< Schedule
Saturday, March 31, 2026 · 17:00–19:10
Global Economy & Corporate Secrets
» Tickets
» HAU Hebbel am Ufer (HAU1) · Berlin
» English with German simultaneous translation
» Streaming (English, free) at disruptionlab.org and HAU4
Speakers · Read more
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).
Introduction
In the globalised economy, international trade deals have been criticised for decades for making legislation behind closed doors with access and influence given to corporate lobbies and multinational corporations, without insight from democratic institutions or civic society. Democratic representatives and NGOs have come to depend on publishers like WikiLeaks to be able to counter moves to privatise public goods, censor the Internet, patent extensions making life saving drugs inaccessible, undermining environmental and labor regulations and much more.
One of WikiLeaks’ first important publications exposed information about alleged tax fraud and money laundering facilitated by Bank Julius Bär via the Cayman Islands – disclosures for which the website was temporarily shut down, with the injunction eventually lifted on civil rights grounds. The powers of corporations are also exposed in cases like the Fishrot Files, where a whistleblower revealed how western multinationals bribed Namibian authorities and companies to gain control of fishing quotas and avoided paying taxes by using tax havens.
However, WikiLeaks went beyond releasing documents in their demands for corporate accountability: In 2015, WikiLeaks launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise 100 000 Euro to motivate whistleblowers to come forward and speak about “Europe’s most wanted secret” at the time – details regarding the planned Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
This conference section will explore WikiLeaks’ impact in unmasking corporate and political misconduct: Matthew Kennard, co-founder of Declassified UK, has worked extensively on the WikiLeaks disclosures to examine Western foreign policy, specifically British and American military and intelligence operations, and today is investigating the UK’s role in intelligence and logistics support during the conflict in Gaza.
As a former Australian politician and member of the Australian Greens, Scott Ludlam has spent nearly two decades working to phase out uranium mining at the Jabiluka mine and in Western Australia. He has actively opposed the deployment of nuclear weapons and fought for Aboriginal land rights, peace and disarmament. He has also campaigned against real-time mass surveillance of users and for the fair treatment of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.
Esteban Servat, a scientist from Argentina and the founder of EcoLeaks (a project inspired by WikiLeaks), published a secret government document revealing contamination of water tables by the first pilot wells of fracking in Mendoza province, part of the Vaca Muerta shale play. This led to building a massive anti-fracking movement and to intense government persecution and death threats that lead him to move.
In her film “Hacking Justice” (2017/2021), filmmakers Clara López Rubio and Juan Pancorbo document the period during which Julian Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, following the work of his lawyer, Baltasar Garzón. A key focus of the film is the CIA-linked spying operation conducted by the Spanish security firm UC Global during Assange's asylum in the Embassy.
The panel is moderated by Deepa Govindarajan Driver, whose advocacy work has demonstrated the relevance of WikiLeaks' activities in terms of corporate responsibility and accountability.
Read more about EXPOSING CRIMES IS NOT A CRIME
Exposing crimes is not a crime · The Real-World Consequences of WikiLeaks
Programme
Thu March 19 2026
» The Reasons Behind
» War & Military
Fri March 20 2026
» Government & Diplomatic Cables
» Intelligence & Cybersurveillance
Sat March 21 2026
» Global Economy & Corporate Secrets
» Art as Evidence & Resistance
Sun March 22 2026
» Activation Day
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.