My friends at New Thinking have once again organized a terrific lineup of sessions for this year’s re:publica, which is taking place later this week in Berlin. re:publica is the conference for blogs, social media and the digital society.
Unfortunately, being a Strohwitwer (single parent) this week, I am not going to be able to get away to participate in the whole thing – though I do hope to join the most promising sessions looking at digital activism, media and democratization in Senegal and Ethiopia, Global Voices, and Ushahidi. Collaborative Consumption I threw into the mix because I know Michelle Thorne and am intrigued!
I’ve copied the session descriptions below, which I will see about updating if I do manage to get to the sessions. Let me know if you have others to suggest!
Activism, the day after
This talk will be a short overview of activism behind the ‘headlines’; beyond mass mobilisation and political organising, looking at the simple question – what happens the day after?
The use of new media to facilitate mass mobilisation is dominating the activism landscape, but what happens the day after? How can new media, new tactics and technology be used by activists to contribute to fundamental changes within communities, to talk to authorities instead of questioning them, to breakdown issues and to create incremental and long lasting change.
We will mostly ask questions, trying to define types of activism, making attempts to better understand the possible role of new media, and looking at fundamental questions of what works and what doesn’t. If you happen to be in the audience you might also be able to have a significant input on the outcomes of this talk!
Media and Democratisation in Africa
The two very different countries Ethiopia and Senegal at least share two commonalities: at present they are out of the lime light of global awareness. They also offer interesting examples of how citizen journalism is beginning to develop and is used for social and political communication in African countries.
The session will address the frameworks under which media are being used, what technologies play a role and how synergies can be created between media and activists. Jörn Schultz (GIZ) and Adam Thomas (Sourcefabric) will report from projects they are currently working for in Ethiopia and Senegal and share examples how both traditional and new media are being used for political communication and citizen journalism.
Global Voices: The world is talking. Are you listening?
Social media is becoming increasingly influential in coverage of international news events and political uprisings, as we’ve seen in the Middle East and North Africa in recent months. One group that has pioneered this form of news coverage and international dialogue between bloggers, journalists, and activists is Global Voices Online. It is a dynamic online community of more than 300 bloggers and translators around the world that curate and highlight the most fascinating conversations and uses of citizen media with special emphasis on the developing world and anywhere freedom of expression is limited. In this talk, meet Solana Larsen (managing editor) who describes how Global Voices works, what they have learned in the past six years of following blogs in places people rarely hear about, and how you can get involved as a reader, volunteer writer, or translator.
Designing for Collaborative Consumption
The world is ending, and we, the insatiable consumers, are at fault. Our homes and landfills are overrun with junk designed for a limited lifetime. But before we choke off the planet, there’s something we can do.
Unlike any other generation, we can better provide and share infrastructure thanks to network technology. We can buy, build, and collaborate locally and efficiently. We can shop smarter, share better, and use our networks, both online and off, to reduce waste, improve the economy and environment, spare our bank accounts, and even have a good time and make new friends doing it.
This is collaborative consumption, and I want to talk about its wonderful opportunities.
Changing the World, One Map at a Time
My nefarious plans, thwarted. Due to scheduling, the only re:publica sessions I am going to be able to participate in (if I can get in – I hear sessions are packed!) are Sam Gregory (from Witness) and Patrick Meier (from Ushahidi). Should be very interesting.
Otherwise enjoying the conference vicariously via the #rp11 hashtag on twitter (the twingly.com liveboard for re:publica is interesting – tho doesn’t work with firefox??!) and joining a party tonight, where I expect to run into friends from all over the world.