The first cultural data hackathon in Thuringia

A mysterious chest full of valuable cultural treasures from Thuringia has been discovered. But some of its knowledge is in danger of fading away. Only creative ideas and cleverly used digital tools can preserve it. And that’s where you come in!

HACK THE HERITAGE is the cultural heritage hackathon of the Nucleus Jena – Transfer.Regional.Nachhaltig. project. During this two-day event, you will join other students, developers, creatives, and cultural heritage enthusiasts in tackling real-world digitization challenges faced by regional memory institutions. Your mission: to develop innovative solutions that make Thuringia’s cultural heritage visible, accessible, and sustainable for the future.

The participating institutions will present you with real-world problems as challenges – each team will select one of these and develop a prototype that solves that specific challenge. This means your contribution can be directly incorporated into the digital strategy of regional cultural institutions.

For more information click here.

 

WHEN: February 20, 2026, 5–9 p.m. and February 21, 9 a.m.–10 p.m.

WHERE: Lichtwerkstatt, Albert-Einstein-Straße 6, 07745 Jena

OpenFORUM: »Pointing out problems – or providing constructive solutions? The role of journalism in times of crisis«

Public debate on participation and constructive journalism

News about crises, conflicts, and wars is currently omnipresent. However, reporting often focuses heavily on problems and descriptions of grievances, while context, background information, and possible solutions take a back seat. This leads some people to become tired of the news or even avoid it altogether.

What must journalism achieve today? Is it enough to describe grievances, or is there a need for journalism that offers guidance and perspectives: complaining, helping to shape things, or encouraging people? What contribution can local journalism make to participation, development, and coexistence in the city?

Together with Dr. Elisa Hofmann (Institute for Communication Studies), the city of Jena, and the Ernst Abbe Library, OpenFORUM Jena invites all interested citizens to a lower house debate that will actively involve the audience in discussing the limits of traditional journalism and the possibilities of constructive journalism. The interactive citizen dialogue will be moderated by RiffReporter journalists Alexander Mäder and Rainer Kurlemann.

Admission is free and no advance registration is required. There are plenty of seats available.

For more information, click here.

 

WHEN: January 27, 2025, 4:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

WHERE: Ernst-Abbe-Library; Engelplatz 2, Helene-Petrenz-Saal; 07743 Jena