8-12 April 2008

This year’s e-Festival of Ideas forum discussions will feature some of the most interesting guests that our global media and arts landscape has to offer. Not to mention a whole stack of leading thinkers on the Internet, social change and democracy. This year’s six forum discussion topics are:

• e-Participation: Fad or future?

• 2018: New frontiers in digital arts

• Reworking Feminism: What does gender equality mean in the 21st century?

• The Creative Entrepreneur’s Toolkit: A how-to guide for young artists

• Reaching Off the Screen: Film, audiences and social change

• Are You Being Heard? Youth voices in local government

CREATE

2018: A New Frontier in Digital Arts Picture by NathanGibbs on Flickr The field of digital arts was once the domain of gamers and gamers alone. But the success of Second Life and advances in the field of CGI have heralded a new era in digital arts. As their wares become ever-more marketable, digital artists are out to prove that they're not playing around anymore. The media and academics have been watching the emergence of this new frontier with fascination. New mediums are being created at a rapid rate, ripe for experimentation - and the business world is listening, enlisting the help of digital artists for advertisements, film clips, websites and more. Panelists will discuss the future of digital arts, and speculate upon its limitations. Gaming will be looked at in a new light, as panellists explore the utilisation of the medium as a cash cow for corporations and a study in humanity. Do behaviours depicted in Second Life reveal the true nature of the personalities behind the avatars?

Photo by Dalydose on flickr.com

Picasso once said "every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he
grows up."

For many young artists the problem is not simply how to nurture one's talent or to find inspiration, but also how to fund the process. Vibewire is collaborating with talented people in the know to bring you The Creative Entrepreneur's Toolkit, providing advice for young creatives on how to support one's self in their industry of choice without burning out creatively or going bust financially.

We'll be looking at how to secure grants, how to reconcile your creative vision with a commercial reality, and what to do in those tough moments where inspiration is lacking and the bills are piling up. It will be an opportunity for you to learn from the mistakes and successes of people who have been there and done that.

LIFE

Reworking feminism: What does gender equality mean in the 21st century? Picture by peterkellystudios on Flickr What does being a feminist in Australia mean today? Are young women speaking up and standing up for gender equality? Across Australia, inequality based on gender is still a stark reality: * A recent report found that Australian women earn only 84 cents for every $1 a male earns. * A study commissioned by HREOC in 2001 found that 28 per cent of women had experienced sexual harassment in their workplace. * In 2008 Australia is 1 of 2 OECD nations without a legislated paid maternity leave scheme. What is holding Australia back from achieving full gender equality? And whose job is it to make it happen?

Reaching off the screen: Film, audiences, and social change

Picture by FilipeArte on Flickr

The changing nature of the relationship between film content and film form is an important one for socially aware film-makers to stay on top of. As technological developments turn anyone with a video mobile into a potential short film maker and new media formats champion ‘user generated content’, what does this mean for people trying to make a difference through film?

If you’re interested in films and social change, what do you need to know about: changes in the nature of film production, the rise of online distribution, finding and engaging modern audiences, and finding people to fund your ideas?

Find all this and more in ‘Reaching off the Screen’. It’s not your usual box office politics.

PULSE

e-Participation: Fad or Future? Photo by mutednarayan on Flickr Wireless Internet access is now available at a McDonalds restaurant near you. But is this the e-revolution we've all been waiting for?  Businesses, governments and NGOs have spent a long time talking about the seemingly limitless potential of online engagement. In 2008, how far have we come? How is the debate around e-participation shifting? Is it no longer a matter of having to create online participation; is it now a matter of harnessing it? And if so, how can this be done? This panel explores the success stories of the online participation and the struggles of others to make it work. 'E-Participation: Fad or Future?' evaluates how far we've come and where we're heading next.

'Are you being heard? Youth voices in local government'

Photo by Gratzer on Flickr

What does civic participation mean? Is it showing up and observing or is it having your voice heard and creating real change?
 
This panel looks at the role young people can play in local democracy and local councils. It explores the existing approaches local governments use to engage with youth as well looking at the future - such as the growing potential of the internet.
 
Are local governments' current attempts to engage, consult and hear from young people working? As young people today, how would you like your voices to be heard and what's the best way of going about this? What's important to you? What do you see as the role of local government in your lives and futures?

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL…

In the lead up to e-Fest we interviewed some of our favourite guests and now we want to share their thoughts with you! Take a listen to our interviews with:

GOTYE!
Since his Aria win in 2007, Gotye has been a touring blur taking his music right around Australia. Listen in as he takes a breather and speaks to us about life as an independent artist in Australia.

GET UP!
With almost 250,000 registered members, Get Up! is one of the movers and shakers in Australian politics today.  Moving from strength to strength since their campaign to bring David Hicks home, Get Up! is reinvigorating democracy around Australia and putting grassroots activism back on the agenda. We spoke to Get Up!’s Campaign Co-ordinator, Ed Coper.

STEPHEN COLEMAN!
A lot of people spend a lot of time about talking it, but what does 'successful' e-Participation actually look like? We asked Professor Stephen Coleman, the Cisco Visiting Professor in e-Democracy at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII). Professor Coleman was formerly Director of the Hansard e-democracy programme, which pioneered online consultations for the UK Parliament. He is also a lecturer in Media & Communication at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

FEDERAL SEX DISCRIMINATION COMMISSIONER!
What does gender equality in Australia mean today? We’re seeing rises in reported domestic violence, continuing gaps in rates of pay and no paid maternity scheme. What's going on? We spoke to our Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick.

CREATIVE COMMONS!
Copyright law is confusing. Even for lawyers. What’s more, it can be restrictive and limiting for artists looking to share and promote their work in the digital world. Creative Commons’ internationally recognised licences aim to solve this dilemma. We spoke to Eric Steuer, Creative Director at Creative Commons.

CITY OF MELBOURNE COUNCILLOR, DAVID WILSON!
So, it’s no big news that we’re living in an increasingly global world. But where does that leave your local council? If local democracy isn’t just about sorting the recycling then what is it about? We spoke to City of Melbourne Councillor, David Wilson.

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