[okfn-discuss] first draft invitation to Open Knowledge 1.0

Tue Dec 12 14:32:54 UTC 2006

Hi Okfnners,

After some discussion during our last irc meeting, I was tasked with
writing up a first stab at an invitation to the next OKFN forum event
in March 2007.

Here it is - please comment and amend - and crucially - let's discuss
formats and timing, which are not clear yet, but will be crucial in
actually starting to invite people.

In terms of format, I reckon we should go for a few speakers (how many?)
speakers each area one on modularisation, one on Commercial opportunity,
then do the rest with open space. I know that leaves little time for
panels, but to be honest I agree with what tav said on IRC: panels are
kind of stale.

As tav suggested, it would be good to make sure we do a good pre-event
and post-event roundup of information and concentrate on how to
interlink and take forwards knowledge gained through various meetings,
collaborations etc.. It would be great to have some innovative and
open-knowledgey suggestions on how to make that happen - technically,
format-wise or socially...

Anyway, how's this:
-------------------------------------------------------------------

                        Open Knowledge 1.0
                     Saturday 18th March 2007
                        Limehouse Town Hall

Discussions of 'Open Knowledge' often end with licensing wars: legal
arguments, technicalities, and ethics. While those debates rage on, Open
Knowledge 1.0. will concentrate on two pragmatic and often-overlooked
aspects of Open Knowledge: modularisation and commercial opportunity.

Packaging systems are one of the most inspiring things about using Free
Software: the ability to install and upgrade constantly updated software
'packages', worked on incrementally by thousands of developers.
Modularisation on a large scale (such as in the Debian 'apt' packaging
system) allows coherent projects to employ an amazing degree of
decentralised collaboration and distribution. But what other kinds of
knowledge can be modularised?  What are the opportunities and problems
of this approach to forms of knowledge other than Software?

Modularisation also holds a key to commercial opportunity: unrestricted
access to an ever-changing, modularised landscape of knowledge creates
commercial opportunities that are not available with proprietary
approaches. What examples are there of economic systems that function
with Open Knowledge, and how can those systems be shared? When is
cooperation with Open Knowledge more economically viable than closed
competition?

Bringing together Open threads from Science, Geodata, Civic Information
and Media, Open Knowledge 1.0 is an opportunity for people and projects
to meet, talk and build things. 

Each thread will have speakers to set the scene, with the rest of the
day divided between open space formats and workshop activities.

If you have a presentation or a workshop you would like to give in the
open space, or you would like to help organise Open Knowledge 1.0,
please get in touch.
-----------------------------

Wiki pages etc. will need to be set up - once we've agreed on the
basics of the invitation etc. 

Adnan - you have some suggestions for speakers etc. I think it would be
good to moot those on the list, along with speakers for other threads,
then format, timing suggestions (could someone suggest a day-plan
including timings?) and gimmicks, gizmos and strategies for capturing as
much as possible before and after...

Cheers,

Saul.

-- 
The People Speak   | 17-25 Cremer St.  London E2 8HD | http://theps.net
studio +44 (0)20 76133001 | saul: +44 (0)7941 255210 | ms at theps.net