After a short introduction from Geert Lovink, Roberto Verzola took the podium where he talked at length about the Emerging Information Economy, its consequences on a global scale and what can be done in order to move forward towards a socially-just, ecologically-friendly society best.
>> full report of Roberto Verzola’s talk
Heimo Claasen, a researcher and journalist from Belgium followed with a footnote to Roberto Verzola’s talk. In a very short talk Claasen brought up the intensification in the regions where there is a high control of info system (ie propriety usable typesets adobe & microsoft); input and output; unthinkable that people would be submissive to these controls but they do; the push on the net of a presentation culture which depends on proprietary formats; how ict is employed by major ngo’s laying out most of their their budgets for proprietary software.
As a conclusion Monica Nerula talked about the role new media plays in contemporary culture and on a global level, and the way ICT is affecting the way contemporary culture is being built, also making references to “The Delhi Declaration of a New Context for New Media.”
>> full report of Monica Nerula’s talk
documented by Andreea
About Heimo Claassen (Journalist): Earlier German, now Belgian national, thus “European” of sorts; Sociologist by origin (Frankfurt/Main “School” for the theoretical, Lund/Sweden University for the empirical part), working as independent journalist from Brussels (for German language papers/media, some English language publications too) mostly on North/South relations, for some three decades by now; thus involved “from the beginnings” in the “digital divide” (and on the very practial side of it too – e.g., how to get out news from Mobutu’s Kinshasa or Apartheid South Africa.) More theoretical-analytical involvement with the upcoming “browser war” in the mid-90s (e.g., at the German IMD conference ’98. A number of current publications on “digital divide” issues, and editing of thematic issues of the German Entwicklungspolitik magazine (#11/2002, featuring Roberto Verzola e.a., and in the same journal, 3/11/2003 on the onset to the WSIS).