Dear AoIR2016 attendees, We are very excited to invite you to participate in our experimental session on *Friday 7 October (4-6pm): the #Berlindatarace*. This session will take you out of the conference venue and around Berlin, exploring the city and looking to obtain the most points to win the Data Race! *What is it?* The #Berlindatarace seeks to disrupt how people share their lived experiences within academic conferences by cultivating new and interactive understandings of participant interactions, digital technologies and places. For the Data Race, this new engagement with AoIR takes the form of a data scavenger hunt that not only takes participants to iconic and hidden places around Berlin, but at the same time facilitates teamwork and fosters greater networking collaborations amongst the AoIR community. *How does it work?* The Data Race has two components: the experimental session itself (4-6pm, 7 October), and a Twitter-only aspect over the first two days of the conference (6-7 October). All conference attendees will be allocated to teams at the start of the conference by the race organisers (you are free to participate or not to, though!); these details will be revealed at the conference, and you will be in the same team for both components of the race. *Twitter event*: Follow our *@berlindatarace *account to find out about social media-specific missions and opportunities to give your team extra points between 6-7 October. *Experimental session-specific event*: only open on 7 October, 4-6pm, focused on the area around the conference venue. Using the GooseChase app, teams will attempt to complete as many #Berlindatarace missions as possible during the session (4pm-6pm on Friday 7 October). The missions feature a mix of Berlin’s history, architecture, art, and pop culture, as well as content that is AoIR specific! Each mission requires participants to either submit a short answer, check in and provide geolocation info, or take and upload a photo or video. The more difficult the mission, the higher the point value. The #Berlindatarace session itself will finish at *the lounge at the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG)* (see http://aoir.org/aoir2016/conference-venue/). Each team is required to check in by 6pm at the lounge. Teams can then mingle ahead of the reception at 7pm (or have time to get ready, as they wish!). The team with the most accumulated points (including social media points from the first two days of the conference) wins the #Berlindatarace. *The winners will be announced at the AoIR AGM: 4pm, 8 October.* If you are interested in participating, or just want to know more about the event, we have posted information on our website ( https://berlin-data-race.github.io/ <https://berlin-data-race.github.io/>), and follow us on Twitter (@berlindatarace)! Thank you and we look forward to seeing you in Berlin! ‪Ariadna Matamoros Fernández, Katherina Drinkuth, Rachel Hews, Tim Highfield, Felix Münch *Ariadna Matamoros Fernández PhD candidate | QUT Digital Media Research Centre * Email: ariadna.matamorosfernandez@qut.edu.au t: +61(0)466310915 | Twitter: @andairamf Creative Industries Faculty | Queensland University of Technology