Tuesday, May 5, 2025
9:30–10:00 | Check-in + coffee
Tuesday | 10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
Welcome and opening of the conference
Speakers: Anja Adam, Anna Kleeblatt
Tuesday | 10:15 a.m.–10:45 a.m.
Keynote: Origins of Third Space I
Speakers: Aat Vos, Amy Goedhart / Includi
Opening the conference, Aat Vos and Amy Goedhart explore the origins and evolution of the Third Space concept. Their keynote sets the frame for the days ahead, reflecting on how places of connection emerge and why they matter today. It invites participants to ground their practice in a broader perspective on space, community, and social change.
Tuesday | 10:45 a.m.–11:30 a.m.
Impulse block 1: Democracy + third places, rural areas + third places, social work + third places
Speaker: XXX
Democracy + Third Places
Third places are spaces for encounter, exchange, and negotiation—and thus places where democracy is lived out. Here, different perspectives meet, conflicts become visible, and dialogue becomes possible. This short lecture highlights the role that third places can play in social cohesion and democratic culture.
Rural areas + Third places
In rural areas, third places often take on a special function: they bring together social, cultural, and infrastructural offerings in one location. New forms of community and cooperation are emerging between local amenities, meeting places, and cultural spaces. This article highlights the opportunities and challenges that arise from this.
Social work + Third places
Third places touch on central issues in social work—from participation and loneliness to inclusion and low-threshold access. They create spaces where support, encounters, and self-organization can coexist. This short presentation outlines how social work perspectives strengthen third places—and vice versa.
11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Networking break
Tuesday | 12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Panel 1: Suddenly social? Cultural venues become social venues
Speaker: XXX
Cultural institutions are increasingly taking on social functions—both consciously and out of social necessity. At the intersection of culture and social issues, new expectations, new responsibilities, and new forms of collaboration are emerging. International voices from politics and culture discuss the opportunities and tensions that this change brings with it—and how cultural venues can shape their role between artistic mission and social responsibility.
12:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Lunch + Networking
Tuesday | 2:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Warm Up
Speaker: XXX
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Tuesday | 2:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Workshops 1: Giving space (initiation)
(1) From project to attitude – organizations in transition
Caroline Gollner
Change management in the cultural sector
Organizational development and new structures
Interfaces, responsibilities, decision-making processes
Learning, error culture, adaptability
(2) All in this together – Participation and change throughout the entire organization
Christina von Rotenhan
Internal communication of the "third place" concept
Involvement of all departments
Communication during the change process
Resistance, excessive demands, expectations
(3) Space without direction – the courage to be uncurated
Patrick Oes, Theater Basel
What does "uncured" mean in practice?
Relinquish control, permit use
Risks, opportunities, gray areas
Rules, trust, and responsibility
(4) Idealism meets Mammon – Thinking about the third place in economic terms
NN / Vienna Museum Quarter / 104 Paris?
Business plan as a basis
Initial costs, ongoing costs, cost drivers
Financing models and mixed calculations
Role of Finance Management and Controlling
(5) Form Follows Connection – Designing spaces for third places
NN / Oslo Library
Space requirements and multiple use
Architecture for openness and relaxation
Transitions, thresholds, zones
Converting existing stock vs. rethinking it
(6) From audience to community – building lasting relationships
NN / United Kingdom, tbd
Identify and engage stakeholders
Community building as a long-term process
CRM in the cultural sector
Cooperation, networks, local roots
3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Afternoon snack + networking
Tuesday | 4:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. | 11:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. | Blackbox
Panel 2: Money, money, money – Financing third places
Speaker: XXX
Third places need ideas, commitment, and reliable funding. Representatives from foundations, financial policy, and practice will discuss which models are viable, where funding logic reaches its limits, and which new alliances are possible. The focus will be on the question of how third places can be financed in the long term without losing their openness and standards.
Tuesday | 4:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Impulse block 2: Open spaces and Basel, the church as a third place, corporate space as a third place?
Speaker: XXX
Basel has a long history of open spaces and communal meeting places—even if they weren't referred to as "third places" in the past. This short lecture highlights this tradition and places current developments in this historical context.
Church as a third place
For centuries, churches were central third places—places of community, exchange, and belonging. Today, many of these spaces are losing their social presence or disappearing altogether. This short lecture highlights their significance and questions their future role.
Corporate space as a third place?
The example of the Novartis Campus in Basel shows how spaces with third-place qualities can also be created in the private sector. The article outlines how architecture, corporate interests, and the public sphere converge here.
Tuesday | 5:15 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
logistics
Speaker: XXX
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Tuesday | 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Hikes / Site Visits
Speaker: XXX
Twelve guided, one-hour site visits and walks through Basel will allow participants to experience selected third places firsthand. The tours will provide insights into specific projects and bring participants into conversation with the people who shape and develop these spaces. The locations can also be visited individually before or after the conference—as an extension of the program into the urban space.
Tuesday | 7:00 p.m. – openend 12:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. I Blackbox
Get Together
Wednesday, May 6, 2025
9:00 – 9:15 | Arrival + coffee
Wednesday | 9:15–9:30 a.m.
Input: Review, getting in the mood for the day
Speaker: XXX
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Wednesday | 9:30–10:00
Keynote 2: Origins of Third Space II
Speaker: XXX
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Wednesday | 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Practical block: Case studies – Focus on practice
Speaker: XXX
In this compact block, three selected case studies will be presented in short presentations, each followed by a question and answer session. The presentations will provide in-depth insights into specific projects and invite participants to engage directly with experiences, challenges, and lessons learned. Details on the selected projects will follow—stay tuned.
11:00 – 11:30 | Networking break
Wednesday | 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Workshops 2: Holding space (everyday life)
(7) Everyone welcome? – Awareness and de-escalation in the third place
NN / tbd (Marian Cramm, TB?)
Awareness concepts in open cultural venues
De-escalation in the conflict between openness and security
Access, barrier removal, and inclusion
Roles, responsibilities, training needs
(8) Between vision and shift schedule – a third place in everyday life
Amy Goedhart / includi
Day-to-day operations beyond project logic
Staff, opening hours, routines
Conflicts between program, service, and use
Practical experience from ongoing operations
(9) Communication and consumption-free space
to be determined
External communication: stakeholders, press, public
Expectation management & signage in the room
Image building without marketing hype
Language, tone, and attitude
Convey and ensure freedom of consumption
(10) Engagement on equal terms – volunteers as indispensable contributors
Ursula Baum, GGG
Roles of volunteers in the third place
Distinction from full-time staff
Motivation, support, appreciation
Legal and organizational issues
(11) What really works? – Evaluation and learning
Veronika Ehm, Educult
Goals and impact logic of third places
Quantitative and qualitative evaluation
Learning from data and feedback
Evaluation as a development tool
(12) From bouncer to concierge – hospitality in an open house
Will Guidara / Anna Kleeblatt
Hosting as a professional role
Service, relationship, presence
Being a concierge in a cultural context
Balance between openness and rules
(keyword: "unreasonable hospitality")
Wednesday | 12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Panel 3: Third Places – Where Are They Headed?
Speaker: XXX
Third places are popping up in many places—but who actually designs and runs them? Do these actors come from the fields of culture, architecture, social work, urban development, or completely different disciplines—and will a separate job profile be needed for this in the future? The panel will discuss where greater professionalization could come from: new networks, interdisciplinary associations, an academy, or a degree program. The focus will be on the question of how a diverse practice can give rise to a self-confident, networked field with a clear perspective.
1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. | Lunch + Networking
Wednesday | 2:15 p.m.–3:00 p.m.
Panel 4: Between Audience Development and Community Building
Speaker: XXX
Third places operate in the fields of audience development and community building. They are an economic factor, image enhancers, and strategic instruments—and at the same time, they are spaces for long-term relationship building, participation, and shared responsibility.
The panel highlights the tensions and intersections between these logics: group communication and genuine belonging, key figures and trust, technical infrastructure and social processes. Where do frictions arise—and where do surprising alliances form? An open discussion that deliberately brings different perspectives together and picks up on one of the most exciting topics of the conference.
Wednesday | 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Closing Keynote 3: How Do Third Places Generate Income?
Speaker: Robin Cantrill-Fenwick, Baker Richards
To conclude the conference, Robin Cantrill-Fenwick analyzes the question of how third places generate income—and what "income" actually means in the context of openness, the common good, and social impact. The keynote speech combines economic clarity with an expanded understanding of value and shows how financial sustainability and social aspirations can be reconciled. Contagious and inspiring: May you all leave the conference feeling so inspired that you can't help but start a third place tomorrow.
Wednesday | 3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Closing remarks + end of the conference
Speaker: Anja Adam, Anna Kleeblatt