I think the realities of organizing events is underestimated. They are two choices, one is the grassroots barcamp type events, in which everyone is welcome, and everyone has to fund his own trip; these events are great, and important, but have advantages as well as disadvantages One disadvantage is that it excludes those who can't self-fund their trips.
The other choice is to go for paid conferences. This involves other disadvantages, such as the rules imposed by funders (very stringent demands for transparency for example with EU funding). But it has some advantages ... one is the choice of speakers, which can be more focused on past expertise; the other is that speakers' trip can be paid, as well as small, or sometimes bigger stipends; the paid entries can help fund those without the means of self-funding. So, in the case of the Synergia conference, this is an entirely unfunded conference. The price was set taken into account the travel costs and very small per diems for the teachers/speakers; and full lodging of participants. In this context, the fee amounts to 900 EURO per week, full pension, which is, in the context of the prices of Tuscany, actually very cheap, though of course, will also exclude those with financial difficulties. For this, you get access to a quite extraordinary roster of teachers/speakers and intense dialogue with other participants. For people with jobs in the cooperative economy, for which this conference is intended, the cost is not un-realistic. For those without income, the price is prohibitive, but bursaries are available. According to John Restakis, the program requires 15 paid students to achieve break-even; after that, bursaries can be funded. I for example, would not be able to attend neither Tuscany nor the P2P Value events on my own, in either format, but I can attend both because my travel and basic costs are provided for. This is not a gift, but a small reciprocal payment for my contribution to the event. In contrast, the self-organized barcamp absolutely preclude me from making a living from my contributions. The second issue is that of 'democracy'. The P2P Value event has been organized and decided by all those involved in the research project, i.e. a consortium of 8 organizations, and James was responsible for organizing the event as part of the contract; in the Synergie case, this is also a collaborative effort of many dozen people, involved in the Synergia consortium, a voluntary association of cooperativists the world over. They take their decisions in good faith, given the funding and other realities they contend with. Yes, it means not everyone can attend, but within the parameters they work with, they strive for the maximum inclusion of motivated participants, and find individual solutions when possible. Now the alternative of barcamps of the massively self-organized WSF ... well, I can't afford to go those either, they exclude all those that are not able to self-fund. So no system is perfect, and both are easy to critique from the outside, by people who are unwilling to dive into the real difficulties and constraints of organizing these events, As far as I can recall, Orsan, you organized exclusive events with TNI, and you did that very well. Far from critiquing you for these exclusionary events, I would commend you for it, for bringing important players together, and for funding our trips and participation. I feel the same about John Restakis and James Burke, and given their efforts and responsibilities, I can find sympathy for their irritation when they are critiqued by outsiders who are not contributing to the organization of these events, and unaware of the constraints they are operating with. Michel On Sun, Jul 3, 2016 at 10:23 AM, Orsan <orsan1...@gmail.com> wrote: > Does anyone know who is you James? you write it like you know all on the > list, and you know me. > > Your sarcastic tone is really annoying, and you don't know me, you don't > like me at all. Neither I know you and like you. > > The truth is your paid job is to sets up and event, funded by EU, where > Global Commons agenda is supposed to be set up, you guys, as once Restakis > accidentally declared to public, on the driving wheel... Plus charging > participants... Sorry but it will not be like that. > > There will be annoyed ones critically targeting what is being boiled.. > > WSF is another story, I will complain about that later, which is not your > paid job area. > > Things boil down to agenda setting, and power struggle. We will luckily > discuss all publicly this time. God bliss commons, p2p and the Internet. > > Good luck. > > > On 3 jul. 2016, at 01:33, Michel Bauwens <mic...@p2pfoundation.net> wrote: > > thanks james! > > On Sun, Jul 3, 2016 at 5:59 AM, james burke <lifesi...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> A public response will follow. We know him personally and like him, >> although he likes to complain a lot. >> >> >> J >> >> On Sun, Jul 3, 2016 at 12:19 AM, Michel Bauwens <mic...@p2pfoundation.net >> > wrote: >> >>> Dear James et al, >>> >>> thanks for responding to this question and critique by Orsan Senalp: >>> >>> Message: 1 >>> Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2016 20:16:36 +0200 >>> From: Orsan Senalp <orsan1...@gmail.com> >>> Subject: [P2P-F] Eu funded Global Commons Conference, 2-3 September, >>> Amsterdam >>> To: "<networkedlab...@lists.contrast.org>" >>> <networkedlab...@lists.contrast.org>, P2P Foundation mailing >>> list >>> <p2p-foundation@lists.ourproject.org>, Commoning >>> <common...@lists.commons-institut.org> >>> Message-ID: <eea10dc4-f19b-45e8-b22c-3eec5753b...@gmail.com> >>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" >>> >>> I am based very Amsterdam but heard about this event from Facebook. It >>> was not clear from the website if registration fee will be charged. In case >>> there is a fee for participation, although I am very close it seems as many >>> other commoners it would not possible for me to join this event; let alone >>> the ethic problem of charging people for already funded event by EU, with >>> public money. >>> >>> ..... >>> >>> Peer Value:Advancing the Commons Collaborative Economy is a conference >>> integrating conversations and plans of action for shaping and connecting >>> the Commons on a global level. >>> The conference is organized along three tracks: >>> Track 1: P2P: Inclusive Politics, Activism and Law for the Commons >>> Track 2: Decentralized Tech and Beyond:Global Design,Local Production >>> Track 3: From Platform to Open Cooperativism >>> We will explore questions such as: >>> What are the conditions that encourage communities to work as peers, >>> creating commons? >>> What are the best practices communities can adopt to safeguard their >>> resilience? >>> Decentralization - why is it important, and how is it implemented and >>> maintained? >>> How can the working methodologies honed by well-established digital >>> communities act as transitional guidelines for sustainable ?material? >>> manufacturing? >>> What about social innovation and livelihoods - how does contributory and >>> open accounting work with the systems of value creation found in CBPP? >>> How can civil society participate in recommending policy proposals that >>> support CBPP for governments at the local, regional, national - even global >>> - levels? >>> Join your peers, add your voice and take part in the growing >>> conversation about the Commons as an important, emerging collaborative >>> social model. >>> Register now > >>> >>> This event is funded by a European Union FP7 research grant. >>> >>> Web: Peervalueconf.eu <http://peervalueconf.eu> >>> >>> .... >>> In solidarity, >>> >>> ?rsan >>> >>> -- >>> Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: >>> http://commonstransition.org >>> >>> P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - >>> http://blog.p2pfoundation.net >>> >>> <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: >>> http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens >>> >>> #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/ >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> >> James Burke >> >> T:+31 (0)6 5244 6445 >> >> Twitter: https://twitter.com/lifesized >> LinkedIn: nl.linkedin.com/in/lifesized >> >> - >> >> > > > -- > Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: > http://commonstransition.org > > P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net > > <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: > http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens > > #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/ > > _______________________________________________ > P2P Foundation - Mailing list > > Blog - http://www.blog.p2pfoundation.net > Wiki - http://www.p2pfoundation.net > > Show some love and help us maintain and update our knowledge commons by > making a donation. Thank you for your support. > https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/donation > > https://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation > > > _______________________________________________ > NetworkedLabour mailing list > networkedlab...@lists.contrast.org > http://lists.contrast.org/mailman/listinfo/networkedlabour > > -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://commonstransition.org P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/
_______________________________________________ P2P Foundation - Mailing list Blog - http://www.blog.p2pfoundation.net Wiki - http://www.p2pfoundation.net Show some love and help us maintain and update our knowledge commons by making a donation. Thank you for your support. https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/donation https://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation