Proposal for IST-2002-2.3.4.1 FET-Open
Instrument: Specific Targeted Research Project (STREP).

Project Title: Open Documentaries Project (Community Arts and Community Informatics)

1. Aim of the research

This multidisciplinary research project aims to bring together free/libre open source software (FLOSS) developers, NGO and community development practitioners, film and new media practitioners, law legal experts, sociologists, computer scientists, and the general public who are interested in using new media to develop and strengthen European Civil Society.and community movement  Ttogether we willto create an infrastructure and network of practice, supporting community usage of open-access media tools t to create multimedia documentary content (particularly community history and documentary content) to share knowledge and experience across the Euorpean Union and worldwide.. 
In so doing, we integrate a set of FLOSS-based technologies for community activists to produce multi-media documentaries that articulate and ratify their collective memories. These documentaries will be released under suitable licences allowing open access and free distribution. Experiences of conducting this research will serve will be documented to provide as valuable guidelines for European community and civil society groups to utilize these new technologies to maximum effect.future successors. 

2. Introduction

In recent years, many efforts have been clustered to mobilise the public to participate in ICT ddesigning information and communications technologies, and in debating the implications of these technologies on our societiess. However, involving the public in designing and debating interactive technologies remains difficult because the technologies are eithermay be too expensive to be accessed or too expert-centred to be understood by the general public. Whilst free/libre open source software (FLOSS) appears to be an alternative to proprietary software for involving diverse actors in the design processing, creating and sharing knowledge, people many civilsociety organizations and community grops usually have little clue understanding of where to find the and how to select open-source resources and how to work constructively start with open source developers to create systems that deliver community value. 
The aim of this project is to stimulate discourse and interaction between the developers of FLOSS products and civil society organizations.To achieve this, we shall develop open access resources that will allow community and civil society groups to apply new (digital) media them. A shared platform is needed to bridge this gap. in communicating with the public, at the same time as using the same media to (in the form of open-access documentaries and e-learning components) to provide information and guidance to civil society and community organizations on the nature of FLOSS technology and the processes of design and development associated with it. Examples of media that might be included are: ‘podcasts’; digital film; interactive DVDs, interactive TV; and location sensitive delivery of digital content to mobile devices.
A key element of this project will be the production of Producing aa feature-length documentary film about community and FLOSS work principles, produced as a community effort, and distributed using FLOSS technologies. This ambitious production target will act as a ‘forcing mission’ to ensure that the technical components developed within the project are capable of supporting multi media projects of even the most demanding size. The project will also serve to cement links in forming a European community of practice  will serve this need and help form a community of practice, a in this key strategic innovation space, engaging with diverse perspectives and experiences. 

Technically speaking, high quality FLOSS can be tested, integrated and applied to a level of everyday life of the general public. Moreover, FLOSS enables less restricted use of technologies compared with other proprietary software. Educationally speaking, the public has a better chance to learn to use high quality and economic technologies to document their stories. Socially speaking, through bringing people together to tell their stories on a specific topic, we can engage the collective memories and further fortify a community on that. Additionally, the work will be released under a FLOSS-related licence that allows free distribution and open access. Thus this project will have a legal implication on adopting a suitable and strategic tool for circulating and distributing community-based technologies and arts. This design-oriented research project will also be an archetype for future FLOSS-based community informatices and arts.

3. Methods

In order to produce a feature-length documentary film with FLOSS-based technologies, we need to engage people from different 'social worlds' to design something together, something that serves as a 'boundary object' stimulates cross-boundary learning and collaboration, something that can enhance or create a 'community'. 

We will have design workshops to bring these diverse people together and discuss ideas: social scientists (particularly historians, sociologists or ethnographers), open source software (OSS) programmers/developers, artists, NGO members and other interested actors. 

The FLOSS technologies are important, but more importantly, this project should involve with people's collective memories and experiences. Therefore, we will try to do ethnographical fieldwork to collect true stories that really link people together, engaging on people's real experiences. In so doing, we can motivate a community to take part in this project - the main point is to involve people from different backgrounds. 

Afterwards, we will use story-telling narrative method to design the film-making technologies. During this design process, the public are will be encouraged to take part and interact with designers, learn to use the technologies and help to produce the film. In so doing, not only FLOSS tools' developers involved in the filmmaking, but also a community of people are engaged in contributing to the filmmaking. Thus, such a multidisciplinary research project also build practical and handy tools that people can use in their everyday lives. 

As to the plot, we encourage European local stories particularly those that can include Europe historically and in perspectives into the debates on: What is "Europe" and how did it take shape? Which traditions are shared by "Europeans"? What can be considered as a shared European cultural heritage? How do we experience this cultural heritage and and which role do we want to assign to it for a common European future? How can open-access technologies, including FLOSS contribute to the development of a European civil society?

4. Output/Outcome
- An integrated and tested toolset for communities to utilize in future community arts and civil society efforts;
-  
A documentary engaging experts both in open source software and in narrative story-telling. Such a documentary can then be distributed freely on the Internet.
- Integrated toolset (tested) for communities to build future community arts
- A hHandbook for community groups about how to apply the toolset to communicate their messages
- A cCommunity website for sharing outputs,  and experiences, and tools;
- A hHandbook on how to release their work under copyleft / creative commons licencing arrangements
- A better understandingStudy of the organisation of the and processes rs in doing this kind of work - the role of sociologists.equired to promote  interactions between civil society organizations and FLOSS development.

5. Participants

Marleen Huysman & Yuwei Lin (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
Andy Dearden (Sheffield Hallam University)

(please add your name and affiliation)

6. Timeline

7. Budget