<nettime> Universe.city, a global little school pre-launch: mapping of the disciplinary knowledge production in corporate university and exchange on ' how to occupy'

[Orsan <orsan1234@gmail.com>]

   Dear friends,

   This week several important events are taking place in Tunis.

   One is World Social Forum, which has lost long time ago its fame as the
   world' unique gathering space for progressive, horizontal, democratic,
   left social movements; a movement of movements or network of networks.
   It has become a carnival or fair for well funded and coopted NGOs, or
   touristic activity for the NGO cadre and hence subjected to criticisms
   from many social movement activists or advocacy groups that are engaged
   in real struggles on the ground. In the absence of similar space, for
   the world-gathering of people's grassroots struggles, two years ago, in
   2013 the WSF was organized in Tunis for the first time; since Tunis has
   become a symbol of the new wave of mass uprisings started in 2011. This
   year as the second time WSF planned to take place in Tunis, and its
   opening March was two days ago (24/3).

   In 2013 version of Tunis WSF, some people who involved in 15M uprising
   (Indignados) in Spain in 2011, as well as in the Occupy Wall Street (in
   US) and the assembles and networks spread globally named Occupy
   movement, we did initiate a friendly occupation by creating open spaces
   and assemblies for self-organization within the official WSF and Tunis
   city centre. Which aimed at opening participation to the Tunisian
   citizens who could not afford to buy tickets for the forum organized
   far from city centre, in the El Manar university campus. This
   initiative called Global Square, or OccupyWSF, is taking place in Tunis
   WSF this year as well.

   Another important event, again taking place within the WSF, is a new
   initiative that was emerged very recently and called Internet Social
   Forum, in order to rethink and liberate the Internet, which is becoming
   increasingly a monopolized, corporatized, privatized space; or for some
   like Jullian Assange even worse than that, it became a dark
   'surveillance machine'. One of the events ISF organizing is about
   rethinking the social forum as it is organized via online on the
   Internet.

   Though really wanted I couldn't be go to Tunis to support and join the
   work, neither to realize the second version of the OccupyWSF (Global
   Square), nor the new OccupyInternet initiative. Yet since both ideas
   are quite similar; since in a way both relate to the actual and virtual
   open spaces and stress their importance for articulation while
   re-thinking the social forums and the Internet together, I believe
   there needs to be some form of collaboration between these two
   initiatives taking place in the same campus but some how disconnected.
   Hoping that it would facilitate a networking between the two from a
   distance, but via Internet, I did propose and planned an virtual event
   about practice of occupation in a study-circle format, where
   participants brings in not more then what they already know, put that
   in a production process. Event will be a prelaunch of Universe.city
   project as it is described below.

   What:

   15 min. presentation and status update for Universe.city* initiative,
   and 45 min. collective 'mapping of the knowledge production processes
   in corporate university' in groups, and 30 min. plenary exchange on
   'How to Occupy, produce, open, share, and protect the space-time'

   *Universe.City is a free and open access platform initiative, empowered
   by GNUnion and others. It allows cooperative learning for individuals
   and groups by connecting spaces, people and projects within and without
   the city(ies). The unconditional empowerment of the disempowered, the
   excluded, and the oppressed, solidarity and cooperation between and
   within such is our motto. Adopting Fereire's pedagogical approach, as
   well as other transformatory, emancipatory perspectives Universe.city
   strive for liberating knowledge at the point of production and
   distribution from alienation, borders, time, and social class
   domination. Universe.city brings together Free / Libre, Open Source
   Software (FLOSS) resources for self-learning, such as free access
   libraries, torrent depositories, 'How To', DIY, and 'DIWO' guides. We
   try to combine these with 'professionally' designed and delivered
   online, face to face, one to one, one to many, and many to many
   courses, or any other type of educative activities; either gratis or
   provided in a framework of emancipatory cooperative exchange. These can
   be practical and analytical lectures, study circles, trainings,
   workshops, strategy sessions, or otherwise. In a way, all activities
   serve participants, and allow them to contribute to the emergence of a
   cooperative an solidarity economy at the planetary level, and may even
   be.. beyond that!

   When:

   Friday 27 March, 12:00-13:30 (CET)

   Time zone converter:
   http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

   Google Event:
   https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/111495872636087324840/events/cfea4me55
   uu4jm94g1vqioj0slk

   FB Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/480730562077992/

   Where:

   Prelaunch might be grounded in the Global Square space in World Social
   Forum 2015, at University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis

   Google map:
   https://www.google.com/maps?ll=36.812363%2C10.66751&z=10&t=m&hl=nl&g
   l=TN&mapclient=embed&cid=296010521177257768

   In any case event will be taking place virtually

   Live stream via Hangout On Air:
   https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/111495872636087324840/events/cb3eb8uvh
   4gab8u1ragv9kq6hmk

   Big Blue Button Online classroom: Here is a how to video to be able to
   get in an online classroom to follow and participate the event on an
   open source remote education system
   BigBlueButton: https://youtu.be/lx8NbVDPpoY In case you have a
   really good and fast Internet connection it works well and smooth. The
   system is set up by Union Solidarity International (usilive.org) and
   MayFirst / People Link (mayfirst.org <http://mayfirst.org/>), we
   appreciate a lot that comrades and colleagues have made these tools
   accessible for workers and citizens around the world to organise
   exchanges and trainings. Note that there is a small change on the
   updated website (of usilive.org) where you could access the meeting
   room. Now you have to follow the link:https://usilive.org/talk/
   scroll down, add name and password '123' to enter in the room.

   YouTube Video Embed:you can get the embed code from the youtube
   video-stream.

   Web site for official launch (planned for May in Amsterdam):
   http://tinyurl.com/nkgyk24

   Twitter: @GNUnion, @OccupyWSF, #GlobalSquare

   Email:gnunion@networg.nl

   Looking forward to meet tomorrow @12:00 CET

   Global and networked solidarity¿!

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