36C3: Resource Exhaustion - The 36th Chaos Communication Congress in Leipzig, Germany

In 2019 the 36th Chaos Communication Congress took place from 27 to 30 December on the Leipzig Trade Fair grounds.

What's it all about?

For 36 years now, hackers from Germany, Europe and all over the world have been meeting between Christmas and New Year's Eve to exchange views on current technical topics of every conceivable kind. Programming, soldering, hacking, discussions and workshops take place here.

The topic of Resource Exhaustion pointed towards current issues, and the focus was on sustainable design of software and the responsible consumption of hardware. 17,000 people participated in the congress in 2019. From 1/2 to 60 year-olds - every age group was represented.

There were 5 large, significantly named halls (Ada, Clarke, Borg, Eliza and Dijkstra), as well as many smaller lecture rooms and stages, in and on which a wide variety of talks were held. Workshops were offered on bondage, sexual harassment at the workplace, soldering, hacking, crocheting, massages, blind navigation, yoga, kimchi, mate and cider making, as well as on countless other topics. In addition, there were several bars and food courts, as well as two discotheques and a late-night club, where, besides beer, of course, deodorant, shampoo, lithium batteries and cables of all kinds could be purchased. Everything that hackers might urgently need was available in the middle of the night.

And the entire event was plastic-free. All beverages were sold in glass bottles/jars and the food was served with disposable biodegradable tableware and cutlery.

 In two exhibition halls and on three floors of the trade fair's Congress Centre, the Assemblies (topic-related associations within the Chaos Computer Club) and associated non-profit organisations sat and presented themselves, informed about their concerns and topics and offered possibilities for various activities. The exchange of stickers was particularly popular. (Almost) everything was based purely on donations. The C3 Waffle Operation Center (c3woc) and its weapons of mass destruction (especially the so-called "Doener Waffle") also enjoyed great popularity. In addition, films and plays were shown and art installations were exhibited.

In the Kidspace, big and little children could spend time together in the ball pool, on the trampoline or in the (probably) largest Lego box in Eastern Germany.

The Congress is organised and carried out by the Angels every year. These volunteers control the safety and cleanliness of the event and the well-being of everyone from the so-called Heavens. Just like everyone else, they pay the normal price for their congress ticket. Trained paramedics, rescue assistants and doctors gathered together in the Chaos Emergency Response Team (CERT) and supplied plasters, Ibuprofen and soothing words as needed.

Quietcubes were provided for all people with a need for rest, so that they could withdraw from the event at any time if necessary. In addition, special care was provided, for example, for people with autism if necessary.

The rules

There are a handful of rules for living together at every Chaos Computer Congress, which are binding for all participants and are implemented as an absolute matter of course:

• 6-2-1, at least 6 hours sleep, 2 hot meals and one shower per day
• "Be excellent to each other"
• photos of (recognisable) persons may only be taken if ALL persons have agreed beforehand that it is OK for them to appear in the photo; representatives of the press are welcome, but are accompanied by Press Angels to ensure that this rule is safeguarded at all times
• there is no room for sexism, racism or any other form of discrimination at the Congress; among other things, this rule was demonstrated in practice by the use of unisex toilets and gender-neutral language in every event

Movement

Movement was a major topic at the Congress. The innumerable angels and old hands counted on progress by kick scooter, hoverboard, skateboard, skates, bicycle and many other self-made means of transport. Parking spaces for all these vehicles were provided at the larger stages, assembly points and halls.

Communication

Another major topic was communication. The constantly changing timetable was communicated directly via various apps. A further app was made available for indoor navigation. The entire infrastructure was second to none. The WiFi has the speed of light. Always. For communication among congress visitors, it was possible to bring along a DECT telephone and have a number assigned for use by the base station. According to field reports, the signal was so strong that people could still be reached by DECT telephone even at the railway station, which was almost 400 m away. The Chaos Post was more analogue. It could be used to send messages and parcels to other congress participants at specific times by giving them an approximate description of their locations. Loads up to the unit "half elephant" were permitted. During the talks, the speakers often received their post, accompanied by thunderous applause from the talk listeners.

Impressions

To describe and show the halls is a difficult task, also due to the photography rule. The assembly and information density, as well as the flashing of tens of thousands of LEDs and the music and lectures that resounded from every corner can hardly be put into words. However, I managed to take some (mostly) rule-compliant pictures:

Talks

A special highlight of the Sunday evening was Alle Farben (All Colours), who under his alias Monoschwarz (Mono Black), tore up the trade fair from the Chaos West stage for, instead of for the usual 10,000 people, about 200 (more or less dance-floor-savvy) geeks. It was an evening we especially successfully drunk to with the C3 national drink, the Tschunk caipirinha with maté.

The topics of the talks were as colourful and diverse as the participants. And well-known faces were also represented. Mike Sperber spoke about "Getting software right with properties, generated tests and proofs" - as always, wicked, functional programming shit.

Talk highlights

• BahnMining - Punctuality is an ornament by David Kriesel - David saved all long-distance trains of the Deutsche Bahn (German railways) and their routes in 2019, therefore putting the official punctuality statistics in a more realistic light and revealing how the railways are acceptably fudging their statistics. Big Infotainment.
• Hacking brains by Linus Neumann, who has broken down and analysed the world's largest IT security gap: People.
• Human Rights at a Global Crossroads by Edward Snowden and Robert Tibbo - a stirring and unsparing summary of the state of implementation of global, fundamental human and refugee rights. Edward Snowden and a recently rescued member of the Snowden refugees, Vanessa Rodel, were connected live. It was a talk that made you think and reflect and (at least for us) moved you to tears several times, caused goose bumps all over your body and left the packed hall with 5,000 people dead silent.

 Now to the last question and the conclusion:

What is the Chaos Communication Congress really about and what remains?

 The nnC3 is an event where everyone, no matter who they are, what they look like, where they come from, which gender they identify themselves with or which limitations they have, can realise themselves freely and without restriction. A few, simple rules, tireless volunteers, great speakers, ambitious topics and goals and ultimately every single person participating makes this event unique. The feeling of being welcome, new beginnings and a change of direction is inspired and driven by the burning issues of our time. Freedom, equality and the rescue of our climate brings together people, who other people usually actually don't particularly like, to form a unified group. It is a matter of drawing attention to issues that have received too little attention and driving them further and further forward, and also of sending clear political signals.

I can warmly recommend that you attend all the lectures and form your own opinion. I repeatedly do this myself, partially in order to be able to hold on to the feeling brought across a little bit longer. I will participate again, naturally if I survive the CCCebola and the Post Congress Depression (PCD).