dropping knowledge

dropping knowledge is a nonprofit organization founded in 2003 by German filmmaker Ralf Schmerberg, American filmmaker Cindy Gantz, and American activist Jackie Wallace. It operates through affiliated structures in the United States and Germany: Dropping Knowledge International was organized as a project of the Tides Center, a nonprofit fiscal sponsor and registered 501(c)(3), while Dropping Knowledge e.V. was established in Germany as a registered association. The available reference material does not identify a current executive team, a commercial parent, or a confirmed present operating status. The organization emerged partly in response to the Iraq War, but its founders positioned it as more than a conventional protest movement. Its intended role was to create an interactive setting in which people could raise questions about major social and environmental challenges, compare perspectives, and connect reflection with civic action. The initiative combined public events, documentary filmmaking, online publication, and permissive licensing intended to make its materials broadly accessible. Its best-known project was The Table of Free Voices, a large public discussion held on September 9, 2006, at Berlin's Bebelplatz. The nine-hour event brought together 112 artists, philosophers, scientists, activists, and other public figures. Participants responded simultaneously to 100 questions selected from submissions gathered through the organization's website beginning in September 2005. A large round table and a system of 112 cameras and microphones were used to document the proceedings. The event was overseen by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, while Hafsat Abiola and Willem Dafoe read the questions aloud. Participants cited in reference material include Cornel West, Bianca Jagger, Hans-Peter Dürr, John Gage, Bill Joy, Harry Wu, and Wim Wenders. The event's recordings and transcripts were subsequently made available through the project's website and organized into a digital Living Library developed with the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence in Saarbrücken. This approach treated the material as an evolving public knowledge resource rather than a one-time conference archive. The organization also produced and distributed short films under the dropping knowledge Copyleft License. The license allowed reuse with restrictions, including a prohibition on using the material in commercial advertising. Ralf Schmerberg later directed and edited Problema: The Film, a documentary built around the Table of Free Voices. The film combined selected responses from the event with historical, news, documentary, and artistic footage, and was made available for free online viewing or download. The cited film sources included works associated with Sergei Eisenstein, Godfrey Reggio, Abel Gance, Alain Resnais, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Guy Debord, and Fritz Lang. Overall, dropping knowledge is best understood as a civic-media and knowledge-sharing initiative rather than a conventional consumer-facing brand.

dropping knowledge was founded in the United States in 2003 by German filmmaker Ralf Schmerberg, American filmmaker Cindy Gantz, and American activist Jackie Wallace. The initiative developed in the context of opposition to the Iraq War, but its founders sought to avoid defining it solely as an antiwar organization. Instead, they described a broader interactive platform for questions, concerns, and initiatives relating to global social and environmental problems. Its intended audience was a community of engaged citizens interested in moving from apathy or observation toward participation and action. The organization maintained structures on both sides of the Atlantic. In the United States, Dropping Knowledge International operated as a project of the Tides Center, a nonprofit fiscal sponsor and registered 501(c)(3). In Germany, Dropping Knowledge e.V. was organized as an Eingetragener Verein, or registered association. The available material does not establish whether these structures remain active today, nor does it provide a current headquarters address or leadership roster. The initiative's central public project was The Table of Free Voices, staged in Berlin on September 9, 2006. Held on Bebelplatz, the nine-hour discussion used a large round table and extensive audiovisual recording equipment. One hundred twelve international artists, philosophers, scientists, and human-rights activists were invited to answer 100 questions. The questions had been gathered through the organization's website beginning in September 2005, giving the event a participatory element before the physical meeting took place. Hafsat Abiola and Willem Dafoe served as moderators who read the questions aloud, and the event was overseen by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Among the participants identified in the reference material were Cornel West, Bianca Jagger, Hans-Peter Dürr, John Gage, Bill Joy, Harry Wu, and Wim Wenders. The event was designed to juxtapose different forms of expertise and public expression rather than present a single institutional position. Each response was recorded with dedicated cameras and microphones, producing an archive that could be circulated after the event. The resulting transcripts and videos were released through the project's website under a copyleft approach. They were arranged in a Living Library developed with the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence in Saarbrücken. This archive extended the project's purpose beyond the original gathering by turning the event into a reusable body of public knowledge. The reference material describes the organization's license as permitting reuse subject to restrictions, including a ban on using the content for commercial advertising. The event was also associated with a substantial production budget. The cited figure was approximately €5 million. Initial support came from the Wallace Foundation and the Mark and Sharon Bloome Fund; Allianz was reported to have contributed €2.7 million in 2005, and Volkswagen was also described as making a sizable donation. These figures relate to the event's financing and are not evidence of commercial revenue. Ralf Schmerberg subsequently made Problema: The Film, a documentary about The Table of Free Voices. Schmerberg directed and edited the film, which used selected answers from the event alongside material from historical, news, documentary, and art films. The cited source material included work connected with Sergei Eisenstein, Godfrey Reggio, Abel Gance, Alain Resnais, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Guy Debord, and Fritz Lang. The film was offered for free online viewing or download, consistent with the initiative's emphasis on broad public access. dropping knowledge therefore occupies an unusual position between nonprofit advocacy, public philosophy, documentary production, and digital knowledge publishing. Its most clearly documented period of activity centers on the 2003 founding, the 2005 question-gathering process, the 2006 Berlin event, and the subsequent publication of the event archive and film. There is insufficient source material to describe a current program portfolio, executive structure, financial condition, or continuing operations with confidence.

• 2006

  The Table of Free Voices takes place in Berlin

  [1]Dropping knowledgeen.wikipedia.org

  A nine-hour event at Bebelplatz brought together 112 invited participants to respond to 100 questions before a large public and recorded audience.

• 2006

  Living Library archive published

  [1]Dropping knowledgeen.wikipedia.org

  Recordings and transcripts from the Berlin event were released online and organized into a Living Library developed with the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence.

• 2005

  Online question collection begins

  [1]Dropping knowledgeen.wikipedia.org

  The organization began collecting questions through its website for a future public dialogue.

• 2003

  Organization founded

  [1]Dropping knowledgeen.wikipedia.org

  Ralf Schmerberg, Cindy Gantz, and Jackie Wallace founded dropping knowledge in the United States as a nonprofit initiative addressing global social and environmental questions.

• Problema: The Film distributed online

  [1]Dropping knowledgeen.wikipedia.org

  Ralf Schmerberg's documentary about the event was made available for free online viewing or download.

A civic-media and open-knowledge initiative focused on global social and environmental questions, public participation, and turning concern into informed action.

• Public dialogue event · 2006

  The Table of Free Voices

  A nine-hour Berlin discussion held on September 9, 2006, at Bebelplatz. The project brought 112 artists, philosophers, scientists, activists, and other public figures together to answer 100 questions selected from online submissions. Its distinctive format combined a large round table, live moderation, and extensive audiovisual recording so that the conversation could be reused as an educational and civic resource.

• Digital archive · 2006

  Living Library

  An online collection of transcripts and video from The Table of Free Voices. The archive was developed with the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence in Saarbrücken and organized the event's contributions as a continuing body of public knowledge rather than a conventional conference record.

• Documentary film

  Problema: The Film

  A documentary directed and edited by co-founder Ralf Schmerberg about The Table of Free Voices. It uses selected responses from the event together with historical, news, documentary, and artistic footage. The film was made available online for free viewing or download.

• Content license

  dropping knowledge Copyleft License

  A reuse framework applied to the organization's films and related content. The reference material describes it as allowing circulation and reuse while restricting certain commercial applications, including use in commercial advertising.

• 2006The Table of Free Voices

  Germany · International

  A global discussion project culminating in a nine-hour event in Berlin, built from questions submitted online and answered by 112 invited international participants.

  Outcome. The event generated a recorded archive, published transcripts and videos, and the Living Library digital resource.

  Source

• 2006

  Publish the event archive under a copyleft modelProduct launch

  Background

  The organization recorded the Berlin discussion with the intention of making its ideas available beyond the original audience.

  Action taken

  It released transcripts and videos through its website and organized them in a Living Library, using a copyleft license with restrictions on commercial advertising.

  Aftermath

  The Table of Free Voices became an online audiovisual and textual resource rather than a one-time public event.

  Source

• 2003

  Position the initiative as an interactive civic platformStrategy

  Background

  Although the organization arose partly as a response to the Iraq War, its founders intended it to address a wider range of social and environmental concerns.

  Action taken

  dropping knowledge developed a format centered on public questions, multiple viewpoints, media documentation, and open distribution rather than a single-issue protest identity.

  Aftermath

  The broader positioning led to projects such as The Table of Free Voices, the Living Library, and documentary content.

  Source

1. 1Dropping knowledgeen.wikipedia.org
2. 2dropping knowledge official websitedroppingknowledge.org