CCKS CITIES, CULTURES AND KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY

8th virtual and real INST  World Conference
CCKS CITIES, CULTURES AND KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY

25-28 November 2010
Vienna, Austria and Second Life
Conference hashtag: #ccks
Section hashtag: #cclvw

On Friday, 26 November (8am GMT - 6pm GMT), Heike Philp aka Gwen Gwasi, invited us for a full-day event series in Vienna and in Second Life to discuss “Cities, cultures and languages in virtual worlds”.

Virtual worlds, such as Second Life, Virtual Life, Open Sim, Twinity and similar are user-generated environments. Cities like London, Paris, Berlin and New York are being rebuilt and offer a virtual environment where commerce, arts and fashion and night life are thriving. They also attract avatars in large numbers, the 3D representation of a human using a PC.

As avatar you enjoy a world, that does not seem to know any limitations and where even gravity no longer exists. People, sometimes in human, sometimes in animal form are helpful and open and relationships and friendships are not inhibited by reputation, not influenced by gender nor age. In these virtual urban environments, a second life starts all over again.

That day will try to answer some of these leading questions:
  • Will we be working and living ‘in-world’? 
  • How sustainable is this urban second life? 
  • In a world without borders, without time and space, where are the opportunities and where is danger? 
  • What kind of role do virtual worlds play for the preservation of culture? 
  • How do we overcome the last of all barriers, the language barrier?
EASE OF ACCESS POINT: If you wish to join this virtual conference program without an avatar, click HERE to join the Adobe ConnectPro webconferencing system, where the program will be streamed.

This is the program:
8am GMT / 9am Vienna /  12am Second Life time

PANEL DISCUSSION of  UNIVERSITIES IN SECOND LIFE

This round table discussion starts with a tour at the University of Western Australia, which is one of the star universities in Second Life with their innovative campus program and famous 3D arts exhibits by their students. UWA is shortlisted for a Linden prize because of their outstanding innovative ways of using Second Life. It is a combination of real life reproductions of the University building and the famous Sunken Garden, a place in Australia famous for the many RL weddings taking place. By reproducing these gardens in Second Life, UWA hopes to bridge the gap from what Australians are familiar with already to the postmodern look and feel of Second Life art and science displays on the virtual ground. After the 30min tour, we will meet on AVALON Learning island for the panel discussion.

Monash University, Melbourne Australia, Scott Grant [Xilin Yifu]
University of Western Australia [JayJay Zifanwe]
Freie Universität Berlin, Dr. Undine Frömming [Augenblick Winkler], Germany
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Dr. Pawel Topol [Pawlus Twine], Poland
1 VirtualVision [Micheal Armundsen],  Australia
Meeting Point: UWA University of Western Australia http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/University%20of%20WA/121/232/24
and after the UWA tour, from 8:30am onwards Panel discussion on AVALON Learning Island
Moderation: David Richardson, Linnaeus University, Sweden

10am GMT / 11am Vienna / 2am SL time

CITY PRESENTATION VIRTUAL ATHENS IN SECOND LIFE
This city presentation includes a visit to the Acropolis which is followed by a city tour by train (20min) and a presentation by the chair [xris Oller] in the main city hall, the Athens Academy (20min). It is then followed by a round table discussions with those who live and work in virtual Athens: tenants, shop owners, the priest of the local church, restaurant owners, bar tender, museum curator, Second Life architect and builder etc.
Hosts: Christina Oikonomou [Xris Oller], Eleftherios Artopoulos [Aristotelis Republic], [billy42 Streeter], [Mariposa Melodie]

Location: Virtual Athens, (SLURL will be provided nearer the time)
Moderation: Jose Louwes [Jose Eternal]
Video links about virtual Greece, Athens, Hellas and Macedonia
Macedonia (neighbouring sim and county in Greece)

12pm GMT / 1pm Vienna / 4am SL time

PANEL DISCUSSION of  CITIES IN SECOND LIFE

Round table of various virtual cities
Representatives of virtual Paris, Athens, Berlin (Moscow, Osaka, HongKong to be confirmed)
Location: EduNation I, Roman Pantheon with Round Table Seating, next to the exhibition of Jura Soyfer’s Lechner Edi. (SLURL http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/EduNation/107/155/23)
Moderation: David Richardson [Davric Rinkitink] of Linnaeus University, Sweden
2pm GMT/ 3pm Vienna / 6am SL time

CITY PRESENTATION.  VIRTUAL BERLIN OF THE 1920s IN SECOND LIFE

This city presentation includes a city tour by oldtimer automobile and bus (20min) and a presentation by the creator Jo Yardley in the main city hall, the museum (20min). It is then followed by a round table discussions with those who live and work in virtual Berlin: tenants,  shop owners, the priest of the local church, a journalist of the local newspaper, bar tender, taxi driver, school teacher, restaurant owner etc.
Hosts: [Jo Yardley], [Zeno McAuley]
Location: Virtual Berlin of the 1920s



4pm GMT / 5pm Vienna / 8am SL time

CULTURE IN SECOND LIFE.  VIRTUAL HARLEM AND THE JAZZ CULTURE

Virtual Harlem is a representation of a portion of Harlem, NY as it existed during the 1920s Jazz Age and Harlem Renaissance. This project, Virtual Harlem, was one of the earliest full virtual reality environments created for use in the humanities and certainly one of the first for use in an African American literature course. Virtual Harlem has been presented at venues in Paris, The Netherlands, Sweden, Hungary, and multiple sites in the US.  In 2004, the University of Paris IV-Sorbonne, funded the development of Virtual Montmartre and Dr. Carter was asked to be the project leader and was awarded the prestigious "Professeur Invite" from the Sorbonne to spend 6 months in Paris.  This project realized itself in the development of an interactive Web Site and a small 3D representation of the Lapin Agile, the oldest surviving cabaret in Montmartre which is still in operation. The evolution of Virtual Harlem was funded in 2006 by the National Black Programming Consortium and the Government of Norway with the development of Virtual Harlem and Virtual Montmartre in Second Life. These sites were two of the most important locations during the Jazz Age/Harlem Renaissance. 
 

Location: Virtual Harlem, (SLURL will be provided nearer the time)
Presentation/ Moderation: Bryan Carter [Bryan Mnemonic]

ABOUT CCKS

The virtual and real INST-World Conference „Cities, Cultures, Knowledge Societies“  (Short:  CCKS-Conference) from 25th to 28.11.2010 is the 8th such world project  since the first INST World Forum in the UNESCO-Center in Paris in 1999.

The special feature of the  CCKS-Conference is not only the expected number of participants (about 1 million from about 180 countries), but above all the virtuality in a new quality, in the questions, the new forms of cooperation, the formation of synergies and a polylogue with a scientific orientation of actions. Special guest of this UNESCO sponsored event will be President Barack Obama.

The discussions will be streamed in Adobe ConnectPro and recorded at the same time. With the kind sponsorship of the University of Kalmar in Sweden, these discussions are being documented in the conference typical academic fashion in order for to be published in the INST journal which is said to have a readership of 100 000 mostly scientists around the world.

well, all these sounds really exciting.. I will see you all there..

Keep o shining Love and Peace.
Pionia

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