Die Planung / A Terv FAQ

1. What is Die Planung / A Terv?
It is a publication project, in the form of a magazine for the utilization of the future NOW.

2. What is the plan with Die Planung? When is it going to be published?
It has three different issues, which are pre-released in June/July 2007 and will originally be published each in June/July of 2011, 2036 and 2048. Each issue is conceived accordingly to one of those future dates.

3. What is Die Planung about?
Die Planung deals with methods of production for anticipation and planning. The simple assumption that it is conceived from a future perspective allows the editors to compile and revisit different concepts of future, transforming them into possible realities.

4. What is its purpose?
Die Planung proceeds with the exploration of contemporary reality by producing an analysis of an unknown situation, which is an anticipation and a delay at once. An assertion about something that is unknown is by definition the deeper significance of the word "Planung“, "the act of planning“, "to make a plan“.
To imagine futures is a powerful strategy of survival.

5. What is its content?
Historical, futurological, sociological, scientific, philosophical, literary and art contributions, by international authors and artists from a specific future perspective (2011, 2036 and 2048).

6. What does it look like?
It will appear in a printed format. The material appearance and layout are intrinsic to the general concept and in close relation to the content. The magazine is an object coming from the future.

7. What is the meaning of the dates?
We expect these not too distant dates to generate three different future scenarios.

8. Are there going to be other dates/issues?
Yes, on a potential level. There might be more, and even regular issues of the magazine in between the chosen dates. This depends on future funding.

9. What is the difference between the three dates?
They differentiate each other by their meta-contexts of distance and proximity to our present. Ultimately the three dates represent three different futures, which don't necessarily connect with each other.

10. Why did you choose these dates?
These are arbitrarily chosen dates, in a not too distant future, within the life expectancy of the editors. 2011 is a relatively close date which allows us to sketch trends while staying within the realm of real possibilities, potential realities. 2036 is, as an example, the 100th anniversary of the making of the movie Things to Come. 2048 is the 200th anniversary of the first publishing of the Communist Manifesto, one of the most influential texts ever written.

11. Who are the contributors?
All contributors invited are contemporary thinkers. Hungarian, German, as well as international novelists, scientists, artists, planners, architects, economists etc.

12. In which languages will the magazine be published?
Contributions in German, Hungarian and English language will at least be published in the original version. Some of these contributions will get translated into one of the other languages, but not necessarily. There might also be original contributions in Italian, French or Serbian.

13. Is Die Planung a SF-magazine, a fiction magazine, a scientific magazine, a literary magazine, a future studies magazine or an art project?
Die Planung is a cultural magazine, that is, an interdisciplinary project that doesn't limit itself to certain topics or institutional ways of thinking. It researches and transcends the realm of planning and anticipation, its approaches, instruments and guidelines.

14. Is Die Planung a fake?
By no means. It aims to sketch real scenarios, potential futures, true consequences.

15. Who is responsible for the publication?
The editorial team will publish the magazine as an independent publishing entity.

16. Who is the editorial team?
Sandra Bartoli, Martin Conrads, Silvan Linden, Katarina Sevic and Levente Polyák. The members of this team come from various fields such as architecture, art, social studies etc.

17. What is the institutional support of Die Planung?
Die Planung is supported by the Secretariat for Future Studies (SFZ: www.sfz.de ), Germany, and the Nextlab Association for the Development of Digital Culture (www.nextlab.hu), Hungary.

18. Who is funding the Planung?
The project is mainly funded by Bipolar, German-Hungarian Cultural Projects (www.projekt-bipolar.net), an initiative of the German Federal Cultural Foundation. The project is also supported financially by the Secretariat for Future Studies (SFZ) and Nextlab. The Berlin-based Secretariat for Future Studies (SFZ: www.sfz.de) is the institution managing the entire budget of the project. The editorial team works on a contract basis with the SFZ.

19. How will the magazine be distributed? Where will it be sold?
As broadly as possible. In the best bookshops and cultural spaces, especially in Germany and Hungary, but also elsewhere.

20. Who are the readers of Die Planung? Who is the audience of Die Planung?
All people interested in the future and the contemporary relevance of planning and anticipating.

21. Will there be related events, such as release parties and press conferences?
Each issue will have its separately profiled public event series. They will all be announced on the web site, as well as the publication dates.

22. What are the archetypes of Die Planung?
By name Die Planung refers to mainly modernist magazines from the early 20th century like Die Aktion or Der Sturm. By content and form, the idea of a future magazine has been used for a long time now, be it in movies, books, etc. We don’t claim to produce something original by format; its originality lies in the power of stray association, combining the concept of future with a new focus on the general idea of planning.