,
Why?
Today, more than ever, we need to reflect critically on our relationship with technology. How do digital technologies impact the way we get informed and make decisions? How can we as a society face the 'side-effects' of an increasingly data-driven world?
In the field of digital literacy, there was a growing need for public creative interventions and information about technology that enable communities and individuals to understand how technology works and affects us and our society. The Glass Room comes to life to demystify technology through immersive, thought-provoking, self-learning exhibitions.
What?
The Glass Room is a public intervention that provides an interactive, fun, and challenging experience, bringing to life the most pressing challenges facing people and the tech industry today. As technology reaches a global scale and becomes embedded in every part of our lives and our environments, The Glass Room examines its impacts and helps visitors explore practical solutions to mitigate them.
The Glass Room began as a large-scale exhibition, travelling from
Berlin to
New York,
London and
San Francisco between 2016 and 2019. Each Glass Room took the form of a space designed to look like a sleek tech shop, but where nothing was for sale. Instead, visitors found a place where they could freely and critically discuss technology. The objects presented explored data, privacy and our relationship to the technologies and platforms which have become so commonplace in our everyday lives.
The Glass Room London. Photo courtesy of David Mirzoeff, London, 2017.
Visitors at The White Room installation part of the “Nervous Systems” exhibition at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, 2016.
The Glass Room is currently available in three formats:
The Glass Room Misinformation Edition explores how social media and the web have changed the way we read information and react to it. The exhibition consists of a series of posters, interactive apps, and animations which can be hosted in public or private spaces anywhere in the world. It also exists as a freely accessible virtual experience online –
click here to try it out! The Misinformation Edition has been translated into 30 languages.
Person Interacting with The Glass Room Misinformation edition posters. Photo courtesy of Ahmad aAlNemr, Cairotronica, Eygpt, 2021
Visitors of the Glass Room Misinformation edition outdoor exhibition. Image by San3a Tech Egypt, Maker Faire Egypt 2022
The Glass Room Community Edition was developed as a result of high demand from visitors of larger Glass Rooms in London and New York, who also wanted to set up similar exhibitions in their cities. This smaller, portable version comes in a lightweight and adaptable format that can be set up in a variety of different spaces from libraries and schools to conferences and metro stations.
The Glass Room Plus is a curated exhibition that can be set up at large cultural events in Europe. The Glass Room Plus features 15 art objects, a Data Detox Bar and a training programme for a team of ‘Ingeniuses'.
The Glass Room exhibition Plus Edition. Image by Monika Kryszczynska 2018.
The Glass Room at the Lodz Design Festival and the Copernicus Science Centre Warsaw. Photo courtesy of Alexander Alistair, Warsaw, 2018.
Assets, resources and materials you can discover, use and adapt:
- Interactive posters in different formats and in digital versions
- Animations in different languages
- Educational Apps in different languages
- Exhbition pieces
- Partnerships Showcase pages where you can get inspired
The Glass Room is interesting for:
- Civil society organisations & rights groups
- Educators, facilitators, schools & universities
- Librarians, museums, community and cultural centres
- Other organisations and individuals who want to promote digital and media literacy.
“The exhibition and educational outreach activities, in collaboration with Tactical Tech, with clear and understandable promotional designs and relatable real-life examples, profoundly enhanced information literacy, promoted technology ethics awareness and fostered social discussions among Taiwanese audiences.”Dimension Lab
“To move through the Glass Room...was to be reminded of the many ways we unwittingly submit ourselves and one another to unnecessary surveillance, with devastating consequences…I left the Glass Room invigorated by the ways artists are exploring the dark side of our digital footprint.”New York Times Magazine
“More than 100,000 people have seen our exhibition "Artificial Intelligence - Machine Learning Human Dreams". Many of them have told us that they gained a better understanding of AI and learned something new. Here, Tactical Tech definitely contributed to the museum's role as a place for science communication. Thank you again for a wonderful collaboration.”Dr. Doreen Hartmann, Deutsche Hygiene Museum Dresden DHMD
The Glass Room Highlights
Disseminating resources and organising interventions with local partners to encourage reflection and proactive actions.
813eventswere hosted worldwide together with our partners.
71countrieswhere exhibitions, workshops and Training of Trainers took place.
480thousand peoplewere engaged through the events and interventions.
ForSet : Promoting digital literacy among youth and educators across Georgia
ForSet, a creative enterprise based in Tbilisi, empowers change-makers through data, design, and technology. They translated The Glass Room: Misinformation Edition and What the Future Wants into Georgian, showcasing the Misinformation Edition at DataFest Tbilisi 2022 with over 600 attendees.
Using these translated resources, ForSet organized an event at the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia. It brought together university students, journalists, employees from private companies, artists, civil servants, and digital literacy stakeholders, including NGO representatives and the...
Read more →Casa Hacker: Co-developing education and digital inclusion programs in Brazil
Meet Casa Hacker, a Brazilian organisation that empowers communities to transform their realities through digital inclusion and STEAM Education. Their dream is to make the internet and digital technologies an inclusive space for everyone in Brazil.
During the last year, Casa Hacker collaborated with Tactical Tech’s initiatives: The Glass Room and What the Future Wants to run three capacity-building events in 3 cities: Campinas, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Over 100 young people and educators actively participated in dialogues and debates on privacy, security, disinformation and...
Read more →data_labe: Using art and creativity to promote conversation about
digital rights in Brazil
data_labe is a media and research organization based in Maré Favela in Rio de Janeiro. Their work intersects human rights, race, gender, urbanism, data and technology. Driven by their creative approach, they adapted the Data Detox Kit into several posters that were shown at their annual festival, Criptofunk.
The festival brought together activists, favela dwellers, and individuals interested in digital care. The theme was "deceleration," a call to pause, reflect, and reconnect with our collective past. Amidst this gallery, a character emerged: Sankofa, a majestic bird drawn from...
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Data Detox Kit: Practical steps and tool to improve your online life
The Data Detox Kit, available in over 45 languages, offers tips, tools, and concrete steps to improve your online life, enabling informed choices and personalized digital habits. It includes over 30 guides, workshop outlines for educators, an alternative App Centre, and a resources page on digital privacy, security, environmental impact, wellbeing, and tackling misinformation.
Read more →What The Future Wants: Educational resources to empower young people
This youth initiative from Tactical Tech aims to empower young people to take control of their digital futures through education, co-creation, and capacity building. It features playful, youth-focused exhibitions, interactive activities, learning resources, and tools and methodologies for educators to engage young people in conversations about AI, technology, and their impacts.
Read more →Digital Enquirer Kit: An E-learning platform to navigate the internet safely
This e-learning interactive course advances and disseminates knowledge on media literacy, verification, and safe Internet navigation. The course contains simple explanations and real-world examples illustrating secure research and information-gathering methods. The modules feature engaging and creative formats, such as tutorials, quizzes, and interactive games.
Read more →- INSTITUTE FOR DIGITAL INVESTIGATION
The Influence Industry Project: Understanding the industry behind our
opinions
This project produces research, resources and masterclasses on digital influence, focusing on its impact on public opinion, particularly in politics. It examines the global industry companies that use digital technologies and personal data to shape opinions. The project offers an accessible database of industry actors, case studies, and research methodologies.
Read more →- INSTITUTE FOR DIGITAL INVESTIGATION
Exposing The Invisible: Advancing the investigative community's capacity
The project offers comprehensive resources, workshops, and institutes on investigative tools and methodologies for civil society actors such as media organizations, experts, researchers, academics, investigators, and journalists. It fosters spaces for collaboration and exchange to enhance the capacity of today’s global community of digital and OSINT investigators.
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