The Foundation for Peer to Peer Alternatives

Michel Bauwens's Blog – February 2009 Archive (14)

Concern about EU Commission usage of proprietary document formats: open letter

Via Wouter Tebbens:

Dear all,

as some of you know we are very much concerned about the European Commission using and requiring the use of proprietary document formats within their projects.

Many EU Member States have in recent years adopted government policies to require Open Standard file formats, such as the Open Document Format (ODF), PDF, etc. And in fact, the EC agency for interoperability and eGovernment, IDABC, does strongly recommend the use of ODF and… Continue

Added by Michel Bauwens on February 24, 2009 at 13:37 — No Comments

UK Conference: Is Black and Red Dead?

Via Alex Prichard:

Full conference details: http://www.anarchist-studies-network.org.uk/IsBlackAndRedDead

/*Is Black and Red Dead?*/

7th - 8th September, 2009

An academic conference organized and supported by the PSA Anarchist Studies Network, the PSA Marxism Specialist Group, /Anarchist Studies/, /Capital & Class/, /Critique-Journal of Socialist Theory/, /Historical Materialism/ and /Studies in Marxism/.

Hosted By: The Centre for the… Continue

Added by Michel Bauwens on February 24, 2009 at 11:57 — No Comments

P2P Foundation receives Millenia Award

Via John La Grou and http://www.millenniamediagroup.com/foundation/ppm.php :

Dear friends,

They seem to be very low key about it, but in any case, I'm happy to receive it and since this is in many ways a collective endeavour, it's an award for all of us, the many contributors who have 'peer produced' through contributions and dialogue, the material at the P2P Foundation and its attempt to foster a new phase in human civilisation, based on open and free, participatory, and… Continue

Added by Michel Bauwens on February 21, 2009 at 3:11 — 1 Comment

Supernova 2009 Theme: Change Networks

Via Kevin Werbach:

Change is in the air. The past year demonstrated the promise and the peril of our densely connected world. Old policies and practices break down when individuals self-organize into movements, data flows openly across boundaries, consumers become creators, and shocks cascade through the system. In business as in politics, new strategies are essential.

Come to Supernova 2009, December 1-3 in San Francisco, CA, to become an agent of change, rather than a… Continue

Added by Michel Bauwens on February 20, 2009 at 3:23 — No Comments

Open Video Conference: call for proposals

Via Jessica Coates, Creative Commons Clinic

email: j2.coates@qut.edu.au

--------------------------------------------------

Please circulate this notice far and wide.

*Open Video Conference: call for proposals*

*** Submission deadline: March 19 ***

We are now accepting proposals for panels, workshop sessions, demo sessions,

and other programming for the inaugural Open Video Conference in New York.

Join us and over 400… Continue

Added by Michel Bauwens on February 20, 2009 at 2:55 — No Comments

EUROPEAN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME ON FREE SOFTWARE

Via Wouter Tebbens:

PRESS RELEASE:

EC SUPPORTS EUROPEAN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME ON FREE SOFTWARE

Free Technology Academy set up as distance learning campus

A Consortium formed by three universities and led by the Free Knowledge

Institute (FKI) has received the support from the EC's Lifelong Learning

Programme to offer an international educational programme on Free

Software. Following the Open Educational Resources movement, all

learning… Continue

Added by Michel Bauwens on February 19, 2009 at 9:00 — No Comments

Fourth Open Knowledge Conference (OKCon), 28th March 2009, 1030-1830

via Jonathan Gray:

~~ Open Knowledge Conference (OKCon) 2009 ~~

* where: Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, UCL, London, UK

* when: 28th March 2009, 1030-1830

* home:

* programme:

* register:

* call for proposals:

* last year:

The Open Knowledge Conference (OKCon) is back for its fourth installment

bringing together individuals and groups from across the open knowledge

spectrum for a day of talks, discussions and… Continue

Added by Michel Bauwens on February 19, 2009 at 2:04 — No Comments

New report on public media 2.0, chockful of great examples

I strongly recommend you take a look at the report mentioned here:

http://www.futureofpublicmedia.net

It's full of wonderful examples of participatory news production by public broadcasters and public advocacy organisations.

Via the Center for Social Media:

Tomorrow's Public Media Will Be Bigger, Better, And Different From Public Broadcasting

AU's Center for Social Media Releases New Report on "Public Media… Continue

Added by Michel Bauwens on February 18, 2009 at 10:00 — No Comments

4th Oekonux conference on “The World of Peer Production” - Please join us in Manchester on March 27, 2009

Please do join us at this most important gathering in Manchester on March 27 to 29th.

Below is the text of the official invitation.

Free Software and Beyond. The World of Peer Production. 4th Oekonux Conference

URL = http://www.oekonux-conference.org/

(organized by Oekonux in cooperation with the P2P Foundation - The 4th Oekonux Conference will be held on March 27th-29th, 2009 at Manchester University… Continue

Added by Michel Bauwens on February 18, 2009 at 2:25 — 1 Comment

Who wants Net Discrimination in Europe? Net Neutrality in immediate danger

La Quadrature du Net - For immediate release

Permanent link:

http://www.laquadrature.net/en/who-wants-net-discrimination-in-europe

Who wants Net Discrimination in Europe?

** Paris, Feb.16th. Amendments in the European Parliament to the

"Telecoms Package"[1] may allow operators to take control of their

customer's usage of the Net. According to amendments pushed by AT&T,

"network management practices" could be used to… Continue

Added by Michel Bauwens on February 17, 2009 at 2:08 — No Comments

We Magazine is out: on open design and manufacturing.

Message from Ulrike Reinhard

Please note the overview article: http://www.we-magazine.net/we-volume-02/the-emergence-of-open-design-and-open-manufacturing/

hi all,

here we go - we-magazine vol. 02 is launched!!

http://www.we-magazine.net/

http://www.we-magazine.net/we-volume-02/

you can download the PDF file here, a printed version will

be send to you next week via lulu.com.

for this we would need your adresses ....… Continue

Added by Michel Bauwens on February 14, 2009 at 8:13 — No Comments

Apologies for the sex spam, we're working on removing it

I've asked Joseph to remove this ASAP as it has obviously no place in our forum,

Michel

Added by Michel Bauwens on February 10, 2009 at 4:40 — 2 Comments

European net neutrality still in danger

An appeal from Swedish parliamentary candidate Erik Josefsson

if you are European and are concerned with network neutrality, please consider co-signing http://www.co-ment.net/text/711/

Erik writes:

Hello!

The "telecoms package" is a bundle of directives that regulates the

Internet and the Telecoms market in Europe. I think the original purpose

of the project was good, but it has been highjacked by special interests

who are very… Continue

Added by Michel Bauwens on February 1, 2009 at 13:18 — No Comments

Hacking Heaven is Out

Hacking the Way to Heaven, by Julian Fox is now available for purchase through Lulu.

see http://www.lulu.com/content/5912363

with my blurb:

"The Catholic Church is sometimes called the oldest hierarchical organisation in continuous existence, but it always also been the mother of many participatory social movements, reflecting the liberatory and emancipatory potential of the Christian message. What is interesting is how the Church and the egalitarian… Continue

Added by Michel Bauwens on February 1, 2009 at 12:39 — No Comments