From: Mustafa Akgul (akgul@Bilkent.EDU.TR)
Date: Wed 21 May 2003 - 21:30:33 EEST
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------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: "Amy" <aminter@stanhopecentre.org>
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2003 ICT POLICY TRAINING PROGRAMME - BUDAPEST
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For public interest advocates from
Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe
17-29 August 2003
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Organised by
The Stanhope Centre for Communications Policy Research
<http://www.stanhopecentre.org>
in co-operation with the Open Society Institute and the Markle
Foundation
With a special emphasis on public interest advocacy, this ten-day
programme on information and communications technologies (ICT) offers
participants the chance to engage in the global ICT policy debate
from a European perspective, with sessions taught by European and
international experts.
The 25 selected participants will receive a full-tuition fellowship
to cover the cost of the training programme, travel to and from
Budapest, and room and board.
___________________________________________________
Contents
1. The Programme
2. Who Can Apply
3. The Organisers
4. How to Apply
____________________________________________________
1. THE PROGRAMME
During this ten-day programme participants will learn to build skills
in developing and advocating ICT policy in their home countries and
the region. The programme has a focus on European policies, and a
comparative approach to assessing national, regional and global
policy agendas is central to the curriculum.
Issues dealt with include ICT infrastructure (telecom liberalisation
and spectrum management/wireless), civil liberties (privacy and
freedom of expression), and intellectual property - all in the
context of how decisions are made and how public interest advocates
can participate in policy making processes.
For further information about the training programme please visit
http://www.stanhopecentre.org/ict.
2. WHO CAN APPLY
In selecting applicants, the selection committee will look for
participants with a legal background and/or basic understanding of
ICT policy issues. Applications are sought from advanced law
students, practising lawyers, and other individuals who show a strong
demonstrable interest in public interest advocacy of the ICT sector.
Preference will be given to applicants representing civil society and
academia.
Applicants must convey how their background (academic and
professional) relates to ICT policy advocacy and why they want to
receive policy training in this sector. Applications will be judged
on how applicants convey their motivation, future plans, and overall
interest in ICT policy advocacy.
Applicants considered will be from: The Czech Republic, Hungary,
Poland, Slovakia, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine,
Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia,
Moldova, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro, and Turkey. The
organisers are willing to admit a few exceptionally strong candidates
from Central Asia and the Caucasus.
3. THE ORGANISERS
The 2003 ICT Policy Training Programme builds on a summer school in
2002 at Oxford University (at the Programme in Comparative Media Law
and Policy) for media lawyers and law professionals in the Balkans
and southern Caucasus. The organiser of the 2003 Training Programme
will be the Stanhope Centre for Communications Policy Research
through its Hungarian Office, located at Budapest's Eötvös Lorand
University, in conjunction with the Markle Foundation and the Open
Society Institute.
4. HOW TO APPLY
For the application form go to www.stanhopecentre.org/ict or email
sabbott@stanhopecentre.org to request one.
Applications are due by 16 June 2003, and should be sent via email
to:
Susan Abbott,
Research and Programme Co-ordinator,
Stanhope Centre for Communications Policy Research,
sabbott@stanhopecentre.org.
Applicants will be notified of their acceptance on/around 1 July
2003.
------- End of forwarded message -------
Wow, bright! From:
http://opencultures.t0.or.at/oc/conference
June 5-6, Vienna, Austria
Open Cultures: Free Flows of Information and the Politics of Commons
Today's infosphere facilitates quick and easy exchange of digitized
information. The tools of creation and the means of distribution are
becoming more affordable all the time, continuously expanding the
range of creators and users. Yet, not everyone is happy with this. A
coalition of large media conglomerates calls for Draconian measures
to stop this free flow of information. New restrictive technologies
and new oppressive laws are being developed right now, in an attempt
to create scarcity out of the digital abundance. The current security
fears are manipulated to equate openness with danger in a cynical
effort to protect the assets of large industries against the forces
of innovation.
Against this backdrop, a counter movement is taking shape that is
guided by the idea of 'the commons': resources accessible to all.
Rather than expanding the means of control to catch up with the ease
of data processing, this movement takes the free availability of
information as its starting point. It recognizes that a free society
needs free flows of information, that the attempt to control
information quickly leads to controlling people. Creativity -
commercial, scientific and artistic - requires the ability to easily
and freely built upon what others have created.
The conference will survey the new territory of the commons by
bringing together leading thinkers and practitioners from across the
spectrum. We want to strengthen the understanding of the shared
visions and goals, learn from the different experiences and
approaches. We also want to send a signal that, yes, openness is
possible, indeed, it's the only direction to move forward.
Location: KARLSPLATZ Project Space, Kunsthalle Wien, Treitlstrasse 2,
1040 Vienna
From:
http://www.planetwork.net/2003conf/frames/index.html
June 6-8, 2003, San Francisco
PLANETWORK-- NETWORKING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
How are we using technological tools to mobilize, strengthen civil
society and promote a more just, peaceful and sustainable world?
Technology has come a long way since the advent of the Internet in
the late 1980s. From email-to-fax action alerts to geographic
information systems (GIS), to the simple speed of email networks, we
are now armed with powerful tools that can be used for moving us into
a more sustainable future. Amid accelerating crises across the globe,
new social and technological forces continue to advance.
The Internet has enabled citizens around the world to mobilize with
unprecedented speed and precision. We have seen what the Internet can
do in this regard: On February 15th, millions of people worldwide
spoke out for peace. For the first time we could see and hear our
vast numbers from around the world.
Why stop there?
This gathering brings together, in rare dialogue, representatives
from information technology, environmental advocacy, sustainable
living, peace and social justice activism, independent media
pioneers, progressive entrepreneurship, software development, online
communities and many others to examine critically - and
collaboratively - where we are, and what is possible.
We invite you to join us.
Planetwork will focus on the ways in which information technologies
and the Internet can continue to play a key role in accelerating
progressive change and establishing how we can harness the tools we
have for creating a healthier, more just and civil society.
We are asking:
How can the Internet be used to mobilize global citizenry around
other critical issues affecting our future: ecological destruction,
resource depletion, human rights and economic justice?
How might we use the financial resources of a newly networked global
citizenry to implement system-wide transformation?
How can the Internet allow us to see ourselves, and our collective
aspirations, even more directly and productively? What role does
geographic imaging play in the ability to think and act more
systemically?
What communications strategies would best enable us to mobilize
networks, draw attention to specific issues, envision alternative
solutions, and bring about change?
Planetwork is a unique international forum that will bring together
participants representing many of the key social and technological
components necessary for a sustained global change movement.
You are invited to join us, to hear from and interact with luminaries
and pioneers across the digital sector, including:
Douglas Engelbart Inventor of the mouse, hypertext, and windows who
has a forty-year track record in predicting, designing, and
implementing the future of organizational computing.
Hazel Henderson Worldwide syndicated columnist, advocate for and
consultant on equitable ecologically and sustainable human
development, and author of several books, including Creating
Alternative Futures: The End of Economics, Building a Win-Win World:
Life Beyond Global Economic Warefare, and Politics of the Solar Age:
Alternatives to Economics.
Joan Blades Cofounder of MoveOn, the online phenomenon that has moved
online mobilization and international peace and justice activism to
new levels in the past year.
Jeff Gates President of the Shared Capitalism Institute and author of
Democracy at Risk: Rescuing Main Street from Wall Street.
David Dill Professor of computer science at Stanford University,
leading the fight by computer professionals to expose the fraud
inherent in touch screen voting machines.
Neil Sieling Independent media consultant working with the
Rockefeller Foundation, WorldLink TV, Digital Independence and other
organizations.
Greg Steltenpohl Founder of Odwalla Juice Company, and leading
authority on cooperatives and local and regional economic
initiatives.
Annette Riggs Founder of Barter.com and several other Internet based
barter initiatives.
Leif Utne Founder of Utne Online and the Utne Café, key innovators in
the emergence of web-based communities.
Cynthia Typaldos Founder of RealCommunities Inc., co-founder of
GolfWeb and leading authority on online communities and community
software. Currently runs a consulting business and the SPM eGroup.
Brewster Kahle Founder of the Internet Archive and veteran of
numerous successful software ventures.
Tom Matzzie National Interactive Campaign Manager, AFL-CIO
Bill Pease Creator of ScoreCard.org, and founder of GetActive
Software, a leader in online activism platforms and Internet campaign
technology.
Tim Foresman Leading advocate for the Digital Earth Initiative at
NASA and UNEP, currently VP at the International Center for Remote
Sensing Education.
Henri Poole Member of the Board of Directors of the Free Software
Foundation and founder of Affero, a rating and payment service for
authors of online works.
Joe Firmage Founder of US Web and ManyOne Networks.
Also featuring: Sharif Abdullah (Commonway), Gary Alexander (Open
University, UK), Wendy Brawer (GreenMaps), Atom Constantino (GTV),
Owen Davis (Identity Commons), Leda Dederich (United for Peace and
Justice), Brad deGraf (Venture Collective), Heather Newbold (Earth
Charter), Amber Nystrom (Social Entrepreneurship Incubator), Hardin
Tibbs & Peter Leyden (Global Business Network) and many more...
Presenters
The event is organized into five major themes:
The Internet as a tool for Mobilization:
The peace movement has given us dramatic examples of how strategic,
cross-platform messages, such as those delivered by MoveOn via email,
can galvanize immediate action on the part of millions of
disenfranchised people. The forum will explore different
communications strategies that support rich, vibrant, and diverse
global culture. How can we use technology as a tool to support
grassroots organizing efforts and enhance our communication efforts,
rather than create more work and opportunities to misunderstand each
other?
Global Systems:
Over the last century, "systems thinking" has allowed scientists,
environmentalists, philosophers and technologists to re-conceive the
world in terms of holistic networks and emergent properties rather
than traditional hierarchies of control. An ecological view of
natural and human systems requires such a perspective. How might the
Internet enable us to further develop a systems view of both our most
pressing problems and their potential solutions?
Social Networks:
We will be discussing how the design philosophy of the open source
software movement, which is accelerating across the globe, has also
inspired a variety of software initiatives intended to empower social
networks. These social network tools, many of which are now coming to
fruition, have the potential to once again transform the Internet.
Not only will they radically increase the ability of millions of
people to cooperate and self-organize around shared goals, but they
will also enable us to see ourselves as a whole - as a global
community that share a commitment to common values. Social network
tools will give us a new sense of collective empowerment and
political potency as citizens of the planet.
New Economic Models:
With the fall of communism and the accelerating hegemony of corporate
globalization, people are questioning the very foundations of our
economic system. Many see this system and its ideology as the root of
both our social dysfunction and our essentially suicidal
environmental behavior. Now we must move beyond such critique and
focus on testing and implementing alternative economic models and
complimentary approaches designed to work within the existing system.
These models range from Internet based barter, to virtual
complementary currencies, to local currencies using smart cards.
Collaborative Networking:
Planetwork is a living example -- the entire event is designed to
support an active networking process for all participants. A
Collaboratory facilitated by Blue Oxen Associates on-line, and The
Knowhere Store on-site, will run throughout the conference, with
multiple opt-in creative sessions, and a high-speed wireless network,
as well as Ethernet, will be available throughout the building and
grounds. All three parallel sessions, and much of the Collaboratory
will be captured on digital video, streamed live, archived on-line
and burned to DVD. In addition, this conference portal site is built
on a new open source collaborative platform, which many communities
are adopting and extending as a universal adaptor to interconnect a
growing number of existing systems.
THE TIME IS NOW TO COME TOGETHER AND EXAMINE THE TOOLS WE HAVE AT
HAND.
PLEASE JOIN US FOR THIS UNIQUE GATHERING.
updated May 13, 2003 - 1:07 am PDT
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Minneapolis - - - E: clift@publicus.net
Minnesota - - - - - T: +1.612.822.8667
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