remembering mihi

Michael Bauer 1980–2015

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Michael Bauer 1980–2015

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I just stumbled upon this picture i took of Mihi some years ago. (I still think about you a lot.)

— Clara

Michael worked with Open Knowledge from August 2012 - October 2014. Open Knowledge - the organisation and Board - conveys our deep sympathy to his family and friends. While we were shocked and saddened to hear the news of his passing, we know there are so many irreplaceable memories to treasure that those in the open knowledge community will share.

Michael was an extraordinary colleague and friend to many. There are so many stories of those who had the privilege of working together as he wrangled data like a "Data Diva" (his self-styled job title), trained people through School of Data, advocated passionately for transparency and digital freedom, inspired so many of us, held us to account, drove us to higher aspirations - and always with humour, patience, and deep integrity. Whether it was interrupting major conferences to clarify jargon, or leading the volunteers at OKFestival, his energy and commitment to the movement and those around him was clear.

May we always look through Michael's wonderfully rose-tinted sunglasses.

The last word, of course, must be left to Mihi himself. In October '14 he announced that he was leaving Open Knowledge to move to derStandard.at. In the message he shared with the staff, he quoted The Doctor: "We all change. When you think about it, we are all different people, all through our lives. And that's ok, that's good, you gotta keep moving, so long as you remember all the people that you used to be."

— Pavel Richter (CEO), Rufus Pollock (President), Karin Christiansen (Board Chair) - Open Knowledge International

"We are more than the sum of individuals."

Recorded 2 years ago at Elevate Festival 2013, by @Documentally

— Marc, Graz

I’m still finding it hard to process that Michael has passed away. He’d congratulated me on my run just the day before. And this is the final tweet from his Twitter account.

I met Michael for the first time in winter of 2013. It was my first summit after starting at Open Knowledge. Michael, Friedrich, Lucy, Trggvi, I, and a few others were holed up in Rufus’ kitchen getting briefed on Openspending from Friedrich. Over the years, we’ve worked together to deliver trainings and we met each other at the Open Knowledge summits and events. I sat through one of Michael’s trainings last year in Tanzania on cleaning data. I learned quite a lot about cleaning up data from him that day. He got the entire room comfortable about learning new things. I could see their joy in understanding how to use the right tools.

After Michael left Open Knowledge, we kept in touch on #running on irc.freenode.net and Twitter. I’d just started running this year and he encouraged me to do longer distances. Now, when I have conversations on #running, I will be thinking of Michael and his infectious energy.

— Nigel, India

I first met Mihi in 2008, shortly after he had moved to Boston. I was at my coworker's wine and cheese party, and noticed this guy embroiled in a very passionate discussion about the merits of analog photography. We quickly became good friends, and started spending time together on a regular basis, drinking coffee or whiskey and talking about everything from russian literature to stem cell differentiation to blockchain algorithms. I could not believe that I had found someone who could not only discuss almost anything under the sun, but who would also have a nuanced and balanced opinion on it, no matter the subject matter.

With the coworker who'd originally introduced us, we decided to move in togther into one big apartment, instead of separately paying for three small apartments, and thus began one of the best times of my life. Though we were both very busy with our research, we still found time to do so much stuff -- we built our own furniture using reclaimed wood, we taught each other linear algebra, statistical mechanics, functional programming, and French cooking. We hacked together kinetic sculptures out of leftover electronics and spare bicycle parts. We brewed extremely strong kombucha, and had kombucha-vodka parties that generally ended with impromptu indoor skateboard races and Ginsberg poetry readings (and overturned furniture).

What I realized about life while living with Mihi is that it's so much better if you just DO the things you dream of, no matter how big or small. Want to build a CNC machine? Order the parts! Put them together! Having conflicts with a coworker? Talk to them about it! Do it today! Think you've taken a wrong turn in your "career path"? Change it! Just DO it -- it's actually not that hard.

After Mihi left Boston we stayed in touch on a regular basis, and we started a (mostly) annual tradition of cycle touring trips somewhere in Europe, which were always the hightlight of my year. We rode all through the Austrian wine country, Slovakia, to Budapest, and through Bohemia, finishing with evenings sitting on the warm cobblestones of the old city in Prague, drinking wine, and talking about what a fantastic experience it is to be alive and conscious.

He had such an abundance of compassion, intelligence, enthusiasm, and love that it all fused together inside, and shone out of him like the sun.

Mihi, I will miss you for the rest of my life. I am so grateful for the time that we could spend together. Thank you! <3

— Matt, Boston

"We need to address this situation now." - Michael

Michael was the human embodiment of a cattle prod. Constantly restless, he couldn't understand why anyone would waste a second of their life talking instead of acting.


Things were always adrenaline fuelled when he was involved - and he filled our work with just enough mischief to always make things interesting.

He could improvise better than most, and occasionally cut things very fine. I remember clearly the day of the first Data Expeditions at Mozfest in 2012. A big event, the room was full of 60+ attendees eagerly awaiting the session. Michael started making the character sheets 30 minutes before we were due to go on. 10 minutes before the workshop, he disappears to find a printer. The time comes to start and he's not there. I have to start and make it up without him - not how we rehearsed. A couple of minutes later, he sneaks back into the room clutching the finished character sheets, grinning cheekily at me and mouthing:

"sorry!"

...then carrying on with the workshop like nothing has happened... The session was one of the best we ever ran and the character sheets went on to be some of the most requested assets School of Data ever produced. He cut things fine, but he never let us down.


Anyone who spent any time with him would know that he voiced his thoughts with the utmost honesty. He talked passionately, with dramatic hand gestures. He wrote with the same brutal honesty, which led to the occasional session re-writing his reports with him in slightly more diplomatic terms...

But as a remote team, we relied on that honesty. As we hardly ever saw each other train, it would have been very easy to pretend that everything always went amazingly. It was a hallmark of Michael's character that he held us to high standards, telling us if he thought we were wrong. We took that feedback and it helped to steer the School of Data ship in the right direction. He was fair and he applied the high standards to everyone, himself included, regularly criticising his own work. (From the number of people who wanted to work with him, I have to assume that much of his self-criticism was needless).


So Michael, to borrow some very well known words from you: "Let me make one frank remark"

I have ever met anyone else who could have done the job you did. Thank you for everything you made School of Data and for all the fun we had with you. We will miss your "cuddle-fluff" busting, your fabulous hand gestures and our conversations from random airports all around the globe.

The word seems like a less colourful place now that you are gone, but deep down I know that's temporary. You are etched indelibly on our memories in technicolour. And then there are all those seeds you planted...

— Lucy Chambers, Berlin

Das Foto zeigt Mihi am #DNP12. Er sprach damals über das Urheberrecht und wie man es reformieren müsste, damit auch Remixing und Fairuse möglich wären. Er hatte so viele Ideen und hat so viel bewegt. Danke, Mihi.

— Barbara Wimmer

I worked with Michael on the open data trainings in Tanzania. Absolutely wonderful guy, really sad to hear the news..

— Dirk, UK

Metaday #57 im Wiener Metalab | 2013-03-08

Die Idee 'Open' Von "private Daten schützen" zu "öffentliche Daten nützen"

Vortragender: Michael Bauer

— pk, Klosterneuburg

mihi maintaining a FunkFeuer node in its early days of 2004

He's founding member of this community operated backbone network spanning over the roofs of Vienna (using WLAN and Free Software mesh routing technology).

— pk, Klosterneuburg

This is the speech I gave at Michael's funeral. I'm sorry, it's available in german only:

Irgendwie hat unsere Freundschaft einen grossen Bogen. Begonnen hat es im Sezierkurs, geendet mit Deinem viel zu frühen Tod.

Dazwischen war eine wundervolle Zeit.

Wir haben zusammen gelernt, literweise Kaffee und auch Alkohol getrunken (um nicht lernen zu müssen), andauernd über Gott und die Welt philosophiert und dabei diese sicher tausend Mal gerettet.

Nach der Gründung unserer WG ist alles noch intensiver geworden, oft sind wir durchs Leben gerannt wie ein altes Ehepaar. Nur, dass Michi nebenbei noch hundert andere Sachen gemacht hat: Sein frühes Engagement beim CCC, Funkfeuer, Metalab und so weiter. Wo ich mit ein wenig Studieren, hobbyforschen und Leben schon ziemlich gut ausgelastet war, hattest er noch immer Zeit für mehr.

Michi hatte die Gabe, Menschen die unterschiedlichsten Menschen zueinanderzuführen und auch füreinander zu begeistern. Äusserlichkeiten waren ihm egal. So sind für mich Freundschaften entstanden, die mich mein Leben lang begleiten und immer an Dich erinnern werden.

Unsere Freundschaft hat sich über die Jahre entwickelt. Ich habe sie als tief empfunden, besonders wenn ich Probleme hatte, war er immer sofort für mich da.

Lieber Michi, Du wirst uns allen unglaublich fehlen.

Am meisten fehlen werden mir unsere Gespräche, ein richtiges Gehirnjogging, du hattest immer kluge Argumente wenn meine Sicht der Dinge zu einfach oder falsch war.

Bewundert habe ich immer an Dir eine absolute Begeisterungsfähigkeit. Du hast Dich neuen Sachen mit einer kindlichen Neugier genähert, bist in der Sache versunken um nach einer Zeit begeistert wieder aufzutauchen und davon zu erzählen.

Ich habe auch nach Deinem Tod nicht aufgehört, über Dich zu staunen. Es ist schlicht unglaublich, wie vielen Menschen rund um dem Globus Du wichtig und vertraut warst.

Unendlich traurig bin ich, dass meine Kinder ohne ihren Onkel Michi aufwachsen müssen.

Am Ende möchte ich gerne meine Tochter Charlotte zitieren:

„Der Onkel Michi soll die Augen aufmachen, es ist noch nicht Schlafenszeit"

— Wolfgang, Vienna

I met Michael first when he came to teach us data during Open Data Bootcamp in Kathmandu. His enthusiasm was contagious. He taught us the fundamentals, yet asked for our suggestions on the new interactive visualizations he was working on, and took them too. He then made suggested changes immediately and asked us for feedback again. He was the mathematics teacher I wish I had in primary school.

During the Open Knowledge Festival in Berlin, he coordinated the army of volunteers of which I was a satisfied recruit. He helped me with the ways around the fabulous city of Berlin, explaining the S and U - bahns, why it turned dark so late in Europe, and other small things I would have been too embarrassed to ask anybody else. He was a great teacher, and a greater soul.

As we say in Nepal, May His Soul Rest in Eternal Peace!

— Kshitiz Khanal, Kathmandu

I had no idea what I was getting into when I travelled from Reykjavik, Iceland to Cambridge, UK for a job interview at the Open Knowledge Foundation. I checked into the hotel I was staying at and the only person I had been in touch with over email and text messages (Lucy Chambers) was busy so she gave me the phone number to Michael Bauer who was staying at the same hotel.

I had texted this mysterious Michael in the morning of the interview to see if he could take me to the place where we'd be at during the day. He was already in the lobby, working, so I went down to meet him and we walked through Cambridge to the house we'd be in.

I was a bit shy and felt a bit out of place. That all disappeared as soon as I met Michael. We seemed to be very similar in our opinions about digital freedoms and the world (but he a bit more verbose than I was).

The talk we had during that walk of ours was one of the most enjoyable talks I've had with a stranger. He was incredibly knowledgeable about my country, about the topics that interested me, about everything. We talked about everything from economic theories to data retention laws to hackerspaces.

To me that's Michael Bauer. He wasn't afraid to challenge intellectually and press for opinions. All in a playful way. We made jokes about extremely serious issues, both fully aware how serious they were and then discussed solutions to these serious problems the minute after.

It was always like that. During that first walk of ours; While sitting in a sofa together one evening a year at a work summit; Sending text messages to one another about current news after he left Open Knowledge. Always. I had to be at the top of my game around Michale Bauer. I had to be ready to be challenged intellectually, be prepared to stand by my opinions, and I enjoyed it.

Thank you Michael.

— Tryggvi Björgvinsson, Iceland

I just met Michael for the first time in Buenos Aires at the 2015 Media Party. I learned a lot from him from just a few brief chats, where he was generous with his knowledge and insights. We talked about ways to detect faked election results in Afghanistan, he gave me lots of great feedback on a prototype mobile app, and he recommended a book on community (Jono Bacon's Art of Community) that I ordered on the spot. His wisdom and obvious talents were a huge asset to the journalism community, and he will be very much missed.

— Burt Herman, San Francisco

I just finished a Data Expedition in Yangon with a group of eager young journalist. Every time I run a data expedition I try to channel Michael. I haven't been able to replicate the magic he created at the first data expedition I ever attended, with Michael running the show. In Nairobi a few years ago, Michael got in touch to say he'd be in town and would love to run a data expedition with my brand new data journalism team. I met Michael that first day of the expedition and since then he's been the one I turned to when I needed a bit of coding help, a suggestion for new apps to try out or a moment of sincerity and a beer at a conference when I was all socialized out. Like so many others, I already miss him terribly and all he added to the community.

— Eva Constantaras, Istanbul, Turkey

"I wish I could paint," I said.

"What do you mean, you wish you could paint? Have you ever heard a child say that they couldn't paint?"

"Uhmm. No..." I replied.

"Everyone can paint. Thinking you can't is stupid. You just need to pick up a paintbrush, get some colour on it, and put it on paper."

That conversation is basically the first I remember having with Michael. It was typically blunt, wise and honest, all at once. We'd just landed in Santiago de Chile - my first work trip with Open Knowledge - and Michael and I went on a mini-Latin American tour, visiting Montevideo and Buenos Aires, as well. It was only the second time I'd ever met him, and suddenly spending almost all of my waking hours with him for more than 2 weeks was an intense way to get to know him!

About a month ago, we met again in Buenos Aires, to my total joy. He'd told me he wasn't travelling so much with his job at Der Standard, so when he'd said "See you at MediaParty" I wasn't really sure he was being serious. Turns out he was, and it was so cool to see him being a "real" journalist - carrying out interviews, and writing. We hung out with the same people as three years previously, and even in some of the same bars.

I learned more than I can explain from Michael. He made me laugh a lot. He came up with some of the funniest emails I've ever received. He was unendingly curious and determined to find out why rather than accepting basically anything. At the same time though, he accepted that other people worked in different ways, and could tailor his explanations to different audiences amazingly smoothly.

I think one of the things I admired most about him was how generous he was with his time. No matter how many questions I had (or anyone else within School of Data) - he would always, always make time to answer them in a thoughtful way. That is something I hope I can do, too. We were all so sad when he left School of Data, and between us, we spent many hours making that 'data diva' video. It was a lot of fun to make, and I'm so, so glad that we did now, because i hope he realised from it even just a tiny bit of how much we appreciated him.

I'm so sorry I didn't tell him in person last month, but that first conversation stayed with me. This year for my birthday, I got a sketchbook and some paints, and about a month before seeing him, I actually followed his advice and..started painting. His advice was spot on, as usual.

(Photos taken in August 2015 in Buenos Aires, by Sergio)

— Zara, Berlin

I have first met Michael on July, 2009 at Boston Logan airport. He came out to greet me when I was just about to start my 2 year stay at Brigham & Women's hospital in Boston. Because of bad weather, my flight was delayed about 5 hours, I remember, so he had to wait for me till around 1 AM. He generously shared his room in Cambridge with me for about 1 month until I found my studio. I vividly remember when he kindly guided me through Boston on the first weekend. I also remember when he introduced his friends to me and had some beer altogether. I thoroughly regret that I didn't take a picture at that time. He was the most generous man I have ever met. He was talented and energetic guy.

Michael, I am so sorry because I had not had a chance to say 'I sincerely thank you so much for all your help to me.' I had thought that we had more chances to meet together in future. I pray for the repose of your soul.

with best regards,

from JK

— Jung-Kyu Han

Boston, 2010, July

To a big boy who loved science and life - you will be forever missed, Michael.

Michael generously demonstarted the comprehensive procedures to perform a mouse echo using the newly purchased Vevo 2100 echo unit to me and Dr. Chris Mbah from Nigeria in Prof. Ronlglih's Cardiac Muscle Rearch Lab. at Brigham and Women's Hospital , Harvard, Boston. He explained thouroghly to us calmly and with each step he did. A big boy can be determinedly scientific, yet so warm and gentle to human and mice at the same time.

Respectfully, Kim fen-chiung Lin, a Cardiologist from Taiwan, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital .

— Kim Lin, previous Boston and Taiwan now

Happy times at Nation of Gondwana, August 2015. Mihi we will miss you lots. In our hearts you'll still be with us.

— Nation of Gondwana 2015

Im Jahr 2005 haben wir uns bei den Gründungstagen des Metalab kennengelernt. Er war einer der Anker des Projekts, ein begnadeter Hacker, an allem interessiert und für jedes kreative – oder vor allem gesellschaftsverändernde – Projekt zu begeistern.

Twitter war kaum noch erfunden, da hatte er schon einen Bot zusammengehackt, der dort angekündigte, wann immer das Lab offen war. Gemeinsam haben wir die Stadt mit bunten Lichtern verziert. Mit kollektiv betriebener alternativer Internet-Infrastruktur hatte er sie schon zuvor mit dem Projekt Funkfeuer überzogen.

Erst als er nach Amerika abhaute, erfuhr ich, dass er neben all dem auch einen Doktortitel in Medizin gemacht hatte. Er hatte es nie erwähnenswert gefunden.

An Mihi war nichts selbstdarstellerisch oder inzeniert, nichts aufgesetzt oder berechnend. Er war immer locker drauf, humorvoll und hilfsbereit. Ein Vorbild.

Twitter nach seinem Nickname @mihi_tr zu durchsuchen bringt Menschen von Kathmandu bis Bogota zutage, die er bereichert und inspiriert hat, und die nun um ihn trauern.

Wenn man durch das, was man anderen weitergibt und in ihnen auslöst, über die Haltbarkeit dieser unperfekten körperlichen Hülle hinaus auf gewisse Weise weiterlebt – dann kenne ich kaum einen Menschen, der gerade lebendiger ist als Mihi.

— Christopher / c3o

The first time I met Michael met was at OKFest in Helsinki in 2012 when Tactical Tech was talking about partnering in some way with OKFN to support the School of Data. Michael and Jen Lowe were involved in leading that work at the time. Over that event, at breakfast meetings, dinners and over drinks we had many conversations about how the School of Data. How could a program take something that is fairly 'simple' and straightforward for scientists (like Michael), but is complex for most everyone else, and make it intelligible, interesting and use-able? What are the ingredients of a project that would make data science accessible to a lay community of activists and journalists?

I can remember have arguments with Michael about all of this, and I think this is something that endeared him to me. Prissy political correctness, abbreviated thoughts in 140 characters and general signal breakdown both on- and off-line often prevent us from having heated exchanges and I believe disagreements are not-to-be avoided at work. It is special for me -and rare - to meet people who you can disagree with and then go have a drink with. Michael was one of those people.

It was easy to like Michael and having seen him at some events and sessions, I realised he really knew what he was talking about, data-wise. Paired with some of our staff at Tactical Tech, Michael was a consultant trainer on some workshops we did, which were very successful.

The last time we met offline was at 30c3 in Hamburg. We sat next to each other at a talk and caught up on things. (It wasn't a very good talk I guess :-| ) However, there was always Twitter, and I think that's where I knew him best. His sarcasm, questions and witty comebacks were entertaining. It's rare to know people on Twitter, even rarer to like them. I'll miss seeing you around @mihi_tr (I always wanted to ask about your handle).

— Maya, Berlin

Ich lief den Halbmarathon. So wie schon einige Jahre zuvor. Es war ein wunderschöner Tag, umringt von so vielen laufbegeisterten Menschen. Dann sah ich ihn liegen, am Straßenrand kämpften Sanitäter um das Leben eines jungen Mannes. Die nächsten Kilometer hoffte ich so sehr, dass dieser Mensch den Kampf gewinnt. Ich bin entsetzt, sehr betroffen. Meine Gedanken sind bei seiner Familie und denen, die ihn lieben. Er ist nicht vergessen. Niemals, auch wenn ich Michael nicht persönlich kennen gelernt habe.

— Annette, wien

I can't remember when i met Mihi for the first time. It was some years back. What i do remember is that i immediatly knew that he is always the right adress to ask a question when you struggle with something. I was always happy when i had to be/talk somewhere to see his face. It made me immediatly calmer. He was the kind of person you just knew to be absolutly trustworthy, kind and generous.

When we worked on our book "Netzpolitik in Österreich" i wanted it to be also an open online publication. But there was no budget for that. So i had to find solutions for many questions on my own. Furthermore i needed ways to coordinate all the different involved participants and different ways to collaborate. So i had to find and use many tools i did not know. It was Mihi who took the time to help me with all of it.

I did not realize how deeply he impressed me, how deeply i cared for him, until i got the message of his death. Somehow it seems that i thought that he would always be there – at least as long as i am alive. I normally keep kind of calm when somebody passes. It's sad, of course, especially for those who knew someone better but it's a pretty normal part of life.

In Mihis case i couldn't stop crying. Although i did't even knew him that close. I really hope he knew how much he was loved.

And i can't imagine how him passing must be for his partner, his family and his really close friends. I want to send my deepest condolences to you all. Mihi is a name i will never forget and that will always remind me to try to be a better version of myself.

— Clara L.

Always glad to have someone like you on my team.

— hop

One day in July 2013 mihi came to Metalab with a vector-graphic of a Vienna map. I don't exactly remember how we came to this idea, but suddenly we were lasercutting a Vienna puzzle and later on, we solved the puzzle together (with one other person). Since then I've enjoyed most of our conversations. Mihi is a great inspiration for me. I think, I will forever remember how ambitious you were telling me about data science and especially the importance of open science. I also want to thank you, showing me brightness in the end of a tunnel, called depression. I miss you mihi, I hope we'll continue your passion & your ideas - you did change, at least me.

— pl, metalab

.

— mur.strom

Danke Mihi, du warst einer der inspirierendsten Menschen, die ich kennen lernen durfte.

— Stefan Kasberger

— Thomas Lohninger, Vienna

Michael, I still cannot believe this had happened!!! I will keep running thinking of you, I will keep pushing for chicas poderosas thinking of you, never letting go, always taking the best of life, and always with that sweet smile on your fece! Miss you forever, love you always!

— Mariana Santos

— Tom Longley, UK

IMG_5079

A remarkably brilliant young man who will be sorely missed. Sincere condolences and prayers for the family.

— Jay Bhalla

“The goal in life isn’t to live forever, but to create something that will”

I don’t know who said that but it might as well be Michael Bauer because his life is a testimony to this. All the tools he built and knowledge he shared will keep his memories alive for a while to come.

(I met Michael in Nairobi in August 2013 and the local Hacks/Hackers Chapter hosted him for a meetup where he took time to hack out some of the challenges the local data community were facing)

— Simeon Oriko, Nairobi, Kenya

When I came to Berlin, July 2014, to take part in the Open Knowledge festival as a volunteer, there were a lot of things I was worried about. So probably were the others. We gathered in a room, shy, nervous, smiling, excited. And then the volunteer leader – Michael Bauer - was the one to break the ice. He said that in the next couple of days we all would be running around with crazy eyes, failing at things, forgetting and mixing stuff, panicking and freaking out. And it’s okay. ‘And me, for instance’, he added, ‘I will also sweat, guys, so by the end of the day you will just recognize me by the smell’. And everybody laughed. And there it was - our weekend volunteering experience, and Michael was always there with words of help. I realized only recently that good things can be done not only because of kindness. Sometimes people do good stuff as long as it doesn’t disturb their own comfort, and you can be mistaking it for people being kind. Some people try to be polite or nice. Some people make you a favor, but then ask for something in return. Well, what Michael had for us was a pure kindness as it is. You could feel it in every look, word, action of him. A genuine, unconditional, loving kindness. By the way, one of our volunteers, Rachel, was local, so on Saturday night she took all of our festival t-shirts and washed them at home. And the next day all volunteers were smelling lavender. We laughed at it and took a picture and posted it to the official twitter account of the OK fest. Now, every time I smell lavender, I will think about him.

— Anastasia, Brussels

Barcelona workshop Data journalism. The open and shared knowledge. I will keep in my heart his passion in Barcelona workshop showing the potential of open data tools and School of Data basis. Thanks for the knowledge shared and humility in your work.

— Ignasi Alcalce, Barcelona

The first long conversation that I had with mihi was during the early days of Metalab. Though we had met before, this conversation left a lasting impression and throughout the years we would revisit that moment, if only briefly. It was really just a ridiculous exercise in dissecting the internal logic of a prospective art project of mine, one in its very early stages. It was in the wee hours of the morning and I had scribbled all night to drop by the Metalab to see if I could find somebody to share my moment of enthusiasm (with the idea) and frustration (with its limitations). That morning, mihi showed me something which I still consider a rare occurrence in life: when you run into someone that you barely know, but that willingly jumps onto your train of thought as if out of nowhere, cheering you on as if you were close friends, while adding important bits to help break through previous barriers.

In 2012, I offered finding someone to talk about ACTA at dasque[e]r and called mihi, knowing that he would probably fit well with the event series. "Hey mihi, would you talk about ACTA at dasqe[e]r?" "Sure, if you do it with me!" – I was dumbfounded. Before that moment I would have never considered to contribute at that level. Even though it seems like a tiny gesture, his invitation was enough to inspire confidence, and show me what inclusion in activist matters is all about.

mihi, I will miss you. Thank you for everything. Thank you for hopeful conversations over vegan cake and non-caffeinated beverages. You literally made the world a more bearable place to live in.

— Michael, Vienna

Ruhig, gelassen, hilfsbereit - so hast Du, Michael, das Team rund um das Projekt «The Migrants' Files» ergänzt und so behalten wir Dich in Erinnerung. Ich möchte Dir für Dein Engagement und Deine Ausdauer danken. Und auch für Dein offenes Ohr bei all den «Notfall-Anrufen» als die Zeit zur Publikation drängte. Du hast geholfen als wir Hilfe gebraucht haben. Michael, you are dearly missed!

— Sylke

We first met when he was just back from Boston, and already volunteering to run a workshop at an event I helped organize. After this, we managed to meet up irregularly. Either at protests or to talk about activism and journalism.

When I was looking for a new coworker, the idea of asking him came up. Luckily, he was available, and after some persuasion by people who are not me, he came to work at derStandard.

Working with him was brilliant. He had a habit of always questioning the right thing - the weak point in a story, the promising angle of inquiry I'd been too lazy to follow, the technical shortcut that would bite my ass in a day or two. I learned a lot from him this year.

Whenever possible, we made epic salad for lunch. One thing that'll definitely stick with me: he made me appreciate Haloumi.

— fin, Vienna