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Programme Overview

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Exposing Crimes is Not a Crime

The Real-World Consequences of WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks transformed journalism by changing how public information is created and accessed. This symposium explores its legacy, why its work mattered, and how society and politics shifted as its global releases exposed systems of power. WikiLeaks members, journalists, lawyers, experts, artists, activists, and major whistleblowers discuss war, surveillance, secrecy, and new paths for action and resistance.

Whistleblowers from the NSA, CIA, FBI, and the military are also present, offering first-hand insights into the systems of power investigated by WikiLeaks. Topics include the reasons behind WikiLeaks' work, the context of war and the military-industrial complex, the effects of revealing information on intelligence, cyber surveillance, global economy, and corporate and government secrets.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is free. He was forced to plead guilty to avoid a life sentence for charges that should never have been brought against him for carrying out a journalistic act: exposing crimes. Bringing light to human rights violations, corporate wrongdoing, or government secrets is a vital public service. While many events have emphasised the importance of the work of Julian Assange, and the persecution that has ensued, few have attempted to analyse the reasons behind the decisions to pursue this work and the concrete consequences in society of the leaks. It is not only necessary to understand the reasons behind the choices that informed courageous acts against systems of power, but also to analyse the direct real-world impact of the work of WikiLeaks.

This symposium explores the lessons learned from WikiLeaks and connects them to recent events. Taking inspiration from the sections into which the WikiLeaks website is built, six panels offer insights from experts who have experienced the systems of power investigated by WikiLeaks and have worked actively on the leaks. It sheds light on why it is important to keep information free and accessible and to learn from the methodology proposed by Julian Assange and the WikiLeaks team. It also aims to provide a platform for synergies and the development of tactics and actions for the future.

The work of WikiLeaks is presented as inspiration for future experiences in journalism, press freedom and networked resistance, as well as for new artistic and activist interventions and distributed methods of providing open information. 

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Schedule

Thursday, March 19 2026

HAU Hebbel am Ufer (HAU1), Berlin

17:00 · Opening Words

Margarita Tsomou (Curator Theory & Discourse, HAU Hebbel am Ufer, GR/DE). Tatiana Bazzichelli (Founder and Artistic Director, Disruption Network Lab, IT/DE).

17:10–19:10 · The Reasons Behind

Stella Assange (Human Rights Lawyer, ZA/UK/AU), Sunna Ævarsdóttir (Global Director of Courage International, IS), Renata Ávila Pinto (Lawyer, Openness Advocate, GT/UK), Chip Gibbons (Journalist, Researcher, US).
Moderation: Tatiana Bazzichelli (Director, Disruption Network Lab, IT/DE).

20:00–22:00 · War & Military

Lisa Ling (Whistleblower, Former Technical Sergeant, US Air Force Drone Surveillance Programme, US), John Kiriakou (Former CIA Counter-Terrorism Officer, Anti-Torture Whistleblower, US), John Goetz (Investigative Journalist, US/DE), Jesselyn Radack (Director, Whistleblower & Source Protection at ExposeFacts, US/FR).
Moderation: Michael Sontheimer (Historian and Journalist, DE).

Friday, March 20 2026

HAU Hebbel am Ufer (HAU1), Berlin

17:00-19:00 · Government & Diplomatic Cables

Kristinn Hrafnsson (Editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, IS), Stefania Maurizi (Investigative Journalist, Regular Contributor, Il Fatto Quotidiano, IT), Ewen MacAskill (Reporter, Former Guardian's Defence and Intelligence Correspondent, UK), and others.
Moderation: Joseph Farrell (WikiLeaks Ambassador, UK).

20:00-22:00 · Intelligence & Cybersurveillance

Terry Albury (Former FBI Agent, Whistleblower, US), Thomas Drake (Whistleblower, former Senior Executive at the National Security Agency, US), Suelette Dreyfus (Technology Researcher, Executive Director, Blueprint for Free Speech, AU), Andy Müller-Maguhn (Wau Holland Foundation, DE).
Moderation: Mark Curtis (Co-Director, Declassified UK, Journalist, UK).

Saturday, March 21 2026

HAU Hebbel am Ufer (HAU1), Berlin

17:00-19:00 Global Economy & Corporate Secrets

Matthew Kennard (Author, Investigative Journalist, UK), Scott Ludlam (Designer, Researcher, Former Senator for Western Australia, AU), Esteban Servat (Climate Activist, Founder, EcoLeaks AR/DE), Clara López Rubio  (Filmmaker, ES/DE).
Moderation: Deepa Govindarajan Driver (Lecturer in Governance, Regulation and Risk, Henley Business School, UK).

20:00-22:00 · Art as Evidence & Resistance

Robert Trafford  (Deputy Director, Forensis; Assistant Director, Forensic Architecture, UK/DE), Institute for Dissent and Datalove (Collective of Hackers, Artists, Activists and Tinkerers, DE, FR, US), Davide Dormino (Visual Artist, Activist, IT), Manja McCade (Artist, Co-Founder, Julian Assange Archive e.V., DE).
Moderation: Becky Haghpanah-Shirwan (Director, A/POLITICAL, UK).

Sunday, March 22 2026 · Activation Day

Stadtwerkstatt, Berlin · Free with Registration (opens Feb 2)

13:00–15:00 · Tactics & Actions for the Future

With tactical input by: Andrei Molodkin (Conceptual Artist, RU/FR), Raja Stutz & Claudia Daseking (Assange Support Berlin, DE), Mauro Forte (Activist, Free Assange Napoli, IT). With the active participation of the conference speakers and the audience. Facilitators: Tatiana Bazzichelli (Founder and Artistic Director, Disruption Network Lab, IT/DE), Institute for Dissent and Datalove (Collective of Hackers, Artists, Activists and Tinkerers, DE, FR, US).

16:00–18:00 · WEKILL//LEAKS: A Card Game

With: Institute for Dissent and Datalove (Collective of Hackers, Artists, Activists and Tinkerers, DE, FR, US).

Collaboration Events

23.3 · Hacking Justice · Screening + Q&A · ACUD Kino

With Clara López Rubio (Film Director, ES/DE)

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Related talks · Explore our YouTube Channel

Targeted by Surveillance: Julian Assange · Stella Assange · Stefania Maurizi · Kevin Gosztola

Secrecy, Surveillance & Grassroots Resistance · Terry Albury · Lynzy Billing · Caitlin L Chandler

Julian Assange: Repression, Isolation & Lockdown · Suelette Dreyfus · Jennifer Robinson · Stefania Maurizi · Felicity Ruby · Anna Myers

John Kiriakou: Doing Time Like A Spy · On Prison Survival And The CIA's War On Terror

United States vs. Reality Winner · Reality Winner · John Kiriakou · Sonia Kennebeck

Whistleblowing for Change · Download Book

“Demands and deserves the widest reading” – Daniel Ellsberg

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Speakers · Read More

Activation Day Speakers

Andrei Molodkin · Conceptual Artist, RU/FR

Institute for Dissent and Datalove · Collective of Hackers, Artists, Activists and Tinkerers, DE, FR, US

Davide Dormino  · Visual Artist, Activist, IT

Manja McCade · Artist, Co-Founder, Julian Assange Archive e.V., DE

Mauro Forte · Activist, Free Assange Napoli, IT

and others to be announced.

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Press

Press kit available soon.
Contact: press<a>disruptionlab.org

Disruption Network Lab Team

A Symposium by Disruption Network Lab. Funded by Hauptstadtkulturfonds and the Reva & David Logan Foundation. In cooperation with the Wau Holland Foundation and HAU Hebbel am Ufer.