Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the board of directors and Susan Evoy, Managing Director, of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility for their encouragement and support. CPSR, along with our endorsing organizations, has been an active force in stressing that technology is not autonomous--that it can and is shaped by people.

Volunteers

We also wish to give our sincerest thanks and appreciation to the volunteers--in Seattle and around the world--for their enthusiasm and unselfish support. The symposium would not have happened without their invaluable work.

The volunteers include: Ti Locke, Mike Weisman, Honora Wade, Nancy White, Robin Oppenheimer, Kurt Partridge, Zoe Holbrooks, Ellen Earth, Steve Guest Melissa Guest, Michael Hanson Lorraine Pozzi, Pat Radin, Ralph Warren, Alexis Graves, Don Bradley, Miguel Vigel, David Meinert, Ann Donovan, Raul Marroquin, Beryl Fernandes, David Wortley, Christine Hardy, Allan Steed, Brian Allen Joelien Praetorius, Patrice Riemens, Shauna Curphey, Alexander Halavais, Belinda Hill, Susan Clifford Jamroski, Rich Jensen, Lorraine King, Andrea Leung Gillian Murphy Linda Mae-Richardson, John Smith, Clint Steele, Randy Groves, John Fung, and Ralph Reed. Please accept our sincere apologies if we forgot your name. We appreciated your support nonetheless!

We were extremely fortunate to be supported by a number of foundations, government agencies, and businesses who agreed with us that this work is important. In particular we'd like to thank Joan Shigekawa of the Rockefeller Foundation for their support. We also would like to thank Judy Sparrow of the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) of the Department of Commerce for being indefatigable. Mario Morino of the Morino Foundation again helped support the symposium and the Real Networks Foundation (thanks, Eileen and Ellen!) also provided some much appreciated assistance.

We also would like to thank

• National Science Foundation (award #0002547)
• Ford Foundation
• The City of Seattle / Citizens Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board
• Open Studio / Seattle Art Museum
• Virtual Platform, Amsterdam
• De Hoeksteen Communications
• eGroups (Thanks, Carl!)
• Full Circle Associates
• Craig's List

(Special thanks are due to Nancy White for her fundraising work and Robin Oppenheimer for being SO helpful in this area. )

The Seattle Statement

As you may have heard several of us on the last day of the conference crafted the "Seattle Statement." The statement is a succinct acknowledgement of the historic importance of information technology and the urgent need for us to help develop a "public sphere" that supports people. We're using the statement as a major tactic for pushing the public sphere agenda forward. Please help us use it! We need your e-signature, your ideas, and your energy!

We now have approximately 200 signatures from people all over the world and we haven't actually even begun our campaign. There seems to be a very broad--huge--constituency out there that feel that this issue is critical AND they are willing to say so and to work on it. Kwasi Boakye-Akyeampong, who is presently hoping to start a CPSR/Africa chapter used it as a basis of a letter published in his local newspaper in Ghana. Szilard Molnar translated the statement into Hungarian and used it to launch a dialogue in Hungary. We can't let this opportunity pass!

We are asking for your signature and your help in gathering more signatures. Please sign today! [ http://www.scn.org/cpsr/diac-00/seattle-statement.html ]

We are also asking for your ideas on how to proceed with this statement. For example Fiorella de Cindio, one of the original drafters of the statement is taking this to Italian politicians; what can we do with it in other parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, the states? We are asking for your ideas on what we need to do to make the dream of a more responsive and effective "public sphere" a reality.

We now have English, French, Hungarian, Italian, and Spanish versions available. If you would like to translate the statement into another language we would be very grateful. Please check out the Seatle Statement translation template. [ http://ww.scn.org/cpsr/diac-00/seattle-statement-language-template.html ]

E-Resource

The E-Resource is an online resource designed to help us all. Many of you have already entered your information but many of you haven't. Please take the time now or in the near future to add your thoughts. It doesn't take long and it will increase your chance of making your project--in work or in planning--more successful. Remember that the more people that use this, the more useful it is for everybody else. [ http://www.scn.org/cpsr/diac-00/eresource.html ]

Conference Discussion Area

We also have a conference discussion area set up for continuing our conversations and connections, both for those who were at the conference, and those connected solely on the net. We have set up a place to discuss the "Seattle Statement" and other conference related topics. You can also use this space for any related group discussions. Let us know how we can help you. We have some volunteer moderators who are ready to assist! The URL is [ http://www.scn.org/cgi-bin/diac-00/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro ]

Working with the Networking Working Group

The Network, a loosely organized group of researchers / activists worldwide who are specifically interested in "public sphere" technology. and CPSR's own Community Networking Working Group have begun their "big merge." The groups are becoming one group organized as a new CPSR working group. The network consisted of about 130 people from around the world who are working in both research and activism around community and civic communications. The CPSR working group is focused on community networks, community technology centers, and other public communication and information services.

Send your e-mail address to douglas@cpsr.org if you'd like to be added to the e-mail list. The CPSR working group web site is at [ http://www.cpsr.org/program/community-nets/cnwg/cnwg.htm ] and the network web site is at [ http://www.scn.org/tech/the_network ]. We will be switching all of our electronic resources--e.g. listserv and web pages to the CPSR site in the near future. John Dwyer (dwyerjm@udmercy.edu) is currently the coordinator of the CPSR Working Group. The challenges before us include determining what type of event to plan next and what types of resources--online and otherwise--our working group needs. We may even decide to seek funding for working group activities.

We welcome your involvement!

Just a quick mention that we're planning to disseminate the results of the symposium in many ways: Two books (we hope!), journals, etc. Please let us know if you have any ideas for printed or electronic distribution.

There are also several reports, audio and video streams available now or soon. We're re-working our web site also so that all of this hangs together--articles, Seattle Statement, forums, and--a new development--proceedings from all the DIAC symposia will be available. (Thanks to Zoe Holbrooks, Alexis Graves, Mark Teicher, and Beryl Fernandes for this effort.)

Also, with help from the National Science Foundation CPSR has decided to launch a "Public Sphere Project" which will be headquartered in Seattle. This new project will help move the "public sphere" agenda that was discussed in Seattle even further!

Let us know if you have a report, photos, or anything else from the conference on the web that we should know about.

Proceedings

We printed a couple of hundred extra proceedings so that we'd be able to extend our reach beyond the symposium attendees. Please help us find a good home for these proceedings. The proceedings are $15 each (add $3 for shipping and handling within the US). If you need 15 or more (say for a class) they can be had for $12 (and pay nothing for shipping and handling). Also - why not have your company or school library purchase one?

The proceedings contains workshop descriptions and 30 papers on a wide variety of timely topics. These topics include telecenters in Mexico and other locations, using technology to build civic society in Nigeria, shaping virtual communities, labor organizations and new communication, navigating very large-scale digital conversations, counterculture and cyberculture, internet governance, domain name policy, health promotion with ICT, progressive communications and networking, and many many others.

The table of contents for the proceedings is on the web at [ http://www.scn.org/cpsr/diaa-00/proc-contents.html ].

• $3 for addresses in the US
• $6 for addresses in Canada
• $9 for addresses in Mexico
• $7 for addresses in other western hemisphere countries
• $10 for addresses in Europe
• $12 for addresses in Asia and Africa
• $14 for addresses in Pacific Rim countries

All prices listed in US dollars.

To order, use the secure online membership form at [ https://swww.igc.apc.org/cpsr/sec-membership-form.html ]--putting your order in the comments field,

Other Resources

• Audio
  • Bill Belsey: [ http://www.thenet-worker.com/diac-2000.html ]
• Reports
  • Stephen Downes wrote a generally supportive, but critical, article in NewsTrolls. [ http://www.newstrolls.com/news/dev/downes/column000613.htm ]
  • David Wortley of the UK, posted his review of the conference. [ http://www.harborough.org.uk/webcast/seattlediac2000.htm ]
  • Patrice Riemens wrote a report also
• Photographs
  • Carl Page: FYI Some DIAC photos are available... [ http://carlpage.com/photos ] and click on 5-22-2000 There are a few nice ones, but they haven't been edited or retouched.
  • Netiva Caftori: In case I didn't share with the whole board my pictures are at: [ http://www.neiu.edu/~ncaftori/seattle.htm ]
  • Nancy White: [ http://www.fullcirc.com/diac/diacindex.htm ]
• B92 information: [ http://www.freeb92.net/ ]

What's inside...