At the end of 2024, we really went all out once again: At the Chaos Communication Congress 38C3, there were several presentations by CADUS and a rather unusual humanitarian job consultation. The congress is an annual event that runs continuously for four days and revolves around topics such as technology, society and utopias. The Chaos Communication Congress is organized by the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) and various volunteers.
The highly committed CADUS Chaos employment office employee is right there for you….. Photo: CADUS

Workplace cookies for nerds

This time, we had come up with something very special for those interested in our work: the CADUS Chaos Employment Office. Anyone who wanted to could undergo a personal “color and type consultation” at our stand with the CADUS red entrance counter – of course only with an appointment and an existing organ donor card – in order to find a way into humanitarian aid. Whether suitable or not, at the end everyone received a work cookie from us – we even baked them ourselves. The concept was a great success: the stand was constantly busy and we made countless contacts. Whether it was support with the evaluation of our LiDAR data recorded with the drone or volunteers who came by to screw in the Makerspace – we found everything we were looking for and had a lot of fun doing it.
Drone, LiDAR, workshops, advice and a bit of merch: the mix was well received at 38C3. Photo: CADUS

Innovative and sometimes tricky: the CADUS deployments

But of course there were also more serious moments during the congress. In total, we held three talks (“When the comment columns were on fire – 11 months of action in GAZA“,“Hacking disasters – a crafting guide for the chaos community“, “Disaster relief – more than just medicine”) and organized a game (“The humanitarian prize is hot”). The interest in our talks was outstanding: extra chairs had to be provided and people stood on the sidelines to listen. Afterwards, the audience had the opportunity to ask questions and get into conversation with us. The converted coach, which is used as a mobile intensive care unit in Ukraine, and the 5G SPRINT research project, which is designed to ensure communication between our emergency teams, were of particular interest. However, the expansion of our technical arm and the fact that we need support from people with a wide range of backgrounds and expertise for this (as well as for the medical missions) were also noted with enthusiasm by the audience. Insights into our Gaza mission from Nic, Annalea and Sebastian in a packed lecture hall. Photo: CADUS After the intensive days at 38C3, we are now getting down to sorting through all the exciting ideas and contacts and planning the next steps. If you missed us at the congress but would still like to support us as a volunteer, please get in touch at volunteer.management (ät) cadus.org!