CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS, INTERVENTIONS AND COLLABORATION:
Hacklab: Technology, Creativity, Social Organisation
A weekend gathering for collaborative and creative reflection
February 3/4/5 – 2006
Institute for Advanced Studies
Lancaster University, North West England.
http://lists.aktivix.org/mailman/listinfo/knowledgelab
http://knowledgelab.pbwiki.com
(knowledgelab.org.uk coming soon)
(see also http://www.hacklab.org.uk)
You are happily invited to the “Hacklab”, which is a follow-up event to (sadly titled?)
“Making Global Civil Society” (the funders liked it) that took place in Lancaster, November
4/5/6. It is hosted at and with the support of the Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) at
Lancaster University. Since the gathering will be defined by those who get
involved in preparing it, the lists below are merely suggestions.
The plan is to experiment with formats and settings, looking for
helpful, creative moments. Suggestions so far include smaller groups, with intimate, intense, and
longer discussions about a particular topic. For instance, 10-12 people in a room for 3-4 hours,
discussing a human rights article in relation to social movements, a question, some
concept, whatever - and, for example, write a declaration, compile a CD, or?? based on note taking
and audio recordings.
The ideal is to go beyond conventions.
To play and to experiment there wil also be themed spaces (hacklab setup with alt/DIY media
intros/hands-on stuff) - suggest something!
We imagine talks and discussions about things like:
*technology and social organisation, such as novel “management” and organisation within free
software projects or hacklabs, as well as DIY media
*freedom of information & communication and related social, political, or cultural movements
*digital divides and tribal connections
* nanotechnology and genetic modification: resistance and/or
democratisation?
* sustainable/renewable/alternative (hippie) technologies
* anarchism, cryptography, privacy and identity in cyberspace
*free hardware?
*the EU Software Patent Directive (swpat.ffii.org) as enclosure
*feminism and information technology
*primitivism (as a technology?)
*organic composition in music and elsewhere?
*psychedelic technologies
Additionally, we hope to create spaces for hands-on workshops, get in touch if you have skills to
share:
*how to use Free Software for everyday purposes, like emailing
(Thunderbird, Evolution), web surfing (Firefox), text writing
(OpenOffice.org) and photo manipulations (GIMP) etc.
*installation of GNU/Linux operating systems (to “dual-boot” with or to replace M$ Windows)
*using the command line interface: the basics
*learning (to write) code: from sys-admin scripts to wherever your skills may take you
*system security, privacy, encryption, set up a “safe” computer network at home or at work
*women demystifying the box: understanding components to repair hardware and install software
*recycle computers: provide access to the public and for artistic
installations, such as VJ-ing
*any other hacks
Participation is limited to a hundred people.
A LIMITED AMOUNT OF TRAVEL GRANTS AND FREE ACCOMODATION IS AVAILABLE. SEND SUGGESTIONS FOR
WORKSHOPS, PRESENTATIONS, AND PAPERS (MAX. 1 PAGE) TO: n.moeller at lancaster . ac . uk
Costs, incl. (predominantly organic and vegan by 'the fat olive')
Friday dinner, Saturday lunch and dinner:
Volunteers/unpaid/unwaged: Free
Unfunded students: Donation
Funded students, Lancaster academics: £20 (additional donation welcome!) Representatives of
"smaller" NGOs: £35 (negotiable)
Representatives of "bigger" NGOs: £65
Academics: £65
http://knowledgelab.pbwiki.com/FrontPage - currently migrating to
www.knowledgelab.org.uk via
http://knowledgelab.iskra.net/wiki/Main_Page
chat: irc.indymedia.org #research - quick link:
http://chat.indymedia.org/?chans=research
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Some people are rumoured to be working on multimedia installations: music, video and other altered
states of mind. Live improvised piano and more Saturday night: make it the Institute of Advanced
Creativity and Improvisation :)
There is also a session being planned about how academic research
projects can learn from grassroots movements' and other cyberspace groups' use of ICT for
collaborative projects (and knowledge creation) with the view to form a collective to provide such
services for academic research projects, -like aktivix/sindominio/autistici/mutualaid/riseup
community servers do for cultural, social and political projects. The "profits" that could maybe
be accumulated from "research contracts" would go into a fund to have more knowledge lab events. A
kind of self-sustainable think tank, a parasite/pirate/autonomous university?
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