Re: [GMG-Devel] FLOSS4P2P: distributed FLOSS for communities (London, March)

[Christopher Allan Webber]

Chris P2Pvalue writes:

> *FLOSS4P2P: Call for Participation*
>
> A 2-day London workshop in March, gathering *FLOSS projects* that are
> building software for *peer production and organization*, with a focus on
> *distributed* platforms. *Scholarships* to attend are offered to grassroots
> communities.
>
> ** Context **
>
> We know that the Internet was originally decentralized, with protocols and
> services built by hackers. However, with the arrival of the celebrated Web
> 2.0, centralization and corporations proprietary platforms seem to have
> taken over. Moreover, this centralized structure is used by governments to
> increase surveillance (following Snowden’s revelations), to blackout
> internet whenever it is needed (e.g. Egypt, Syria, or San Francisco’s BART)
> or to choke annoying activist organizations (such as Wikileaks).
>
> On the other hand, in the last few years we have seen the emergence of
> Internet-enabled collaborative communities building shared libre/open
> resources. Commons-based Peer to Peer Production (CBPP) is rapidly growing:
> not just for software and encyclopedias, but also for information
> (OpenStreetMap, Wikihow), hardware (FabLabs, Open Source Ecology),
> accommodation (Couchsurfing) and currency (Bitcoin, Altcoins).
>
> In the last few years, it has become clear to many that it is not enough to
> develop free/libre/open source (FLOSS) alternatives, but we also need
> to re-decentralize
> the Internet. Many initiatives are being undertaken under this premise
> (e.g. Ethereum, Diaspora, OwnCloud, MediaGoblin, Sandstorm). These new
> software tools may also be useful to boost CBPP communities further. In
> this workshop, we will gather those working around the decentralized FLOSS
> that could help CBPP/P2P communities. Hackers, academics, activists and
> interested stakeholders are welcome.
>
> **When**
>
> March 16-17th 2015
>
> **Where**
>
> Fab Lab London
>
> http://fablablondon.org
>
> **Call for Proposals**
>
> We welcome proposals for:
>
>    -
>
>    Lightning talks (2m-5m): summarise your idea & receive feedback
>    -
>
>    Show & Tell presentations (20m): explain your project/tech/research
>    -
>
>    Tutorials on software tools (1h)
>
>
> Please email: address@hidden with your idea/proposals.
>
> The workshop will have both presentations and unconference-style
> participatory dynamics for finding points of collaboration and extraction
> of conclusions.
>
> ** Topics **
>
>    -
>
>    Focus on FLOSS software with some of the following features:
>    -
>
>       Social: communication
>       -
>
>          e.g. social-networking, microblogging, reworked email
>          -
>
>       Social: collaboration
>       -
>
>          e.g. wikis, pads, wave, shared file hosting, multimedia
>          repositories
>          -
>
>       Alternative to proprietary choices
>       -
>
>       Federated / Distributed / Interoperable
>       -
>
>       Open Standards
>       -
>
>       Secure / Encrypted
>       -
>
>       Encouraging Peer Production communities
>       -
>
>       Encouraging the construction/maintenance of Commons
>       -
>
>    Potential cases for discussion:
>    -
>
>       Diaspora (federated social network)
>       -
>
>       Wave (federated real-time collaboration)
>       -
>
>       Lorea (federated social network)
>       -
>
>       DarkWallet (distributed wallet & social network)
>       -
>
>       Ethereum (P2P infrastructure)
>       -
>
>       MaidSafe (P2P infrastructure)
>       -
>
>       Sandstorm.io (facilitates federated sw)
>       -
>
>       Mailpile (encripted email)
>       -
>
>       MediaGoblin (federated multimedia repository)
>       -
>
>       OwnCloud (file hosting)
>       -
>
>       … (your case)
>
>
> **Scholarships**
>
> There are a few scholarships for potential participants who wish to attend
> the event. The scholarship will cover participant’s travel and subsistence
> cost, up to €400. If you are interested in applying for the scholarship,
> please email: address@hidden before 28 February 2015, with a
> paragraph stating why you think your FLOSS is relevant, plus a short bio.
> Priority will be given to those with low resources, innovative FLOSS within
> the topics of the call, and being a grassroot community.
>
> ** More **
>
> More info will be posted online in:
>
> http://p2pvalue.eu/2nd-floss4p2p-workshop
>
> Email queries to: address@hidden

Looks like a great conference!  I wish I could make it but I will be
traveling elsewhere.

However, maybe someone closer to it from MediaGoblin can make it to the
event! :)

Good luck with it!
 - Chris