[10927] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: My reply to Jamie's note Re: The FCC strikes the Internet
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Miles R Fidelman)
Mon Mar 14 21:07:11 1994
Date: Mon, 14 Mar 1994 14:32:41 -0500 (EST)
From: Miles R Fidelman <fidelman@civicnet.org>
To: David Farber <farber@central.cis.upenn.edu>
Cc: com-priv@psi.com
In-Reply-To: <199403121627.LAA26387@linc.cis.upenn.edu>
On Sat, 12 Mar 1994, David Farber wrote:
>
> It seems to me that a good start would be a smallish conference where all
> the relevent parties can get to present their opinions on the role of
> networking in a democratic society. The results of such a meeting would be
> widely available (maybe live). The model coming into my head is the
> constitutional debates held on the 200 anniv of the Constitution in
> Philadelphia. If there is any interest in so organizing such a forum, I
> would be happy to explore whether Penn would host such a meeting
>
The Center for Civic Networking would be happy to co-organize such a
conference. We've already held two conferences on the topic: "From
Electronic Townhalls to Civic Networks: Democratic Reform for the 21st
Century" (April '93) and "Telecommunications, Governance, and the
Democratic Process (November '93, co-organized with the Benton Foundation
and the Center for Policy Alternatives).
These were both modestly sized (200 person) policy workshops attended by
community networking folks, public interest groups, Foundations, and
government policy types, rather than the networking/technology community
(though Vint Cerf keynoted our first conference). The focus was
primarily on how to reinvigorate democratic process through the use of
networks, blending into telecommunications policy approaches to make sure
that the emerging infrastructure and policy environment support use of
networks for civic deliberatiion.
Perhaps its time for a conference/workshop that talks about the same
issues, but with attendence drawn more from the technology/network
building community (or better yet, brings together the two communities).
My own experience of twenty years on the net keeps inspiring me with
models of how the technology can help large groups function as
communities -- but there seems to be little cross-over as yet between
those with experience in the networked world and those who work on the
day-to-day issues of reinvigorating our democracy.
So..
i. any interest out there in such a conference?
ii. Dave - do I hear you saying that you'd like to be on a conference
committee? :-)
iii. any other individuals and/or organizations want to play?
Miles
**************************************************************************
Miles R. Fidelman mfidelman@civicnet.org
Executive Director 91 Baldwin St. Charlestown MA 02129
The Center for Civic Networking 617-241-9205 fax: 617-241-5064
Check out our gopher server:
CCN - The Center for Civic Networking
on the list of all gopher servers in the world.
Information Infrastructure: Public Spaces for the 21st Century
Let's Start With: Internet Wall-Plugs Everywhere
Then We Can Worry About: "Switched, Interactive, Broadband Services"
**************************************************************************
