[fse-esf] ESF Tools Reflections

[Mayo FM]

Dear everybody!

I hope everybody is fine. 

I consider very positive that both the online dimension of the ESF and the research on the ESF is part of the agenda of the next EPA meeting in Stockholm. 

In regard to the online dimension of the ESF, I would like to share with the e-lists my reflections concerning a pro-democratic management and design of the tools. These reflections raised from my experience and direct involvement in the online dimension of the different ESFs as part of the Systematize EPA working group, Euromovements and the ESF Memory Project, and through developing an action research on the topic. 

I hope this short paper could be useful to stimulate the debate on these matters. Please you don't worry :-) it is not a about technical words, but political. 

My apologias that I'm sending the text only in one language, and in (precarious) English. 

You could read it below or downloaded from the Social Forums e-library: http://www.openelibrary.info/upload/769/rtfmayoreflectionsonlinetoolssept2007.rtf

See you in Stockholm. In solidarity, Mayo Fuster 




REFLEXIONS ON THE ESF ONLINE TOOLS: EPA Stockholm 2007 
Mayo Fuster Morell – Euromovements (lilaroja at gmx.net)

A) ESF ONLINE TOOLS: A THERMOMETER OF THE DEMOCRACY OF THE ESF  

A real building of pro-democratic websites at the ESF is not supposed to be limited to the task of the technical web team, but it must be feet by a willing of the EPA of enlarging participation and bringing transparency into the ESF organizational process. In my view, to have a pro-democratic website is directly related to contribute to facilitate the conditions for participation, such as, clarifying the rules of the game and systematizing the information and knowledge on the ESF organization. Again, as it is clear, these aspect are not confine and can not be only performed by a website technical team (which it might only deal with the technical maintaining), but it involves the whole EPA and in concrete each person who manage information concerning the preparative process. In this sense, in my view it is relevant to create the conditions for the decentralise information gathering and not to delegate in a technical webteam the online information gathering. 

In the following text first I will summarise in 5 dimensions what in my view characterise in general a pro-democratic online dimension, and then I will present some lines on how we could perform it for the ESF Scandinavia. Last,  I include a review of the online tools used at the ESF since Florence to now a days. This short “history”, and in fact all the text, of course is not a “consensus” but  my view of it.  

B) CARACTERISTICS OF A PRO-DEMOCRATIC-ONLINE DIMENSION

1) INFORMATION USABILITY: This dimension refers to provision and the organization of the information in a way that facilitates its use. 
The concrete aspects that facilitate information usability are: 
i) Provision of the information required to participate and the rules of the participation. 
ii) The presentation of the information in an easy and findable way; 
iii)And, the provision of information required to participate translated in several languages.

2) TECHNICAL ACCESSIBILITY: This dimension relates to the adoption of technologies that make possible to intervene in the website or communication tool without requiring high technical formation. (I.e.: If you depend in someone else to express your self online because you don't know how to do it  by your self then we are using technology which it is not accessible). 

3) OPENNESS TO PARTICIPATION: This dimension is related to the use of multi-interactivity and open publishing application that allows participation in information gathering.
 
4) TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY: This dimension refers to the transparent functioning and the accountability of the ESF. These functions can be measured by the provision of a series of information on the ESF itself (EPA organizational structure, contacts of  the responsible of each task, etc.) and on its finances. Besides, the provision of information referring to the website itself is offered (such as web team contact, budget of the maintaining of the side etc.).

5) KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: This dimension is related to make clear the licences used or the forms of knowledge management adopted for the information generated by the ESF. If someone is contributing to build a side has the right to know which are the conditions of use of the information gathered. For example, it referees to the conditions of use of the knowledge of the ESF, such as the database of the organizations registered at the Scandinavian ESF. 

C)SOME REFLEXIONS ON HOW TO PERFORM A PRO-DEMOCRATIC ONLINE DIMENSION  OF THE ESF

In order to have a web tool that facilitate and make transparent the organization of the Scandinavia ESF, in my view we have to work on three key axes: 
1) the promotion of “easy-use” technology (technically accessible and open to participation); 2) to  conceive the website as a social forum is, that is giving to the online tools a  public space character and allowing a flexible-“self-governing” of the website (avoiding to create rigid protocols  on how to use the website and difficult the access to the information in it); 
and, 3) to feed the sensibility and make an effort to “write” and compile online the information and knowledge related to the organization of the Scandinavian ESF and the EPA structure. 

Until now, I think we have put to much attention, and budget!, on the technical (specially on modulating the technology for adopting rigid protocols) and we have not put almost any attention on the actual information systematization and online information gathering. 

We also have perhaps mistaken considering that the information updating of the website has to be performed by the same people than the technical maintaining. In my view, it would be good not to “delegate” the contents of the side to the technical team or webmaster, instead we have to follow the direct involvement in the contents of the website. For example, the person in charge of writing a minutes and sending it to the e-list to be the same person in charge of making it available from the website. The easy of use technology and the use of flexible protocols facilitate very much the updating of the website by any person contributing to organise the ESF.  

And last. For the concrete case of the organization of the Scandinavian ESF, I would propose to consider the adoption of a simple Media wiki. For four main reasons: 
+ It is a wide spread technology (it is the system used for Wikipedia): In local processes we can develop workshops to train the people to use a specific system, but this is not the case of an international process as the organization of the ESF is, in which we are very much limited to carry on capitalization on technology and we depend much more on the actual knowledge of the people. For this we need to adopt a system that people already know and a system very highly spread, as wiki is. 
+ We have already positive experiences on using wiki in organizing a ESF. During the London ESF  wikis were used in order to democratise the ESF organization and they were very much used. 
+ It is cheap to maintain as new versions are developed by the wiki communities. And it also make us to depend less in a permanently active technical team.  
+ It facilitates very much to maintain updated a website with the information concerning the organization of the Scandinavia ESF, contribution to our coordination and also the access to the process to people that can not participate in the EPAs.

My proposal of considering to adopt a Wiki is in order to be used in parallel to the ESF process website. Dedicating the ESF Process website for the networking process and the merging, and the Wiki to the organization and transparency of the EPA and organiser committee. 

D) SHORT RECONSTRUCTION OF THE ONLINE DIMENSION AT THE ESF 

>> ESF Florence 2002
On line mechanisms used:
+ Official expositive website (Some parts now available here: http://www.florence2002.fse-esf.org/)
+ E-list fse-esf
+ Website project Scriva: This website collected the reports of the activities during the ESF.

>> ESF Paris 2003
On line mechanisms used:
+ Oficial website (Some of the material available now at:  http://www.2003.fse-esf.org/ and http://www.2003.fse-esf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=1)
+ E-list fse-esf
+ Website memory of the ESF Paris: Collection of the reports of the activities during the ESF. (Generally, not always, it is available here: http://www.rinoceros.org/fse/)
The French put very good attention in order to store the information for its Memory. 

>> ESF London 2004
On line mechanisms used:
+ Official website  (Available now at: http://www.ukesf.net/)
E-list fse-esf and e-lists for the working groups around the ESF
+ Wiki of the“Horizontals” attend to democratizes the ESF: (Used to be at www.esf2004.net)www.esf2004.net
+ A different view on the management by the English ESF office of  the official website, make to arise a working groups mandated by the European Preparatory Assembly entitled “Systematize and archive the information, communication and knowledge generated by the ESF process”. The presentation of the European group “Systematize and archive the information, communication and knowledge generated by the ESF process” is accessible at: http://www.fse-esf.org/article.php3?id_article=86
+ Euromovements created some tools in order to systematize the knowledge generated around the ESF, such as the directory of organizations participating  at the ESF: 
http://www.euromovements.info/directory/
 
>> ESF Athens 2006
Due to the different view around the English management of the official website, after London it was decided to sharp two dimensions of the on line mechanisms: a process dimension under the responsibility of the European Preparatory Assembly and a event dimension under the responsibility of the local Organizer committee. 
>From London to Athens also it had emerged a rich variety of experiences of building the memory of the ESF, mainly supported by the Association for the Funding of the Paris ESF and the SF Memory Project   (http://www.sfmemoryandtools.info). 

On line mechanism:
+ Process website: www.fse-esf.org
+ Event website: athens.fse-esf.org 
+ E-list fse-esf  and e-list for the working groups around the ESF: This e-list were published at the process website, they were no published before, but any one who ask for subscription is subscribed. 
+ Process working space website: workspace.fse-esf.org 
+ Directory of organizations participating at the ESF – Website: http://www.euromovements.info/directory/
Directory of organizations participating at the ESF: Database of collective and organizations registered at the ESFs (more than 5000 entries). There are also other two smaller directories (on European networks and On action research). 
+ Forum Wiki: http://www.euromovements.info/yearbook (A collective narration of the ESF process)
+ E-library on social transformation at Europe: A Social Forum e-library with 700 articles and materials  http://www.openelibrary.info
+ ALIS website: http://www.babels.org/alis Contains audio recording of the ESF activities and it is a system that allows “home-made” simultaneous translation machines, lowing the cost of translations at the Forums. 
+ Archive of photos on the Forums: http://www.altermundo.info
+ Visualization tools: http://www.redactiva.org/WEBVISUALS/
See a complete list at: http://www.sfmemoryandtools.info

(Please if I miss any tool or for comments contact me at: lilaroja(at)gmx.net  ): 
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