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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 |