MetaForum

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MetaForum X, 2024.
A presentation by Dutch political activist Wam Kat about the war situation in the Balkans, Metaforum II, Intermedia Department (Room 13), Budapest, 6 Oct 1995. From left to bottom: Andreas Kallfelz (verein 707), Tom Bass, Noel Villers, János Sugár, Diana McCarty, Walter van der Cruijsen, Zoltán Szegedy-Maszák, Dani Molnár (B2Men), Ákos Maróy (EastEdge), E. "Gomma" Guarneri (Decoder), Matthew Fuller (IOD), Ferenc Gerlóczy, John Perry Barlow (EFF), Wam Kat (Zamir), Vuk Ćosić. Photo: Miklós Bölcskey. Source.

MetaForum is a series of conferences initiated by the Media Research Foundation in Budapest in 1994-1996, with the organising committee of Geert Lovink, Diana McCarty, and János Sugár. The fourth edition took place in 2024.


MetaForum 1-3 (1994-1996) Revisited, 2024


MetaForumX: Then and Now, 2024


"The series, primarily organised by the Media Research Foundation, began in 1994, with the topic of multimedia. This small, chaotic event included CD-ROM and the World Wide Web, which was just gaining attention in the explosive hype of the Internet. There were no commercial Internet providers in Hungary, and just three Hungarian CD-ROMs. The lack of a working Internet connection during the event led to a heated debate between representatives of the Hungarian Telecom and EastEdge, a group of Hungarian students well acquainted with the Internet. This debate led to MetaForum II/NO BORDERS/Budapest Networking Conference in 1995. These were international topics, and perhaps even more important in Hungary, where bad telephone lines and a general lack of expendable wealth magnify the issues of new communication technologies in the West. MetaForum III followed with the subject of content, which has become the crucial element in the new media discourse. " (organisers, 1996)

The participants in the first three editions included Richard Barbrook, John Perry Barlow, Konrad Becker, Tamás Bodoky, Heath Bunting, Vuk Ćosić, Nina Czegledy, Hans-Christian Dany, Erik Davis, Manuel DeLanda, Matthew Fuller, David Garcia, Ferenc Gerlóczy, Mieke Gerritzen, Rop Gonggrijp, Debra Guzman, E. "Gomma" Guarneri, John Horvath, Heiko Idensen, Gábor Kelemen, Max Kossatz, Attila Kotányi, George Legrady, Olia Lialina, Alpár Losoncz, Eveline Lubbers, Oliver Marchart, Masuyama, András Nyírő, Benjamin Perasovic, Miklós Peternák, Gereon Schmitt, Pit Schultz, Alexei Shulgin, Cornelia Sollfrank, Mark Stahlman, Marleen Stikker, Barbara Strebl, Tamás Szalay, Katalin Timár, Jozsef Tillman, László Tölgyes, Toshiya Ueno, Walter van der Cruijsen, Salvatore Vanasco, Willem Velthoven, Charles Wessel, and Peter Lamborn Wilson (Hakim Bey).

An exhibition showcasing the MetaForum and Nettime-l documentation, entitled Select All, was held in June 1997 in Budapest. Included were video clips, texts, and other memorabilia tracing major topics that fueled the growth of the Internet and World Wide Web.

The fourth edition was held in October 2024 to mark the 30th anniversary of the conference. The original organising team was joined by Flóra Barkóczi, Áron Lődi and Zsolt Miklósvölgyi.

Editions[edit]

  • MetaForum 94/Budapest Multimedia Conference, 7-9 October 1994.
Concept and program. Announcement.
  • MetaForum II/NO BORDERS/HATÁROK NÉLKÜL/Budapest Networking Conference, 6-8 October 1995.
"The conference critically examines the role that the internet plays now and what is possible in the future. How and where do geographic borders render cyberspace mythical? How is democracy defined and enforced in the fourth dimension? What role do economics play in the colonization of the last frontier? How is identity altered by new communication technology?".
Programme (DOC), HTML. Event website (HU). Report (IT). Intervention by Strato Network. Tomaso Tozzi's Netstrike.
  • MetaForum III/UNDER CONSTRUCTION/Budapest Content Conference, 11-13 October 1996.
Program DOC. Concept and program.
  • MetaForum X – PermaCrises, Trafó & Intermedia Department (Hungarian University of Fine Arts), Budapest, 25-26 October 2024.
"Embracing the legacy of the three MetaForum conferences (1994-96), MFX continues to highlight the urgent issues of the times with a reflection on contemporary crisis surfing. The theme of PermaCrises examines the persistent breakdown of our political, societal and cultural systems, capturing the extremity of this situation through its continuality and pervasiveness."
Booklet PDF. Program: Day 1, Day 2. Full program with abstracts, [1]. Report with video recordings. Call for participation. Announcement on nettime. [2]

Gallery[edit]

  • George Legrady, Melentie Pandilovski, Nina Czeglédy, MetaForum I, 1994. Photo: János Sugár

  • EastEdge and Heath Bunting, MetaForum I, 1994. Photo: János Sugár

  • Geert Lovink, John Perry Barlow, Konrad Becker, Peter Lamborn Wilson, Debra Guzman, MetaForum II, 1995. Photo: János Sugár

  • Hungarian net initiatives, MetaForum II, 1995. Photo: Miklós Bölcskey

  • Andreas Broeckmann, MetaForum III, 1996. Photo: Miklós Bölcskey

  • MetaForum speakers: Matthew Fuller (MF II, 1995), Attila Kotányi (MF III, 1996), Manuel DeLanda (MF III, 1996), Heath Bunting (MF III, 1996), Richard Barbrook (MF III, 1996), Rop Gonggrijp (MF II, 1995). Photo: Miklós Bölcskey, János Sugár

Publications[edit]

  • Geert Lovink, "The Budapest Debate", in Lovink, Dynamics of Critical Internet Culture, 1994-2001, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2009, pp 99-101.

Links[edit]

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