Open calls / Recommended events
FREE CITY (VABA LINN) 26.-27. April 2012 in Tallinn
FREE CITY is an interdisciplinary series of events for young people, students and professionals targeted at highlighting specific urban space problems and finding solutions to them using freeware instruments and the underlying thought paradigm. FREE CITY showcases freeware instruments (in the field of IT and in other fields), the paradigm that links them and the arising possibilities for own-initiative projects for the audience, representative of various fields.
The format of the events is both theoretical and practical. The participants are involved in active investigation and intervention and thereby take part in influencing the urban space of Tallinn or any other city. The objective of the activities is to find, collect and process information (from the different layers represented in cities: culture, art, communication, safety, economy, mobility etc.) and to express and use the information in order to raise issues or as source material for providing solutions. The paradigm of freeware is not limited to the field of IT, but searches for its meaning in the more general and wider context of the urban environment. The discussion will dwell upon keywords such as public and common space, freedom and responsibility, public creation of knowledge, ethics and politics.
The primary question of FREE CITY is how to analyse the layers of the urban environment in an interdisciplinary way and how to influence urban space developments and solve topical problems with the help of modern freeware (IT) instruments and experimenting with related thought models.
The secondary task of the series of events is to introduce and develop unconventional urban space strategies with young people, students and professionals. Parallel to wide- spread institutional planning, we would like to discuss the bottlenecks in urban space and experiment with solutions with the target groups to whom it is an integral part of innovative thinking and the development of sustainable initiative.
The concept of FREE CITY is being implemented by the Cultural Cauldron’s Centre of New Media. The objective is to organise events in the spirit of the concept of the FREE CITY for various levels of competence two to four times per year which would create a basis, as a uniform series of events, for the development of a distinct format of events, an online knowledge base and an international network. An important principle is to cooperate with universities, institutions and the best-known enterprises and leaders in the field and to experiment with different formats and venues.
The opening event in the FREE CITY series will take place on 26. April (a seminar) and 27. April (workshops). As the opening event of FREE CITY 2012 it will, compared to subsequent events, be more open to the following questions: What can, in fact, be considered and done? Where are the limits? Which discussions will lead to a dead-end and what will take us closer to accurate concepts and effective action? Hence we ask you to submit presentations and carry out workshops which, based on the concept of FREE CITY, discuss and target the following themes in a specific or general manner:
These are only meant to be landmarks – feel free to suggest themes or focal points not listed. It is essential that the themes or focal points relate to the general concept of FREE CITY.
The talks should last up to 20 minutes and be in the form of a lecture or presentation. A lecture is more theoretical concept-based introspection. A presentation is an introduction of a project, idea, research paper, product etc. related to the concept of FREE CITY.
The workshops will take place on 27. April (presentations, on the 26^th of April) from morning till evening, each workshop involving up to 10 participants. A workshop has a more hands-on, DIY-type format that results in a prototype (which may be prepared beforehand in the form of a project and the participants might be taught how to make, use and develop it further). A working group is a format more targeted at discussion and brainstorming with, nevertheless, a practical outcome (mind-map, map, book, video recording etc.).
Please send your portfolio and proposal (max. 300 words) to the following e-mail: marge.paas@tallinn2011.ee
The deadline is: Thursday 09.02.2012. Please note, that in submission headline must include the name: workshop or presentation. (It depends on you, would you like to organise the workshop or make a 20 minutes presentation of your activities).
More info of the Free City: marge.paas@tallinn2011.ee -Let's come together and make the city free! :)
Organiser: Tallinn2011 Foundation Cultural Cauldron
Contact: Marge Paas Project manager, FREE CITY +372 5286326 marge.paas@tallinn2011.ee
The format of the events is both theoretical and practical. The participants are involved in active investigation and intervention and thereby take part in influencing the urban space of Tallinn or any other city. The objective of the activities is to find, collect and process information (from the different layers represented in cities: culture, art, communication, safety, economy, mobility etc.) and to express and use the information in order to raise issues or as source material for providing solutions. The paradigm of freeware is not limited to the field of IT, but searches for its meaning in the more general and wider context of the urban environment. The discussion will dwell upon keywords such as public and common space, freedom and responsibility, public creation of knowledge, ethics and politics.
Agenda
The primary question of FREE CITY is how to analyse the layers of the urban environment in an interdisciplinary way and how to influence urban space developments and solve topical problems with the help of modern freeware (IT) instruments and experimenting with related thought models.
The secondary task of the series of events is to introduce and develop unconventional urban space strategies with young people, students and professionals. Parallel to wide- spread institutional planning, we would like to discuss the bottlenecks in urban space and experiment with solutions with the target groups to whom it is an integral part of innovative thinking and the development of sustainable initiative.
Organisers
The concept of FREE CITY is being implemented by the Cultural Cauldron’s Centre of New Media. The objective is to organise events in the spirit of the concept of the FREE CITY for various levels of competence two to four times per year which would create a basis, as a uniform series of events, for the development of a distinct format of events, an online knowledge base and an international network. An important principle is to cooperate with universities, institutions and the best-known enterprises and leaders in the field and to experiment with different formats and venues.
Invitation
The opening event in the FREE CITY series will take place on 26. April (a seminar) and 27. April (workshops). As the opening event of FREE CITY 2012 it will, compared to subsequent events, be more open to the following questions: What can, in fact, be considered and done? Where are the limits? Which discussions will lead to a dead-end and what will take us closer to accurate concepts and effective action? Hence we ask you to submit presentations and carry out workshops which, based on the concept of FREE CITY, discuss and target the following themes in a specific or general manner:
- The limits of freedom and responsibility in urban space intervention
- The linking of freeware and urban space – possibilities, peculiarities, activities and future outlooks
- The creation and application of open (i.e. Non-institutionalised) knowledge in the urban environment
- Emerging and ‘unofficial’ processes and mediums in the planning and analysis of urban space
- Transition from digital space to ‘physical’ space; the direct influence of digital space on the development of urban space
These are only meant to be landmarks – feel free to suggest themes or focal points not listed. It is essential that the themes or focal points relate to the general concept of FREE CITY.
The talks should last up to 20 minutes and be in the form of a lecture or presentation. A lecture is more theoretical concept-based introspection. A presentation is an introduction of a project, idea, research paper, product etc. related to the concept of FREE CITY.
The workshops will take place on 27. April (presentations, on the 26^th of April) from morning till evening, each workshop involving up to 10 participants. A workshop has a more hands-on, DIY-type format that results in a prototype (which may be prepared beforehand in the form of a project and the participants might be taught how to make, use and develop it further). A working group is a format more targeted at discussion and brainstorming with, nevertheless, a practical outcome (mind-map, map, book, video recording etc.).
IMPORTANT: How to apply?
Please send your portfolio and proposal (max. 300 words) to the following e-mail: marge.paas@tallinn2011.ee
The deadline is: Thursday 09.02.2012. Please note, that in submission headline must include the name: workshop or presentation. (It depends on you, would you like to organise the workshop or make a 20 minutes presentation of your activities).
More info of the Free City: marge.paas@tallinn2011.ee -Let's come together and make the city free! :)
Organiser: Tallinn2011 Foundation Cultural Cauldron
Contact: Marge Paas Project manager, FREE CITY +372 5286326 marge.paas@tallinn2011.ee