M-ITI and the University of Texas at Austin will be hosting a conference and workshops in Madeira, Open Institute V2: Open in a Time of Closure, 15 – 20 December 2017.
Many of the ideals around 'open' in the last two decades are facing dramatic retrogression. The open Internet is under threat, already lost in much of the world. Borders are closing in the West; negative impacts of the closed scientific/academic publication system are becoming clearer; public speech and transparency are suffering throughout the world. Meanwhile, states are imprisoning principled practitioners of agonistic openness like Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning, and Texas native Reality Winner with a vigor not shown since the enlightenment.
How do the last few years challenge or reinforce the need for openness? Can principles of openness developed in prior decades survive closure? Are new techniques necessary?
Open Institute V2, "Open in a Time of Closure," seeks to explore these themes with an emphasis on extreme or agonistic approaches to free/open practices. It is the sequel to the original Open Institute in Austin, in 2015 -- already another era. Bringing expert analysts and practitioners from several vectors of Open (Open Knowledge, Open Science and Technology, Open Borders, etc.), it combines hands-on workshops and activities with world-class keynotes. Lectures will be public and open to the Madeiran community, while workshops will be available to students in the Digital Media program at Porto, FCT/Nova, Austin, and M-ITI.
More information coming shortly on M-ITI website, including signup to the workshop events.
