• Social Forum Expanded

last modified October 22, 2010 by jnardi

Social forum expanded initiative workplan 2011-12


Context

Next two years after Dakar are spanning until the next central WSF event in early 2013, and if the wsf2010 formula goes on, WSF process at large will rest on many significant events forming the basis for wsf2011 and wsf2012 processes

Scope

1/ to facilitate access to participatory situations during events to people /groups who are not physically present in the event center, giving priority to self organized activities (co-organized activities tend to be with more people and less participatory, and thus are more covered than extended and closer to a media approach) - extend the social forum , means here "give the possibility of dialogic/participatory situation beyond distance"

2/ to facilitate development of distance intercomunication between local groups ( which comes generally through "training" done in the occasion of distance participation to events ). The goal is to foster autonomy of itnernet intercomunication usage among groups involved in WSF so they can develop autonomously their distance relationships, and extensions of their local activities to a worldwide scale - This requires resorting to tools that are decentralized in their usage not depending on third party for direct operation

This is a relevant scope for the next two years since current experience shows that going from concept to collective practice in collecitve distance intercommunication is not evident , there is a learning process that can be  accelerated if stimulated and supported

Sfex Initiative group

Facilitating group for sfex initiative is welcoming people having effectively facititated expansion scheme in social forum context ,  focusing on providing a support to self organized activities  participatory situations with decentralization, accountability

Working lines and Tasks 

1/ Continue to spread organizing experience about expanding events among organizing committees of significant events throughout wsf process  , as is being done in wsf2010 process  

develop with organizers a sense of conveying to a next event the “outcomes” of an earlier event, through  stimulating self organized distance inter-communication between groups participating in those events - either at the end of a prior event or before or during the next event  ( this has to do also with the methodological notion of outcome /proposal ) 

 

2/ Continue to facilitate exchange of experience in direct distance intercommunication 

-continue to stimulate inputs throughout  in the  "expanded partiicpation mutual info internet spaces" that will be created to support dakar extended - this will help Develop the community of groups mastering distance intercommunication  that is emerging of 2010,  and from where experiences volunteers for sfex initiaitve can come 



design  test promote participation formulas well adapted to  new self organzied social forum participatory  situations ( eg extended assemblies . extended proposal/outcome working groups ...) This experience sharing is also feeding expression of needs for tools in §4



3/ Develop with interested independent radios, the role radio can play in helping organisations willing to "extend" participation in their activities beyond internet outreach .

Radio, acting here as partners , can provide some direct distance participation possibilities to more people with live radio broadcast of the activity and a cell phone/SMS feedback loop , since those media reach "where internet does not reach "



4/ Promote , inspire, and if necessary support, development of free software tools of live intercommunication and expanded social forum

internet sites for live intercommunication

Line of work 1 2 3  can help define useful features  for those tools in the context of social forum : decentralization (no third party needs to be involved in the activation of the tool)  , participation (eg -chat system with return to the real room complementing video streaming ), ( headset free audio interaction )  , accountability ( who is taking responsibility for the intercommuincation technically and on content )

A first vision  based on experience is  that such  tools should be providing  basic features equivalent to widely used commercial sites such as www.skype.com, and www.ustream.tv - and need to include  user management features that allow groups to  access  autonomously to "communication channels"

(eg in the case of  video streaming channels,  user can  create their own  "virtual" channels that "request access" to "real" channels, coping with limitation of parallel channel number  and there can be seamless operation to proposing to  upload  the resulting videos to sites such as  www.wsftv.net  after the streaming is over without depending on third party  such as a  technical group in an event etc..) ,

 

Internet sites for inclusion  and  preparation of expanded activities

Continue to adapt www.openfsm.net as a  convenient  tool for both expansion organizers and expansion participants , it hosts event expansion spaces and  mutual information spaces for expanded participation in  events , and on this occasion groups can find interest in establishing their own spaces in openfsm.net

Contribute to  complete integration of  the expanded activities in the registration module of the events ( both 2 and 4 )  -this is only partially done as of now  

 

website availability

To a reasonnable extent wsf comcom should be providing  a permanent server access independent of events . so that groups can use these tools permanently

 

5/ develop Cooperation with other comcom and IC groups

Sfex scope is clearly an intercommunicatin facilitation scope.Cooperation will be fruitful based on mutual understanding of difference of scopes 

Cooperation with shared coverage intiaitves in comcom  is welcome along an approach focused on supporting self organized activity  distance participation situation    Two examples :

Media are welcome to provide technical support to groups willing to intercomunicate ( eg radios , see 3 )

There can be a cooperation with tvforum group  so that video repository wsftv.net has a specific section dedicated to hosting  videos resulting from self organized streaming /filming of activities ( see 4)

Sfex initiative can also give input in methodology commission and cooperation is needed with groups taking charge of website for events which are reflecting methodology of wsf  ( see 4)

 





2011 2012
Support to wsf2011 events (team,material, travel) 3000
Off-line event activities proposals registration 2000 4500
Support to sfex online (development in or around red5 or bigbluebutton or radios or openfsm) 2500 3000

7500 7500