A Festival Dedicated to Social Welfare

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Perhaps you’ve noticed the colorful footprints and messages on the pavement among the containers during your strolls around the Festival Village? In the pedestrian underpass near the AEC, you can find out how to leave communiqués of your own. There are 10 shoe-size inkpads to make sure there’s always enough colored fluid on hand for whatever you have to say.

Right next door is the World Map Archive, where you can engage in some memory-based global cartography. All maps will be archived and made available online.

The pedestrian underpass is also the site of Global Sounds. The artist’s installation consists of seven pyramids, so it takes a group of seven to activate this high-contrast ensemble in which each pyramid plays back the sound of an instrument that’s emblematic of a particular culture. Thus, the installation’s theme is community, cultural diversity and integration.

On the Lower Level of the Ars Electronica Center, you’ll find Buildasound, which plays back notes determined by the roll of the dice. This is a fun way to experiment with melodies while assembling the pieces of an animal jigsaw puzzle.

What’s published in newspapers tends to be the bad stuff that happens. But not in the pink paper named Rosa Presse. This is where festivalgoers publicize their favorite moments of the day or leave pleasant messages for other visitors. A new issue of Rosa Presse appears daily. Here, you can find out about projects that aim to improve the world. Isn’t it time you started seeing things through rose-colored glasses?

One of the featured projects in the u19 Festival Village is Nobody is Perfect, which lets you experience what it’s like to be physically handicapped. For instance, you can take a seat in a wheelchair and try to navigate an obstacle course. There are also friendly get-togethers at which people with handicaps talk about topics that are important to them.

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