FSCONS Manifesto

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✍ Draft

This is the draft version of the manifesto, where edits are made. For the current official version of the manifesto see https://fscons.org/manifesto

Editing process: here is how the manifesto is updated:

  1. The members decide on a new version of the manifesto during the yearly meeting in the beginning of the year.
  2. This becomes the version that organizers, sponsors, speakers and other participants agree to for FSCONS this year.
  3. During the year, changes are made on a draft manifesto based on input from members and participants at the conference.
  4. repeat


FSCONS Manifesto v2014

Purpose

FSCONS exists to provide a meeting place where subjects relating to freedom within society, culture and technology can be brought to life in peer discussions. FSCONS should provide a forum where people, organisations and public sector, with interest in the three subject areas can meet in a participatory and constructive dialogue. The combination of topics creates a platform where new co-operations and thoughts can emerge which allows the participants to find new inspiration even from areas outside of their own.

Background

The non-profit association Föreningen FSCONS organises the conference FSCONS, in collaboration with other organisations, volunteers and sponsors.

The conference was first held in 2007 as a small but focused free software conference in Gothenburg. As the demand for follow-up conferences grew, one FSCONS conference has been arranged each fall/winter since. Between 2007 and 2011 the conference was hosted by FFKP - The Society for Free Culture and Software, becoming its own member run association in 2012.

FSCONS stands for Free Society Conference and Nordic Summit. While initially founded as Free Software conference Scandinavia, it has evolved into a yearly conference with a much broader scope - focusing on the interaction between culture, society and technology.

Past conferences

2007 - First conference. Main themes touched upon (free/open) Software, with topics like web caching and proxying, Free Software licensing, How to write graphical applications, database clustering and optimization, and more but also touched upon social topics such as introducing affordable internet capable computers to developing countries, Digital Rights for consumers, Digital Rights in general, NGO - decision making, Free Software with a female touch.

2008 - The conference evolved and covered two main tracks: Free Software and Free Culture, reflecting a stronger identity of the social and cultural part. Inspiration in part by "Free Culture" by Lawrence Lessig.

2009 - The tracks evolved into Free Software Track and Free Society Track. Inspiration in part by "Free Software, Free Society" by Richard Stallman. Conference also included a separate track for workshops, and one track which was co-organized by other organizations.

2010 - Several themes including Embedded, Ethics, Infrastructure, Makers of the Future, Divide and Reconquer, Extensions (how FS can influence other movements in society), Free Software and Using Free Software to Fuel the Revolution. Some themes were co-organized with other individuals or organizations.

2011 - This year's conference introduced the manifesto, opening it for input from the participants. Tracks included Free software in politics, Development for embedded systems, Free desktop environments, The future of money, Human rights and digital freedoms, Universal design - Aiming for accessibility, Development in free software communities, and Building together - Manufacturing Solidarity. Workshops were held during the Friday at Språkbanken. Keynote speakers were Richard Stallman and Christina Haralanova.

2012 - Tracks included General purpose computing, Free software feminism, Decentralising society, Open security and Legal. Workshops were held during the Friday at Språkbanken. Keynote speakers were Gabriella Coleman and Allison Randal.

Foundations

In no particular order, these are the principles which form the foundations of our activities:

  • The participants make the conference:
    FSCONS should generate new ideas and the interaction between peers is important. There is no hierarchy, placing some participants at the top and other participants at the bottom. Everyone contributes to FSCONS according to their ability.
    • Speakers are participants --
      Speakers are participants who give scheduled presentations as part of their contribution to the conference.
    • Volunteers are participants --
      Volunteers are participants who, during scheduled work-shifts, contribute to the conference by helping to make everything run smoothly.
  • FSCONS lets different opinions interact:
    We encourage a constructive dialogue between different stakeholders.
  • We generate new thinking:
    FSCONS brings people together, with the aim of being an enabling starting point for dialogue and new co-operations. The content should challenge the participants' views, and encourage new thinking. We must dare to approach and talk about new subjects.
  • We respect each other:
    We are non-discriminatory and accessible. We take an active stand for everyone's equal value, fundamental rights and freedoms. All participants are equally welcome. We do not tolerate harassment of participants in any form.
  • We strive to lower the barriers for participation:
    We actively work to make sure that our activities are accessible to everyone, regardless of experience, physiology, social class etc.
  • We are open to participation:
    We are open, transparent and inclusive in how we work, and what we do.
  • We work for sustainability:
    All work carried out by FSCONS should contribute towards a sustainable society and ecology.
  • We are not just a conference:
    We see ourselves as a continuum of processes, dialogues and projects, rather than a one-off event once a year.

Goals

This section contain a list of the goals for FSCONS on an overall level, and a list of approaches for how to meet those goals.

List of goals

These should ideally be measurable and identifiable. See later sections for indications for how to measure the goals, and the next section for the specific approaches on how to reach these goals.

FSCONS should:

  1. equally address the following subjects:
    1. Society, including, integrity, privacy, freedom of speech, human rights and access to knowledge,
    2. Culture, including visual art, literature, performing arts and the broad spectrum of newer cultural expressions,
    3. Technology, including software and hardware in a broad meaning, as well as questions of infrastructure and networks
  2. spark interesting discussions and co-operations
  3. have a fair and reasonable, within 60/40, gender distribution among participants
  4. encourage new first-time attendees, and evaluate their experience
  5. be accessible and have low barriers for participation
  6. be financially self-supporting, while setting aside funds for side-events and future activities
  7. a sustainable society and ecology

Approaches to accomplishing the goals

Methods for realising the goals are:

  1. having social events, where space is made for discussions and informal talks
  2. providing openings for interesting discussions and co-operations
  3. being open to contributions, for instance by:
    1. finding ways to allow for individuals to engage themselves in the organization and implementation of FSCONS,
    2. inviting corporations and organisations to contribute to FSCONS, to incorporate FSCONS in their internal training programs, and to take part in the ongoing discussion on technology in society
    3. inviting the public sector and non-governmental organisations to present their ongoing work at FSCONS
  4. find concrete approaches that promote a fair and reasonable gender distribution among the participants
  5. collaborating with organizations working with disabilities to gain insight into and methods to meet our accessibility goal
  6. establishing a system of mentors from previous participants at FSCONS who can guide new attendees at the conference
  7. establishing lasting long-term collaborations with sponsors of FSCONS
  8. recycle and reuse materials to minimise our ecological foot-print
  9. encourage sharing of ideas and technology to promote a more equal and sustainable society
  10. continuously measure and evaluate our approaches in terms of meeting the stated goals


See Also

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