Pete Speller

Pete is a digital activism and communications consultant with a background in grassroots campaigning and activism having worked with NGOs such as People & Planet, Friends of the Earth, WDM Scotland and Students for a Free Tibet. For the last 7 years he has been working with Students for a Free Tibet on cutting-edge digital activism projects such as Free Tibet 2008 TV and the Great Wall banner. Pete specialises in online communications, particularly video, and using technology for and to support direct action. He now runs the consultancy Third Act Media with the aim of working with small campaigning NGOs and charities to increase their capacity to use video, online communications and media stunts like projections.

High-tech Direct Action

Direct action and direct communication are about stopping injustice and making symbols - pointing a finger at something and saying "Look at this; this has to stop". There are obvious ways that technology can be used for this, for example citizen journalism is one of the best tools we have to make people see things that would otherwise go unnoticed, but what else can we do with the internet and with technology? From projections to wireless projections to remote broadcasting, this talk will look at some of the systems and projects that Students for a Free Tibet has put into use as well as some cool techniques and systems that have been used by other groups. The format of this session will hopefully be a creative space to discuss some of the ideas so please come ready to contribute!

Paula Graham

Paula Graham is Director of Fossbox CIC which started out as an ICT project of the East London CVS Network. With the invaluable support of Technology & Social Action, Fossbox is now an independent Community Interest Company providing ICT services to SEs, VCOs, and ethical businesses. Paula has 25 years media, web production, consultancy and research experience for organisations as diverse as Pathé, the NHS, Google, Cinenova, and the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists. She is active in FOSS and sustainable IT advocacy.

Social media and FOSS tools for activists

Social media is an opportunity to democratise how information is shared, but is largely controlled by corporations with a profit motive and a not-so-hidden agenda on collecting people's data. Paula will be exploring free, open-source alternatives to Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. And looking at techniques for using these tools for activism.

Hamish Campbell & Richard Hering

Hamish has worked for the Undercurrents media NGO for 10 years. His footage from the Genoa protest in 2001 was used this year to sentence 69 Italian police to prison for human rights abuses. His "ruffcuts" distribution project was one of the most successful of its kind before the age of web video. He was a founder of European newsreal, a radical news magazine screened around the world. He made the video for the Kingsnorth climate camp appeal last year, testifying to illegal stop and search searches by the police, and screened in the Houses of Parliament.

Richard was an international award-winning investigative reporter for British television, revealing, among other things, the effects of Chinese nuclear tests and stopping the illegal mahogany trade from the Brazilian Amazon. He made the first ever UK mass-audience film on environmental direct action. He now aims to build an open video network which will take on the mainstream media corporations.

Activist video

visionOntv - the news you don't see on the news, an online tv station with content which is very, very different. But much more than this, it is a set of tools to enable people to use video content for social change.

Helen Lambert

Helen is a web designer and developer with a background in web strategy and online marketing. She has a keen interest in activism and online campaigning; in 2009 she co-founded Police State UK, a website reporting on civil liberties issues, and she was closely involved with the Get a Vote and Hang 'em campaigns during the 2010 election. Helen is a member of the Open Rights Group, and her interests include open data, service design and the democratising power of the internet.

The elephant in the room: web activism and the state

Labour's government was the first under which the web became a significant vehicle for activists, and had a poor track record for engaging with grassroots social enterprise in a productive way. Internet projects have tended to be the 'elephant in the room' in government discussions about social engagement. I'm intending to explore the role of online, third sector social services in developing a healthy democracy, and how the state tends to engage with such services, hoping to offer recommendations for future collaboration in the light of the Coalition's "Big Society" proposals. The talk will aim to kickstart a discussion about the most effective ways for the state and web activists to work together to improve our society, and I look forward to hearing any ideas or experiences you would like to contribute.

Pietro Speroni di Fenizio

Pietro is a researcher at the Evolutionary and Complex Systems Group (ECOS) at Coimbra University. With a basic degree in mathematics and a PhD in bioinformatics, his research focuses on using mathematical tools to model "natural systems" - a description that conveniently fits nearly everything. Among his academic interests are voting theory, e-government and "alternative ways in which a group of people can reach a consensual agreement on an open question using the internet".

Building a better democracy using the web

How can groups organise themselves so that decisions are the interwoven product of all their members? We usually think democracies have to involve voting for rules that regulate society. The system has barely changed in the last 300 years, and in general terms is the same as that used in ancient Rome & Athens.

Voting Theory has sought to find the best way to express and process these votes, but all voting systems have assumed that the choices are defined a priori and are unchangeable by the voters. All the system does is find which choice makes the least people unhappy - is this really the best we can do?

The flow of information in our society is increasing exponentially. Challenging various beliefs about how a democracy "has to be", Pietro will present an alternative system based on a human-based genetic algorithm. The system will be tested with conference participants, so get ready to see a new way of doing democracy!