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Call for Papers "Deepening Democracy as a Way of Life: Challenges for Participatory Democracy and Citizenship Learning in the 21st Century" International Congress Facultad de Ciencia Política y Relaciones Internacionales, Universidad Nacional de Rosario Rosario (Argentina) 13-16 May 2010 __________________________________________________ In a time of great global transformations, we invite you to share experiences and critical reflections about the following questions: If in the last two centuries we fought to institutionalize civil, political, and social rights, in the 21st century can we spread and deepen democracy as a way of life? If so, how? The Congress, which continues two previous studies conducted at the University of Toronto, Canada, will have two unique characteristics, which we hope to do so lively and stimulating: First, along with academic papers, will include political and artistic practices associated with participatory democracy, provided by its own players and, as far as possible, at the place where every day is made. Second, will be held in a central location -the Centro Cultural Bernardino Rivadavia- and also in the six districts of Rosario city, promoting the game among players in the neighborhoods and the national and international visitors. Thematics Áreas Within the general topic of deepening democracy as a way of life, we welcome proposals in the following themes: 1. Deepening democracy in civil society: community organizations, neighborhood groups, online communities and digital democracy, indigenous communities, social movements, non-governmental or-ganizations, associations of residents, families, networks and diaspora communities, political parties, unions, housing cooperatives, popular libraries, Theater of the Oppressed, uses of public space, etc. 2. Deepening democracy in spaces organized by the state (municipal, provincial and national): participatory budgets, public consultations, decentralization, democratization and redistribution, randomocracy, participatory planning, citizen assemblies, community councils, the educating cities movement, urban pedagogy, federations, “Council in the districts”, online government, deliberative polling, etc. 3. Deepening democracy in the workplace: democracy and citizenship learning in the work place, cooperatives, solidarity/social economy, recuperated businesses, diverse economies, learning communities, inclusive workplaces, etc. 4. Deepening democracy in K-12 (from pre-school to high school): conflict resolution; youth protagonism, new methodologies for citizen education, student delegates; student councils; youth participatory budgets; youth media, intercultural curriculum, global education, connecting content, method and surroundings, etc. 5. Deepening democracy in higher education: direct election of authorities, self-government, new educational strategies, community-university alliances, democracy inside student and faculty organizations, university extension programs, innovative pedagogies, service learning, etc. 6. Deepening democracy in non-formal education: youth and adult education programs, popular education, courses, workshops, youth exchanges, learning communities, museums, etc. 7. Deepening democracy in the media: press ombudsmen, media cooperatives, indymedia, employee stock participation, media concentration control, informative guarantees of media pluralism, culture jamming, crowdsourcing, Internet, social media (blogs, Wikipedia, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, etc.), right to retort, etc. 8. Deepening democracy in transnational communities: citizenship without borders? global citizenship, world social forum, world education forum, international exchanges, transnationalism, global solidarity movements, diaspora networks, virtual communities, etc. 9. Other proposals that are linked to the general topic but do not necessarily correspond with the themes above. Formats for Proposals Proposals can have the following formats: experiences, academic presentations, roundtables, debates, participatory workshops, artistic presentations, and plenary sessions. Each session will last 90 minutes, with some exceptions. Experiences: Accounts of participatory democratic practices presented by the actors themselves, whether organizations or government bodies. We encourage site visits for local experiences. Groups who present experiences in their own locations will have free access to all conference activities. Academic Presentations: In-progress or finalized research studies. Accepted presentations will be grouped into panels by subject, geographic origin, or other thematic considerations. Each session will have 4 presentations of 15 minutes each, including approximately 30 minutes for questions, answers, and discussion. Roundtables: Dialogues between different speakers (minimum three, maximum five) about a common theme, coordinated by a moderator. A suitable time should be reserved for audience participation, but this does not need to be the main focus of the session, as in the participatory workshops. Priority will be given to panels that reflect cultural, geographic, and issues diversity. Debates: Discussions between two experts with very different visions on a specific subject, moderated by an “arbitrator” that keeps track of time and previously agreed-on rules of debate. While roundtables look for diversity, debates engage with polarization. It is essential that participants treat each other respectfully and abide by a friendly spirit. Participatory Workshops: Horizontal group analysis of concrete problems of participatory democratic practices, and solutions to these problems. Facilitators should describe the relevant aspects of the problem, and engage participants in discussing possible solutions. Artistic Presentations: Documentaries, theater, poetry, music, graffiti and other artistic presentations that they have to do with the conference themes. To the extent that there is time and interest, we encourage proposals to solicit audience participation. Plenary sessions: Special guest speakers who are internationally known. Proposals Deadline: November 30, 2009. Languages Exposure: Spanish, English or Portuguese. Length: 250 to 350 words. Conference website: http://www.congresorosario2010.com.ar __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org
