iCommons Summit 2007 in Second Life
at USC Annenberg Public Diplomacy Island
14-17 June 2007

iCommons is a nonprofit organization promoting the growth and sharing of international knowledge bases ("commons"). In 2007 iCommons agreed to a proposal by Linden Lab and USC Center on Public Diplomacy to sponsor production of its annual conference in parallel in Second Life.

This year, the iCommons Summit in Dubrovnik, Croatia brings together pioneers of the free Internet to make sure that, at its crossroads, "we guide the world along a path that will enable the kind of free culture and decentralized innovation that has characterized the early years of the Internet."

The goal of the iCommons Summit in Second Life is to reach more people via virtual reality to promote awareness and use of the latest principles and methodologies for broader sharing of intellectual property.

Official Press Release from iCommons Summit 2007 Website
http://icommons.org/isummit-07/second-life-at-the-summit/

The USC Center on Public Diplomacy, Linden Lab and iCommons are delighted to announce that the iCommons 2007 Summit in Dubrovnik, Croatia, will be run in parallel in Second Life!

The aim of running the iSummit 2007 in Second Life is to mix the real and virtual world for both attendees of the Summit, and for those who are unable to make it to Dubrovnik, thus expanding the community who will be able to learn, collaborate and share their knowledge and experiences of the Summit. The parallel summit will also help to introduce new users to Second Life and to build the global diversity of participants who are collaborating in-world.

“The USC Center on Public Diplomacy is delighted to be collaborating with iCommons on their 2007 Summit,” said Joshua Fouts, Director of The USC Center on Public Diplomacy. “iCommons’ innovative efforts toward creating a united global commons through the uses of technology, education, culture and society set an example and provide inspiration and leadership for us all. In cooperation with iCommons, we hope to help broaden this audience by exploring new venues for cultural collaboration and Second Life provides an excellent platform and community for that.”

Heather Ford, Executive Director of iCommons adds: “We’re thrilled to be working with the USC’s Center on Public Diplomacy and Linden Lab on this great project. For those who can’t make the event and who will be able to participate “in-world”, as well as those at the real-world event who can also participate in-world, this is a wonderful, creative project to facilitate intercultural dialogue and sharing around the world.”

As well as running a parallel summit, all iSummit keynote addresses will be streamed into Second Life, and video and artwork from the Summit’s Artists in residence programme and some parallel sessions will also be available on the USC Center on Public Diplomacy’s Annenberg Island in Second Life.

QUESTIONS:
Sitearm Madonna
sitearm@gmail.com
iCommons Summit 2007 in Second Life Coordinator