2009 March Manchester, UK: 4th Oekonux Conference - Free Software and Beyond...

Call for Contribution - to the 4th Oekonux Conference in collaboration with P2P Foundation

During the past decade the phenomenon of Free Software has become successful and well-known. It is still amazing how in the realm of software the creativity of so many volunteers leads to products which are useful for the whole mankind. In 1999 the Oekonux Project [http://www.oekonux.org/] started with analyzing this phenomenon and trying to understand the special features of Free Software as a social and political enterprise.

Today, beyond the Free Software world, projects based on a similar approach of peer production are rapidly emerging, including Wikipedia and many more. It is time to look at peer production from a broader perspective.

This is the goal of the 4th Oekonux conference [http://www.oekonux-conference.org/] which is done in collaboration with the P2P Foundation [http://p2pfoundation.net/]. Under the title

Free Software and Beyond The World of Peer Production - we are planning a conference where

o researchers and activists meet
o intensive discussions are possible
o experiences can be shared and learned.

We are calling for contributions about the big world of peer production.
Possible themes include (but not limited to):

o Reports from peer production projects such as -

o Wikipedia
o Blogosphere
o Design communities
o OpenAccess movement
o Open Music
o Free Culture
o Sharing platforms like Flickr and YouTube
o Free Software

o Peer production and capitalism

o Theoretical approaches on their relationship
o Peer production and commercial interests
o Peer production and the state
o Peer production and political approaches of the past

o Peer governance

o Theoretical approaches to governance in peer production
o Peer ownership
o Maintainership and conflict resolution

o Material peer production

o Existing projects
o Theoretical approaches

If you want to - give a talk - prepare a workshop - moderate a round table discussion

Please submit a short outline of your idea (~300 words) together with a short bio to projekt AT oekonux DOT de. (Mails to this address are archived on the web. Please ask there if this is a problem for you.) If you want to add some other kind of contribution or have other questions please also don't hesitate to contact this address.

About Project Oekonux: In Project Oekonux different people with different opinions and different methods study the economic and political forms of Free Software and other peer production phenomenons. An important question is, whether the principles of peer production may be the foundation of a new economy which may be the base for a new society.

About P2P Foundation: The Foundation for Peer to Peer Alternatives researches, documents and promotes P2P practices in every domain of social life. It's a global cyber-collective and aims to be a knowledge and internetworking platform for open/free, participatory, and commons-oriented initiatives on a global scale.