Parallel Society Celebrates Counter-Culture, Music, & Civic Technology Innovation In Lisbon

Parallel Society concludes its 2026 edition in Lisbon, Portugal, celebrating international and local pioneers across counter-culture, music, and civic technology. The two-day gathering on 6th and 7th March in Lisbon’s Marvila neighbourhood united hacktivists, technologists, researchers, activists, and artists in a live exploration of society for the digital age.

The event was built on the work of Logos, a social and technological movement aiming to revive civil society and empower communities through decentralised technology and blockchain. Participants engaged with real-world prototypes for self-governance and digital autonomy, exploring alternatives to traditional state systems while fostering new cultural and civic practices.

Parallel Society is collectively and organically curated as a not-for-profit initiative by an emergent coalition of international and local allied groups. Partners for the 2026 edition included Logos, Internet Archive, Tor Project, MoneroKon, Unruly Capital, Venice AI, Gnosis (Circles), DarkFi, Institute of Cryptoanarchy, Above Phone, Kleros, Funding the Commons, Haven, New Economy Institute, Protocol Labs, and Common Sense, previously known as EthDAM.

Day 1, 6th March, was dedicated to collaborative research, experimentation, and knowledge exchange through the event’s [un]conference format. Participants engaged in workshops, discussion circles, protocol labs, hackspaces, co-design sprints, and hands-on sessions spanning decentralisation, privacy, open source culture, community autonomy, and tooling stewardship. Speakers included Brewster Kahle (Internet Archive), Dr Agata Ferreira (Institute of Free Technology), Amir Taaki (DarkFi), Dave Stann (True Count Tech), Fatemeh Fannizadeh, Francesco Moiraghi (Unruly Capital), Guy-Louis Grau (Keycard), Harry Halpin (Nym Technologies), Igor Sirotin (Logos), Jarrad Hope (Logos), Pavel Zoneff (Tor), Rose O’Leary (DarkFi), Siaka Stevens (Sherbro Alliance Partners), and Vít Jedlička (The Free Republic of Liberland).

A highlight of Day 1 was the launch of Logos Testnet v0.1, offering participants a live environment to experiment with privacy-first digital coordination and governance tools. The activation allowed builders, communities, and policymakers to test resilient alternatives to legacy systems in real time.

The ethos of the first day was on full display when Tor's Pavel Zoneff introduced a crowdfunding campaign dedicated to supporting internet freedom infrastructure. The campaign is led by Tor and Funding the Commons and backed by a coalition of privacy, cryptocurrency, and open-source partners, including Logos. The campaign benefits organisations and tools supporting secure journalism, private communications, anti-censorship technologies, and privacy-preserving infrastructure used by millions of people worldwide:

Day 2, 7th March, transformed Parallel Society into a vibrant cultural celebration. The programme showcased international and local talent across club, live experimental, and performance-focused music. Artists included DJ Stingray 313, Los Bitchos, Gayance, Kokeshi, Violet, Kaitlyn and Pearlmitted, SoundPreta, Apparat, Gilles Peterson with MC Rob Galliano, Clark, Moses Boyd, Calibre, Kode9, Maria Amor and Shcuro, Chima Isaaro, Nelson Makossa, and Collective Unconscious. Three standout projects from an open-call programme also performed, Albin, Abajour Nonok, and ϙue, equii and Olena Bublyk. Cultural coalition partners Fábrica Moderna, Rare Effect, Manja, Radio Quantica, and COOP supported the programme. Relive sets from Los Bitchos, Kode9, Apparat, Moses Boyd, Calibre and Gilles Peterson w/ MC Rob Galliano below:

Louisa Haining, Curation Director, comments:

“Across the two days, the experiment became something bigger than we expected. People from different corners of the world, different perspectives, different strains of sound. Performers from across genres alongside local pioneers relentlessly pushing the Lisbon underground forward. Barely any phones on the dance floor. Just open-minded people, curious, present, celebrating”

With more than 60 per cent of the lineup sourced from Lisbon-based talent, Parallel Society reinforced its commitment to nurturing local creativity while connecting it with global innovators.

The event also featured an on-site exhibition curated by Logos, presenting the work of João Cardoso (Cardoz), Ana Tortos, Batu, João Magalhães, Tomás João (Nature The Artist), and Collective Unconscious. The exhibition explored networks as social and sculptural forms, highlighting emergent governance, anonymity, and participatory processes through video, animation, installation, and sound.

Parallel Society 2026 concluded with a strong sense of community, experimentation, and the ongoing pursuit of alternatives for technology, culture and civic life. The event demonstrated the potential of decentralised networks, creative collaboration, and collective governance as tangible practices, creating a lasting impact on participants and audiences alike.

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NOTES TO EDITOR:

Approved Images | Venue Images | Festival Logos

About Parallel Society: Parallel Society is an independent, non-profit cross-cultural convergence, initiated by Logos and collectively organised by a coalition of communities, technologists, and activists. Each edition supports local cultural ecosystems and leaves behind open-source infrastructure and shared resources. It’s where technologists, artists, and activists collaborate to imagine new cultural and social infrastructures. Parallel Society Lisbon is set to be the event’s biggest edition yet, with previous culture-driven gatherings taking place in Zanzibar and Bangkok.

About Logos: Logos is a social movement and decentralised technology stack built to revitalise civil society. Building technology empowering people to create resilient, sovereign coordination systems, Logos provides tools for free association, free speech, and self-governance. Logos’ movement is shaped by shared principles cultivated through local meetups, online action groups, and global digital freedom campaigns, all driven by those who join them.

Parallel Society 2026 Photo Credit: BearCat Studios Ltd - PedroFrancisco

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