this sure looks interesting ... david *** For 50 years broadcast media have played a powerful role in shaping political culture and mediating citizen engagement in the democratic process. Now a participatory culture is putting the tools of media creation and critique in the hands of citizens themselves. We invite you to explore the means and meaning of this transformation: Beyond Broadcast 2007 From Participatory Culture to Participatory Democracy http://www.beyondbroadcast.net/ Saturday, February 24th, 2007 Kirsch Auditorium, Stata Center Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts info@beyondbroadcast.net Keynote: Henry Jenkins, Director of the Comparative Media Studies program at MIT and author of "Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide" Followed by panels, open-meeting discussions, demos, and birds-of-a- feather dinners. ================================================ On February 24th, MIT Comparative Media Studies will host a conference in collaboration with Harvard?s Berkman Center for Internet and Society and the Information Society Project at Yale Law School. The one-day event will be held at MIT, and is entitled ?Beyond Broadcast: From Participatory Culture to Participatory Democracy.? It will bring together industry experts, academic leaders, public media professionals, and political activists for panel discussions and focused working groups. Beyond Broadcast 2007 builds on the overwhelming success of last year?s sold-out event, ?Beyond Broadcast 2006: Reinventing Public Media in a Participatory Culture? held at Harvard Law School. Over 350 people took part in-person and online through the virtual world Second Life. Attendees used several unique online tools, including a web-based ?question tool? to probe panelists, a collaborative wiki, live blogging, flickr photo sharing, del.icio.us tagging, and YouTube video production. These tools enabled the conference to practice what it preached, turning the event into a two-way participatory interaction in contrast with many conferences. The tools have been expanded upon this year, already spurring an active conversation on the conference web site, weeks before the event. Henry Jenkins will give the Keynote Address, followed by panel discussions from media makers and policy commentators. Details of these panels are being updated on the conference web site http:// www.beyondbroadcast.net In the second-half of the day, the conference turns its focus to working groups that attendees will help organize. Building on themes coming from the plenary sessions, participants will target specific issues or questions and join efforts with the diverse crowd of others. In the past, these groups have been facilitated by thought leaders in technology, policy, and academia. Many attendees last year expressed their appreciation for this hybrid conference approach in which they had a chance to ?do something before heading home.? There will also be an evening reception, called ?Demos and Drinks,? showcasing groups that are doing exciting work related to conference themes. Registration is only $50 (before February 9), and includes lunch and the evening reception. There is also a special 50% discount for students. The conference follows the 2007 Public Media Conference taking place in Boston February 20-23 (http://integratedmedia.org). It is suggested that you register early to avoid losing a spot if Beyond Broadcast sells out again this year. http://www.beyondbroadcast.net/ info@beyondbroadcast.net