[wsfii-coord] Potential speakers - capra (on Lawrence Lessig)

Thu Aug 17 12:39:29 BST 2006

Dear Laird  !  :-)

As the mutidirectional search of appealing individuals for doing keynote 
speaches at the summit came along, I just felt the need to stimulate focus, 
by publicly define the function of a keynote speaker to the summit. So often 
I have seen the focus of conferences disappear into talks about 
"everything", followed by dissolving of direction and then also of ability !
My note was not at all aimed at you Laird, as I - after having met with you 
a whole day - are totally confident that you know this "game" :-)

With Smiles  :-)
Yours Sincerely
Bjarke

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Laird Brown" <laird at web.net>
To: "WSFII-Coord" <wsfii-coord at lists.okfn.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2006 1:12 PM
Subject: Re: [wsfii-coord] Potential speakers - capra (on Lawrence Lessig)

On 17-Aug-06, at 2:19 AM, Bjarke at DjurslandS.net wrote:

> Dear all here !  :-)
>
> I don't know the positions of the below mentioned individuals, but
> I just want to make a point about the concept of a keynote speaker.
>
> In my opinion it is very-very important that the key note speeches
> - as such - expresses the very core of those messages with which
> WSFII and the Air Jaldi crew want to impress the World opinion.

Whether or not Lawrence Lessig accepts an invitation to speak is up
to the fates. WRT to our three confirmed keynoters, we are working
with them to shape their talks to align with our interests. We also
expect them to have some interesting ideas of their own. I am
confident that we'll touch all the bases we need, and then some, with
our keynote choices.

L.

>   To be able to attract the Worlds attention, we might tend to seek
> affiliation with people with renown great appeal. - BUT please be
> very-very aware, - if we do not manage to make renown keynote
> speakers understand, that we wish them to speak the core messages
> (keynotes) of WSFII and of the Air Jaldi crew, it can be very-very
> damaging to have them as key note speakers doing their own thing in
> our frame, because (if they fail to speek our common message) the
> World will take their heavy weight words as an immovable expression
> of what WSFII and Air Jaldi is all about, - even though we
> ourselves easily see it as completely skewed. (If a wrong but stron
> impression is made in World Television, we might never get over it).
> So if we can not be sure that a known keynoter speaks at our
> subjects core, we will be better off to have someone unknow as
> keynoter, who can do it at the core, and then let the know
> individual comment, as part of a panel, yet doing the attraction. -
> But in this way of dividing the roles, we might better ensure that
> the word will get out to the World public, about the immence
> possibilities of utilising very cheap Widearea Wireless Network
> technology as Free Information Infrastructures, especially to those
> who will else be victims of market failure and technological and
> social devide . . .
> We should not let keynoters shape the summit in their own image and
> favourite topics. Exactly because we are talking keynotes, these
> should be weldefined tasks, seeking to assemble the highest level
> of experience and knowledge of this special World Summits core
> subjects . . . Commentators should on the opposite be completely
> free to speek their own minds of course . . .
>
> Just my 25 Danish oere coin ;-)
>
> With Smiles :-)
> Yours Sincerely
> Bjarke
> Teaching at DIIRWB.net
> Skype: bjarke_nielsen_djurslands.net
> Mobile: +45 6025 0001
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Jeff Buderer
> To: wsfii-coord at lists.okfn.org
> Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2006 12:46 AM
> Subject: [wsfii-coord] Potential speakers - capra (on Lawrence Lessig)
>
> Joy, thanks for taking the initiative and communicating with
> lawrence Lessig. It is good to update him of our work regardless of
> whether he will be able to go to the event.
> >Personally I'm not particulary in favour of Lessig - his recent
> support ofsome sort of DRM' is not my cup of "tea". On the other
> hand, he is definitely averykeen performer and always willing to go
> to places - though his focus is assuchnot on free information
> infrastructure.But, I would somehow be more in favour of a spending
> the money onsomeone/something else?Gregers, I did a bit of research
> on DRMs. and I found the below passage at Wikipedia (http://
> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Rights_Management) " Lessig is well
> known, in part, for arguing recent landmark cases on copyright law.
> A Professor of law at Stanford University, Lessig writes for an
> educated lay audience, including for non-lawyers. He is, for the
> most part, an opponent of DRM techologies."
>
> So i guess his being an opponent "for the most part" of DRM is
> overlapping with your comments about his "recent suppot of some
> sort of DRM." From my perspective being in support of some of sort
> of DRM does not necessarily make him wrong but ideologically
> pragmatic. Indeed we need to consider that the establishment media
> players need some sort of content management structure to ensure
> that they control their creative content and we would not expect to
> surrender their ability to enforce their IP rights  through
> eletronic means without a fight. Its understandable that they are
> insecure about the ability of technology to reduce barriers to
> unfettered free and open sharing of information. Yet, on the other
> side of the coin I think there are signs of the abuse of DRM and
> that an argument can be made that this is part of larger
> suppression of nonconfirmism and free thinking in societies to
> ensure maximum social control. However, rather than simply saying
> DRM is either good or bad, I suggest we consider the need for a
> strategy to transition us from a copyright/IP economy to a more
> open source/public domain type system of information sharing and
> distribution.
>>>> There was one suggestion which was to approach Fritjof Capra
>>>> author of the tao of physics as a bridging speaker between the
>>>> spiritual context and the physics of wireless. I am pursuing a
>>>> contact with him through
>>>> a personal friend but his web site has phone details so maybe he
>>>> can
>>>> be contacted directly. Joy (cc'ed ) also had a contact with him.
>>>>
>>>> http://www.fritjofcapra.net/index.html
> Today I  contacted (email) Gunter Pauli of ZERI who cowrote several
> of Fritjof's  books.
>>> I'm sure some people will not be crazy about one or two of the
>>> choices, but a good keynoter in hand is better than a perfect
>>> keynoter in theory.
> I dont think we need to focus on keynoters and their star appeal
> but rather on the compelling nature of the content of the
> conference itself. That in my view will be what will make it a
> success. Thanks Laird for your work in getting those people
> together as keynoters.
>
> Jeff
>
>
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Warmly,

L.

--
Laird Brown
http://summit.airjaldi.com
Dharamsala | Skype: airjaldi

Provide the tools, and the carpenter will appear.

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