0:00:00.999,0:00:04.341
A year ago, we were invited[br]by the Swiss Embassy in Berlin

0:00:04.365,0:00:06.388
to present our art projects.

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We are used to invitations,[br]but this invitation really thrilled us.

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The Swiss Embassy in Berlin is special.

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It is the only old building[br]in the government district

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that was not destroyed[br]during the Second World War,

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and it sits right next[br]to the Federal Chancellery.

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No one is closer to Chancellor Merkel[br]than the Swiss diplomats.

0:00:27.863,0:00:29.839
(Laughter)

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The government district in Berlin[br]also contains the Reichstag --

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Germany's parliament --[br]and the Brandenburg Gate,

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and right next to the gate[br]there are other embassies,

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in particular the US[br]and the British Embassy.

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Although Germany is an advanced democracy,

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citizens are limited[br]in their constitutional rights

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in its government district.

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The right of assembly and the right[br]to demonstrate are restricted there.

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And this is interesting[br]from an artistic point of view.

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The opportunities to exercise[br]participation and to express oneself

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are always bound to a certain order

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and always subject[br]to a specific regulation.

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With an awareness of the dependencies[br]of these regulations,

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we can gain a new perspective.

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The given terms and conditions[br]shape our perception, our actions

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and our lives.

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And this is crucial in another context.

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Over the last couple of years,

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we learned that from the roofs[br]of the US and the British Embassy,

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the secret services have been listening[br]to the entire district,

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including the mobile phone[br]of Angela Merkel.

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The antennas of the British GCHQ are[br]hidden in a white cylindrical radome,

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while the listening post[br]of the American NSA

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is covered by radio transparent screens.

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But how to address these hidden[br]and disguised forces?

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With my colleague, Christoph Wachter,

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we accepted the invitation[br]of the Swiss Embassy.

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And we used this opportunity[br]to exploit the specific situation.

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If people are spying on us,[br]it stands to reason

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that they have to listen[br]to what we are saying.

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(Laughter)

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On the roof of the Swiss Embassy,[br]we installed a series of antennas.

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They weren't as sophisticated as those[br]used by the Americans and the British.

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(Laughter)

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They were makeshift can antennas,

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not camouflaged but totally[br]obvious and visible.

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The Academy of Arts joined the project,

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and so we built another[br]large antenna on their rooftop,

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exactly between the listening posts[br]of the NSA and the GCHQ.

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(Laughter)

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Never have we been observed in such detail[br]while building an art installation.

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A helicopter circled over our heads

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with a camera registering[br]each and every move we made,

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and on the roof of the US Embassy,[br]security officers patrolled.

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Although the government district[br]is governed by a strict police order,

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there are no specific laws[br]relating to digital communication.

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Our installation[br]was therefore perfectly legal,

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and the Swiss Ambassador[br]informed Chancellor Merkel about it.

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We named the project "Can You Hear Me?"

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(Laughter)

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The antennas created an open[br]and free Wi-Fi communication network

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in which anyone who wanted to[br]would be able to participate

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using any Wi-Fi-enabled device[br]without any hindrance,

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and be able to send messages

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to those listening on the frequencies[br]that were being intercepted.

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Text messages, voice chat, file sharing --

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anything could be sent anonymously.

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And people did communicate.

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Over 15,000 messages were sent.

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Here are some examples.

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"Hello world, hello Berlin,[br]hello NSA, hello GCHQ."

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"NSA Agents, Do the Right Thing![br]Blow the whistle!"

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"This is the NSA. In God we trust.[br]All others we track!!!!!"

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(Laughter)

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"#@nonymous is watching #NSA #GCHQ -[br]we are part of your organizations.

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# expect us. We will #shutdown"

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"This is the NSA's Achilles heel.[br]Open Networks."

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"Agents, what twisted story of yourself[br]will you tell your grandchildren?"

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"@NSA My neighbors are noisy.[br]Please send a drone strike."

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(Laughter)

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"Make Love, Not cyberwar."

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We invited the embassies[br]and the government departments

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to participate in the open network, too,

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and to our surprise, they did.

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Files appeared on the network,[br]including classified documents

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leaked from the parliamentary[br]investigation commission,

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which highlights that the free exchange[br]and discussion of vital information

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is starting to become difficult,[br]even for members of a parliament.

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We also organized guided tours[br]to experience and sound out

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the power constellations on-site.

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The tours visited the restricted zones[br]around the embassies,

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and we discussed the potential[br]and the highlights of communication.

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If we become aware of the constellation,

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the terms and conditions of communication,

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it not only broadens our horizon,

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it allows us to look behind[br]the regulations that limit our worldview,

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our specific social, political[br]or aesthetic conventions.

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Let's look at an actual example.

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The fate of people living[br]in the makeshift settlements

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on the outskirts of Paris

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is hidden and faded from view.

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It's a vicious circle.

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It's not poverty, not racism,[br]not exclusion that are new.

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What is new is how[br]these realities are hidden

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and how people are made invisible

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in an age of global and overwhelming[br]communication and exchange.

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Such makeshift settlements[br]are considered illegal,

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and therefore those living in them[br]don't have a chance

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of making their voices heard.

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On the contrary, every time they appear,[br]every time they risk becoming visible,

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merely gives grounds[br]for further persecution,

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expulsion and suppression.

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What interested us was how we could[br]come to know this hidden side.

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We were searching for an interface[br]and we found one.

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It's not a digital interface,[br]but a physical one: it's a hotel.

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We named the project "Hotel Gelem."

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Together with Roma families,[br]we created several Hotel Gelems in Europe,

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for example, in Freiburg in Germany,[br]in Montreuil near Paris,

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and also in the Balkans.

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These are real hotels.

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People can stay there.

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But they aren't a commercial enterprise.

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They are a symbol.

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You can go online and ask[br]for a personal invitation

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to come and live for a few days[br]in the Hotel Gelem, in their homes,

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eating, working and living[br]with the Roma families.

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Here, the Roma families[br]are not the travelers;

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the visitors are.

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Here, the Roma families[br]are not a minority;

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the visitors are.

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The point is not to make judgments,

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but rather to find out[br]about the context that determines

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these disparate and seemingly[br]insurmountable contradictions.

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In the world of globalization,

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the continents are drifting[br]closer to each other.

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Cultures, goods and people[br]are in permanent exchange,

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but at the same time, the gap[br]between the world of the privileged

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and the world of the excluded is growing.

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We were recently in Australia.

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For us, it was no problem[br]to enter the country.

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We have European passports,[br]visas and air tickets.

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But asylum seekers who arrive[br]by boat in Australia

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are deported or taken to prison.

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The interception of the boats

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and the disappearance of the people[br]into the detention system

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are veiled by the Australian authorities.

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These procedures are declared[br]to be secret military operations.

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After dramatic escapes[br]from crisis zones and war zones,

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men, women and children[br]are detained by Australia without trial,

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sometimes for years.

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During our stay, however,

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we managed to reach out and work[br]with asylum seekers who were imprisoned,

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despite strict screening and isolation.

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From these contexts was born[br]an installation in the art space

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of the Queensland University[br]of Technology in Brisbane.

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On the face of it,[br]it was a very simple installation.

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On the floor, a stylized compass[br]gave the direction

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to each immigration detention center,

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accompanied by the distance[br]and the name of the immigration facility.

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But the exhibition step[br]came in the form of connectivity.

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Above every floor marking,[br]there was a headset.

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Visitors were offered the opportunity[br]to talk directly to a refugee

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who was or had been imprisoned

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in a specific detention facility

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and engage in a personal conversation.

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In the protected context[br]of the art exhibition,

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asylum seekers felt free[br]to talk about themselves,

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their story and their situation,[br]without fear of consequences.

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Visitors immersed themselves[br]in long conversations

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about families torn apart,[br]about dramatic escapes from war zones,

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about suicide attempts,

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about the fate of children in detention.

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Emotions ran deep. Many wept.

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Several revisited the exhibition.

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It was a powerful experience.

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Europe is now facing a stream of migrants.

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The situation for the asylum seekers[br]is made worse by contradictory policies

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and the temptation[br]of militarized responses.

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We have also established[br]communication systems

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in remote refugee centers[br]in Switzerland and Greece.

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They are all about providing[br]basic information -- weather forecasts,

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legal information, guidance.

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But they are significant.

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Information on the Internet

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that could ensure survival[br]along dangerous routes

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is being censored,

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and the provision of such information[br]is becoming increasingly criminalized.

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This brings us back to our network[br]and to the antennas

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on the roof of the Swiss Embassy in Berlin

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and the "Can You Hear Me?" project.

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We should not take it for granted[br]to be boundlessly connected.

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We should start making[br]our own connections,

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fighting for this idea of an equal[br]and globally interconnected world.

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This is essential to overcome[br]our speechlessness

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and the separation provoked[br]by rival political forces.

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It is only in truly exposing ourselves

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to the transformative power[br]of this experience

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that we can overcome[br]prejudice and exclusion.

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Thank you.

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(Applause)

0:11:04.835,0:11:06.522
Bruno Giussani: Thank you, Mathias.

0:11:06.546,0:11:08.871
The other half of your[br]artistic duo is also here.

0:11:08.895,0:11:10.532
Christoph Wachter, come onstage.

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(Applause)

0:11:15.938,0:11:17.343
First, tell me just a detail:

0:11:17.367,0:11:19.446
the name of the hotel[br]is not a random name.

0:11:19.470,0:11:22.731
Gelem means something specific[br]in the Roma language.

0:11:22.755,0:11:27.573
Mathias Jud: Yes, "Gelem, Gelem"[br]is the title of the Romani hymn,

0:11:27.597,0:11:30.275
the official, and it means[br]"I went a long way."

0:11:30.980,0:11:33.199
BG: That's just to add[br]the detail to your talk.

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But you two traveled[br]to the island of Lesbos

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very recently, you're just back[br]a couple of days ago,

0:11:38.646,0:11:41.054
in Greece, where thousands[br]of refugees are arriving

0:11:41.078,0:11:43.366
and have been arriving[br]over the last few months.

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What did you see there[br]and what did you do there?

0:11:45.856,0:11:49.657
Christoph Wachter: Well, Lesbos is one[br]of the Greek islands close to Turkey,

0:11:49.681,0:11:51.076
and during our stay,

0:11:51.100,0:11:56.521
many asylum seekers arrived by boat[br]on overcrowded dinghies,

0:11:56.545,0:12:00.204
and after landing, they were left[br]completely on their own.

0:12:00.228,0:12:04.019
They are denied many services.

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For example, they are not allowed[br]to buy a bus ticket

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or to rent a hotel room,

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so many families literally[br]sleep in the streets.

0:12:12.700,0:12:17.336
And we installed networks there[br]to allow basic communication,

0:12:17.360,0:12:19.463
because I think, I believe,

0:12:19.487,0:12:24.926
it's not only that we have to speak[br]about the refugees,

0:12:24.950,0:12:28.275
I think we need to start talking to them.

0:12:28.655,0:12:32.275
And by doing so, we can realize[br]that it is about human beings,

0:12:32.299,0:12:35.062
about their lives[br]and their struggle to survive.

0:12:35.086,0:12:36.996
BG: And allow them to talk as well.

0:12:37.020,0:12:38.935
Christoph, thank you for coming to TED.

0:12:38.959,0:12:41.977
Mathias, thank you for coming to TED[br]and sharing your story.

0:12:42.001,0:12:44.132
(Applause)