Clicktivism is ruining leftist activism | Micah White A battle is raging for the soul of activism. It is a struggle between digital activists, who have adopted the logic of the marketplace, and those organisers who vehemently oppose the marketisation of social change. At stake is the possibility of an emancipatory revolution in our lifetimes. The conflict can be traced back to 1997 when a quirky Berkeley, California-based software company known for its iconic flying toaster screensaver was purchased for $13.8m (£8.8m). The trouble is that this model of activism uncritically embraces the ideology of marketing. Clicktivists utilise sophisticated email marketing software that brags of its "extensive tracking" including "opens, clicks, actions, sign-ups, unsubscribes, bounces and referrals, in total and by source". Gone is faith in the power of ideas, or the poetry of deeds, to enact social change. Digital activists hide behind gloried stories of viral campaigns and inflated figures of how many millions signed their petition in 24 hours.
PANORAMA : A resource collection for Intercultural Dialogue Introduction Panorama is a resource offered by the Platform for Intercultural Europe, which was initiated in 2006 (as the Civil Society Platform for Intercultural Dialogue) by Culture Action Europe and the European Cultural Foundation (ECF), with the support of the Network of European Foundations (NEF) and on the occasion of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue in 2008. Hundreds of civil society organisations and their individuals engaged in intercultural action accross Europe - at local, national and international level, have participated in the Platform during its informal phase; after establishing as an association in 2008, the Platform is open to subscribing members. The context of Panorama The core principle of the Platform is cross-sectoral engagement – connecting and bringing people together from all sectors of the Interculturalism debate, from arts and culture, to education, to social and youth policies, to human rights policies... read more An outline of Panorama Contact
PEPPOL | Pan-European Public Procurement Online 52008DC0804 - FI Komission tiedonanto Euroopan parlamentille, neuvostolle, Euroopan talous- ja sosiaalikomitealle ja alueiden komitealle - ”Kohti esteetöntä tietoyhteiskuntaa” /* KOM/2008/0804 lopull. */ [pic] | EUROOPAN YHTEISÖJEN KOMISSIO | Bryssel 1.12.2008 KOM(2008) 804 lopullinen ”Kohti esteetöntä tietoyhteiskuntaa” Yhteiskuntamme on muuttumassa yhä enemmän tietoyhteiskunnaksi ja olemme kuin huomaamattamme tulossa yhä riippuvaisemmiksi teknologiapohjaisista tuotteista ja palveluista jokapäiväisessä elämässämme. Tietoyhteiskunnan esteettömyys on saanut viime vuosina runsaasti poliittista näkyvyyttä ja huomiota osakseen. Komission mielestä nyt on pikaisesti luotava johdonmukaisempi, yhteinen ja tehokas lähestymistapa sähköisten palvelujen ja erityisesti verkkosivujen esteettömyyteen , jotta voitaisiin jouduttaa tietoyhteiskunnan avautumista kaikille. Yhteinen ja johdonmukainen lähestymistapa tietoyhteiskunnan esteettömyyteen edellyttää seuraavaa: 2.1. 2.2. 2.3. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 3.1. 3.2. 3.3. 6.
Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement which amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Lisbon Treaty was signed by the EU member states on 13 December 2007, and entered into force on 1 December 2009. It amends the Maastricht Treaty (also known as the Treaty on European Union) and the Treaty of Rome (also known as the Treaty establishing the European Community). Prominent changes included the move from unanimity to qualified majority voting in several policy areas in the Council of Ministers, a change in calculating such a majority to a new double majority, a more powerful European Parliament forming a bicameral legislature alongside the Council of ministers under the ordinary legislative procedure, a consolidated legal personality for the EU and the creation of a long-term President of the European Council and a High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
Dissertation Click here for full list of Publications Do “Liberation Technologies” Change the Balance of Power Between Repressive StateS AND CIVIL SOCIETY? Dissertation Committee:Dan Drezner, Larry Diamond, Clay Shirky, Carolyn Gideon Do new information and communication technologies (ICTs) empower repressive regimes at the expense of civil society, or vice versa? For example, does access to the Internet and mobile phones alter the balance of power between repressive regimes and civil society? These questions are especially pertinent today given the role that ICTs played during the recent uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and beyond. The first half of this doctoral study comprises a large-N econometric analysis to test whether “liberation technologies” are a statistically significant predictor of anti-government protests in countries with repressive regimes. My dissertation is available for download here in PDF. Main Contributions and Highlights: Here are my latest blog posts on my dissertation findings:
rainbow [Rainbow Paper Online] Commit to change for Intercultural Dialogue. Make our collective voice heard. Support our advocacy with the European Union and its Member States. This site serves the public endorsement of The Rainbow Paper, an initiative of the Platform for Intercultural Europe (previously the “Rainbow Platform”). The Rainbow Paper is the result of several consultation exercises in the course of 2007 and 2008. The paper sets out five steps to making interculturalism our new human norm and proposes five sets of recommendations: Educating, building capacity by organisations, monitoring for sustained policies, mobilising across boundaries and resourcing of Intercultural Dialogue. The endorsed document was first presented to the public and to the EU Council at the closing event of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue on 17-19th November 2008 in Paris.
DPE: Digital Preservation Europe Institutions of the European Union Organigram of the institutions The European Union (EU) is governed by seven institutions. Article 13 of the Treaty on European Union lists them in the following order: the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council of the European Union (simply called "Council"), the European Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the Court of Auditors.[1] Institutions are different from agencies of the European Union. History[edit] Most EU institutions were created with the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in the 1950s. Establishment[edit] The first institutions were created at the start of the 1950s with the creation of the ECSC, based on the Schuman declaration, between six states. During the negotiations, two supervisory institutions were put forward to counterbalance the power of the High Authority. Changes[edit] The three communities were later merged in 1967, by the Merger Treaty, into the European Communities.
Googling Africa - By Dayo Olopade The Google office in South Africa is no different from the Google office in Washington -- from the outside. Tucked into a sprawling, high-tech office park in Johannesburg, Google's hip, young Africa team has taken the company's beanbag-chairs-and-jeans culture global. But in practice, their mission is different -- and far more difficult. They're out to prove that Google can be an African verb. Since 2007, the American search giant has entered the African market head first, establishing offices in Lagos, Accra, Johannesburg, Dakar, and Kampala, with its largest presence in Nairobi. Just as other multinational companies have discovered in recent years, Google knows that there is a lot of money to be made in urbanizing, newly wired African markets. When it comes to Western tech companies, Google is unmistakably ahead of the curve. This commitment to Africa has produced some exciting firsts. In many ways, Google is well suited to the challenge. Take Gmail, for example.
Relais Culture Europe: Accueil ckan/eutransparency - Open Knowledge Foundation Wiki Introduction This is an inventory of EU-relevant datasets that is being compiled by EU Transparency, the NGO that made farmsubsidy.org and the Open Knowledge Foundation. It includes data that is already available, as well as data that we know exists but is not published - from budget data and environmental information to postcodes and place names. How To Participate If you would like to get involved, either by taking part in the first European Open Data Summit in Brussels, 5-7 May 2009 or otherwise, please add your details to the participate page. How To Contribute Material If you know of a dataset that you think should be added, you can either: Registering Material On CKAN To register material on CKAN: Go to register page: Enter a short name, which will be the identifier for the package. Tags Following is a list of tags used in CKAN: Types of data we are looking for Scope Places to look If you know of existing places to look for EU data, please add a link below.