Social Technologies Summit May 10, 2007

The 'ideas strand' of the Futuresonic festival, the Social Technologies Summit,
brings together leading figures to explore "a whole new way of doing things in the
air".

In 2007 the Summit returns with a programme that is stronger than ever before, with
leading figures from around the world converging on Manchester for the USE YOUR
IMAGINATION one-day event; the ENVIRONMENT 2.0 talks and presentations exploring the
sustainability of future arts and technologies; and the FREE STUDIO session
introducing the leading figures in the grass roots open source movement that is
sweeping across Brazil like wild fire and captivating the world's imagination.

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USE YOUR IMAGINATION
http://www.futuresonic.com/07/imagination.html
A part of the Social Technologies Summit

A man falls in slow motion from a high building. Upon impact the concrete paving
gives way and ripples in concentric waves as it absorbs the energy of his fall.
There is an idea out there that the world is not solid any more. Now that everyone
can speak to anyone while on the move or open a web page from anywhere, the ground
beneath our feet is no longer hard, but 'soft', as in 'software'.

We live in an age when the future of the next few hundred years is being written.
Just as the printing press and the steam engine changed history, so the decisions
made now about the design of the technologies we use will shape our lives tomorrow.

It is not just scientists who are engineering this future, but artists and DIY
technologists also. And we are now at a moment when these ideas are breaking out of
small labs and art events. The key creative from Saatchi & Saatchi behind the
celebrated T Mobile adverts featuring 'soft' urban scenes which brilliantly capture
these concepts will participate alongside figures from art and engineering.

Leading figures from around the world are converging on Manchester for Use Your
Imagination, a one day event presented by a major new research institute called
Imagination@Lancaster. This unique event begins with the idea that it is for
everyone, and with the goal of 'open sourcing' some of the technologies and concepts
that are reshaping our lives today.

Followed by a participatory workshop which aims to enable you to find your future
art/technology partner, plus Manchester's first DORKBOT, an open event for people
doing strange things with technology.

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FREE STUDIO
http://www.futuresonic.com/07/freestudio.html
A part of the Social Technologies Summit

There is today a grass roots open source movement that is sweeping across Brazil
like wild fire and captivating the world's imagination.

A high profile session coinciding with the initiation of a local Estudio Livre (Free
Studio) in Manchester, based on the Brazilian model, will be headed by Claudio
Prado.

Claudio Prado (Brazil), 63 is the leading figure in the Brazilian movement. He was
deeply involved in the countercultural movement in 1960's London - he was one of the
organizers of the first Glastonbury Festival, and was involved in the launch of the
International Times and of the first format of Time Out. In London he met the
musician Gilberto Gil, now Culture Minister of Brazil, with whom he has had a
lifetime friendship.

Claudio is now in a unique position, working in a very new frontier between
government and media activists running the Digital Culture Department of the
Ministry of Culture of Brazil. He is the man responsible for Brazil's involvement in
international discussions around digital and open source culture, and all its
consequences in IP regulations, cultural production and identity, creative economy
and so on. He is also responsible for putting all these concepts into practice,
through the Pontos de Cultura project - 600 grassroots cultural centers spread all
around the country that receive a digital multimedia production infrastructure and
take part in a series of meetings and workshops regarding free and open source
software for multimedia production, open licensing, gift economy and similar
subjects.

Claudio will be joined by joined by Cristiano Scabello, a walking collision of
Brazilian dub sound system and open source activist, plus leading open source
activists from the UK such as James Wallbank (founder of Access Space), and Dave
Carter (Head of Manchester Digital Development Agency).

Followed by a Manchester Free Studio workshop, focusing on the initiation of a local
Estudio Livre (Free Studio) in Manchester, based on the Brazilian model.

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ENVIRONMENT 2.0
http://www.futuresonic.com/07/environmenttalks.html
A part of the Social Technologies Summit

Environment 2.0 is a new international initiative seeking to explore the
sustainability of future arts and technologies. It is a part of a 3 year project by
Futuresonic seeking to minimise the environmental impact of the Futuresonic festival
and also to explore broader issues connecting Futuresonic's interest in mobile and
social technologies with the new urgency surrounding climate change.

In Environment 2.0 two worlds collide. When the environment is mapped, tagged and
digitised it becomes navigable, computable and manipulable. How can this approach to
environment, one which is iconic for our times, be reconciled with the need to
address climate change? How can we, for example, provide mobile devices with new
"super-senses" and abilities by enabling a wide range of physical sensors to be
easily attached and used by anyone, especially non-experts. Do such technologies
offer new opportunities, or do they distract from hard choices?

How green is the internet? An email has been circulating about the carbon footprint
of avatars in the Second Life virtual world. Leading environment advocates will
unpick such half truths, and outline some of the ways people can work together to
address climate change.

Followed by a network meeting for Environment 2.0.

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ARTIST TALKS
http://www.futuresonic.com/07/futurevisual.html

As the main conference strand of the Futuresonic festival, the Social Technologies
Summit will also host discussions of the festival's artistic themes. In 2007 this
will involve a talks and presentations as a part of Futurevisual, which celebrates
the 40th anniversary of seminal multi-media events that took place in the halcyon
year of 1967, and brings together legendary figures from the 1960s with some of the
most cutting-edge AV artists working in the world today.

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FUTURESONIC 2007
For an overview of the Futuresonic 2007 festival programme
visit http://www.futuresonic.com/07/futuresonic2007

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DELEGATE PASS
http://www.futuresonic.com/07/bookings.html

Delegate Pass (includes ?30 Weekender Wristband)
?45
Student Delegate Pass
?10
++Fixed number of Day Passes available each day on a Pay-What-You-Can basis.

The Delegate Pass gives you access to the Social Technologies Summit,
all Futuresonic seminars and talks, and all Futuresonic Live and Urban Play
events over the festival weekend.

Conference places limited - advance booking essential.

Official Website: http://www.futuresonic.com