van Zuijlen
Immersive storyteller
About the speaker
Danny van Zuijlen is a storyteller and immersive creator working across culture and technology. As the founder of Studio Immersief, he explores how stories can become experiences. In 2025, he published The Star of the Revue: The Miraculous Life of Louisette, a biography of the once-famous Dutch revue star Louisette. Drawing on archives in the Netherlands and abroad, the book brings a forgotten figure back into the spotlight.
Danny van Zuijlen
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Chris Garrelts
Student at Nederlandse Filmacademie
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Jaap Reerink
Student at Nederlandse Filmacademie
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Rafael Nikoghosyan
Student at Nederlandse Filmacademie
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Sharona Vorswijk
Student at Nederlandse Filmacademie
Follow our trail
In 2025, we launched the Society 5.0 Most Interesting Person Trail – a human-powered video series. Each month, a new voice shares their perspective on the intersection of humanity and technology, and nominates the next, expanding the trail beyond our network. Through this, we foster connection and highlight diverse perspectives to help shape a desirable technological future.
Student Hackathon
Around the Society 5.0 Festival, a hackathon is organised for students. Working in interdisciplinary teams, students tackle real-world cases from our partners, supported by experienced coaches. Together, they explore new ideas and develop creative solutions for a more inclusive, sustainable and human-centred future.
Applications are open until 5 October.
Discover previous editions
Discover previous editions of the Society 5.0 Festival and explore the ideas, projects, and conversations that have shaped the festival over the years.
FAQ
The festival takes place across two venues, located directly opposite each other:
The Social Hub Amsterdam City
Wibautstraat 129, 1091 GL Amsterdam
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Volkshotel
Wibautstraat 150, 1091 GR Amsterdam
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Both venues are just across the street from each other and are easily accessible by public transport, bicycle or taxi.
The nearest metro station is a 4-minute walk away, and Amsterdam Amstel train station is approximately an 8-minute walk from the venues.
Please check your spam folder first as it may have ended up there. If you’re still having problems receiving your confirmation email with your ticket(s) please email us at society5@hva.nl. We will respond as soon as we can.
All attendees must register for the festival itself in advance. However, separate registration for individual sessions or workshops is not required. Workshops are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note that space is limited – once a workshop is full, no additional participants will be admitted.
Yes. Complimentary coffee, tea, water, and a vegetarian lunch will be provided during the event. Additionally, food and drinks can be purchased at The Social Hub café on site.
Everyone is welcome! Our venue is wheelchair accessible, with accessible toilets and seating throughout. Assistance dogs are welcome, and quiet zones are available. We currently do not provide sign language interpretation, but you’re welcome to bring your own whisper interpreter or support person.
Let us know if you need this or have other requirements. Questions? Contact us at society5@hva.nl.
The festival itself is a fully in-person experience. Sessions will not be live-streamed or recorded.
Great to hear that you would like to contribute! Please email us your ideas at society5@hva.nl.
Yes. Society 5.0 has been organised in previous years, each edition exploring the intersection of technology, society, and innovation from a human-centred perspective. Every year brings new insights, diverse speakers, and hands-on workshops – continuing to grow as a platform for meaningful exchange and future-oriented thinking.
Read more about the previous editons.
About
At the Society 5.0 Festival, we explore new ways of working to shape a desirable future society. During this two-day festival – filled with workshops, performances, installations, and talks – creatives, researchers, citizens, technologists, educators, designers, students, and (policy)makers come together to access, generate, sense, and reclaim our hybrid future.
The Society 5.0 Festival is organised by the Centre of Expertise Creative Innovation (CoE CI), an impact network for the creative industry, in which the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam University of the Arts, Inholland University of Applied Sciences, Mediacollege Amsterdam, Media College Amsterdam and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences collaborate.
Meet the partners making this year’s festival possible: VPRO Medialab, The Social Hub, and EIT Culture & Creativity.
