80+1 – A JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD

It is 3 October 1872 at the break of day and Phileas Fogg is setting out on his “Journey around the world in 80 days”, with no time to lose; the transport he relies on to win his bet comprises horses, railways, steamers, even a balloon. It is a gripping tale, describing countless adventures but above all the dramatic shrinking of distances on our planet, whose remotest corners have been made accessible by technology. Inspired by Jules Verne’s classic Ars Electronica, voestalpine and Linz09 despatch the city of Linz on a similar journey around the world, this time via optical cables and satellite links. 20 places around the world will be visited – places where our future is either conceived and mastered or aborted and destroyed. Using journalistic, artistic and scientific means to discuss the key problems confronting our future, such as climate change, terror, genetic engineering, migration and energy resources, we will arrive at a picture of our globalised and networked world. “Actions”, will be taking place in Hauptplatz and, of course, at the Ars Electronic Center, whose GeoCity will be offering the virtual (data) environment for individual global round trips. For the 81st and last day, everyone is invited to a global conference pulling all the strands, different loactions, themes and personalities together to form what is sure to be one of the highlights of the Ars Electronica Festival 2009.