B - Capitalizing on accumulated experience on “expanded event” concept

Positive assessment of Belem expanded experience

 

Belem expanded consisted in inviting organisation to set up activities locally during the belem forum event and have besides those activities a video chat exchange with counterparts present in Belem event

 

Belem expanded was a new modality emerged in IC

A specific belem expanded group was created on line and supported mostly by people that only arrive in belem a few days before the event started . It did not count with active support of local organizing committee equivalent of Event Organzing Committee who was mainly focused on bringing people to come to belem,

The organizing committee overlooked that fact “belem expanded activities” would have been a great help for raising number of participant in the Amazonian basin , because of very high distances. So All those that could afford the coming came, and those interested that could not come had no participation at all

 

In answer to the invitation conveyed by wsf bulletin ( but not conveyed through the face to face mobilisation process) Activities were organized in 30 different places from 10 countries of the world by local organizations , involving several thousands of people, and 30 video chats of over one hour duration each took place in a special area with 5 rooms equipped for video chat

http://OpenFSM.net/projects/club-belemexpanded/project-home

 

It is to be noted that the videochat in belem , were technically no different from those used by many people now for intra-family interchanges , except that they were collective thanks to the use of video projectors.

This experience has been positively assessed in wsf international council and it is recommended by wsf methodology commission that events taking place in 2010 (among which  Event Hosting City 2010) consider capitalizing on it

 

Sfex group to support organizing committees willing to expand their event

 

A group called “social forum expanded” has been set up in wsf communication commission to promote the idea of expanded forum

Find it here

http://OpenFSM.net/projects/sfexintercom/project-home

 

Eyup and Pierre are part of that group, and other people from Hosting Country are welcome , especially those from organisation having large constituencies in Hosting Country or other countries of Region , and that wish to make local activities on the occasion of esf2010, since only a small proportion of their members can go to  EventHostingCity in any case

 

In the space of that group , there is a document which is explaining what an expanded forum is under the form of a fake announcement by organising committee explaining the forum adopts an expanded format

http://OpenFSM.net/projects/sfexintercom/concept-of-expanded-event

 

A group to present arguments in favour of “ Event HostingCity expanded “

 

It seems appropriate that a group of people from Hosting Country convinced of the potential of this expansion , lobby about “ Event Hosting City expanded” in EVENT ORGANZING COMMITTEE and in EPA, in the corridors or In plenaries” bring the issue in the relevant discussions,. create an awareness of the problematic of expansion ahead of time without being too heavy ..and find interested partners :

 

Some organisations might be really “meaning business” about having the forum event as a moment of broad mobilization , and not just see the process as an event restricted to the happy few coming to Istanbul, but outreaching effectively to those that identify with it as a major organizing and consciousness raising process facing current social order and cannot come)

They might be ready/willing to see  Event Hosting City as the centre of and expanded that can mobilize a significant number of people all over the country and Region , in addition to those that would be in  Event Hosting City

,

This group could lead EVENT ORGANZING COMMITTEE and EPA into pondering the fact that adopting an “expanded format” somehow as described in the concept paper above is a significant expansion factor for esf process and for  EventHostingCity “visibility” across Region and the world in the context of the global 2010 year

 

Some numeric goals for a first edition of an expanded European social forum

Going expanded is a strategic step to take for EVENT ORGANZING COMMITTEE , with significant results to be expected

 

One can really imagine some goals for  EventHostingCity expanded in term of number of decentralized activities and number of people involved outside  EventHostingCity in activities and this is a fully relevant discussion for expansion of esf process

 

10% of added participation to  EventHostingCity event of 40 000 , that is to say 4000 people participating in 40 different places seems a quite realistic goal

 

( the 30 decentralized activities that participated in belem expanded involved more than 1000 people outside belem

(the videochat themselves where involving locally a variable number of people from 10 to100, in that case not everyone can speak of course) ,

 

Here are some elements for supporting this conviction

 

Social forum needs sociological and geographical expansion in Hosting Country and Region

 

Politically social forum is bound to find forms to “expand” to allow participation of those that cannot make it to  EventHostingCity for want of time or money, but wish to show they are part of the process and wish to organize decentralized activities

Also now collective usage of technology is a reasonably efficient powerful anti-distance means

 

Engagement of organisations members of Event Organzing Committee for an expanded forum is a strong motivating factor locally

 

Of course local activist affiliated to cross nation organisation or European network will get motivated to organize something more easily if their organisation and network participating in Event Organzing Committee or region facilitating body value the idea  Event Hosting City expanded” , emit positive signals about it and spread the word “ who is intending to take up the challenge of organizing an activity or several activities in a social forum style on occasion of  Event Hosting City ( and connect with  Event Hosting City in the frame of that)

 

Video chat are just the visible part of a potentially large mobilization process that is liberated from the transportation cost constraint.

 In the  Event Hosting City expanded concept “behind each video chat held in  Event Hosting City with a distant local place , there is full fledged locally organized activity involving self organizing of people in the spirit of social forum

The video chat is just a “cherry on the cake “: and the cake is the fact that there are in 40 different places people self organizing smaller events or activities with social forum methodology or flavour all across Hosting Country and Region ”

 

A renewed mobilization process can be imagined and implemented

 

The mobilizing process will have a totally different flavour in event where the committee has adopted an “expanded “ character ( see the fake document above)

Having decided to “go expanded” allows a fresh speech when making a mobilizing tour , and since members of Event Organzing Committee are going to spend time and money outreaching “for Istanbul’ . they just can be twice or three times as efficient, in term of number of people participating if for the same amount of time and money if they outreach “for  Event Hosting City expanded “

 

It is totally different to go, say in Diyarbakir, or Madrid, and say :

 

" please come to  EventHostingCity !",

 

or be able to say , since Event Organzing Committee has made it a global decision :

 

" please send whoever you can as delegate to Istanbul, and also organize something locally and live the thrill of developing forum process

 

We as organizing committee in  Event Hosting City commit to help you by giving support through our networks and organization through their local activists that will all not go to  Event Hosting City for organizing locally an activity or little event (cluster of activities) with a social forum flavour ,

 

Also we will facilitate that any “delegate” that you sent from Diyarbakir or Madrid to  Event Hosting City can be supported in  Event Hosting City by an efficient work team for organizing a video chat with you bringing with him in the video chat room people he has met in  Event Hosting City active on certain issues that you are interested about

 

So this moment of connection with  Event Hosting City would not be a video chat with just your delegate reporting to you , but rather a real workshop session , collective exchange of one two three hours .

This “connection to Istanbul” can be also a good “teaser” for bring more people to participate to your local activity event, giving to it a concrete national or international flavour at no logistical cost

What is implied logistically for Event Organzing Committee if it declares  Event  as an expanded event ?

 

-          implement expanded activities in the esf2010.org website, with  EventHostingCity expanded activities program and expanded video chat program

 

-          create an “ Event Hosting City expanded” transversal team making sure that all working groups are thinking expanded - and include the case of expanded activities in what they do, and also welcoming the  Event Hosting City expanded participants on line in esf2010;org , on OpenESF.net and on D day supported the video chat in the expanded connection hub rooms

 

-          install in the  EventHostingCity territory of the event an expanded connection hub ( to give an idea a series of rooms equipped for collective video chat ) the cost for installing completely 5 rooms during 4 days ( hiring some video projectors) was 2000 euros