Questionnaire I :
how do you introduce yourself to someone?
do you provide for other people than yourself?
what did you do at 5 am this morning?
what is your position in your family?
do you consider yourself poor?
do you have a belonging?
what is the most actual problem in your surroundings?
did you ever go to a big city?
to which media do you have access?
how is information flowing?
how do you define your work?
do you work in group?
can you make a living from your profession?
how much do you earn a month?
how do you spend your money?
do you need specific equipment to execute your job?
how do invest in equipment? loan?collective buying? gift?
is it important to work in a women-only group?
are you part of networks?
does technology affect your social environment?
is your work location specific?
what are your sources of inspriration?
describe your relation to your community?
do you encounter gender-specific problems?
do you connect technology and activism?
do you have experience with alternative forms of knowledge production?
how do you deal with ownership?
are you close to nature?
do you care about ecology and sustainable environments?
is there an obstacle which keeps you from pursuing your interests?
what are your ambitions for the future?
what are your most personal prejudices?
do you see yourself as an example?
what do you see yourself doing at the age of 70?
What experimental education processes are you familiar with?
Do you see (expect) a link between education and sustainability?
does the concept of sustainability affect your work?
do you think you are succesful in life?
What are sustainable processes for you?
How do you evaluate yourself?
Which traditions do you see as important for the future?
Are stories and oral tradition (for you) an important tool for learning and communicating?
Are (self) study and research an important tool for your development?
What is your role in you family? Community?
Do you think decentralization is important?
What is the importance of traditional knowledge?
What is the credibility of non formal education for sustainable development?
What do you think about collective decision-making?
Are you involved in politics?
Do you document your work?
Are you concerned about the future of food?
Do you think traditions are valuable for a sustainable development?
How do you approach diversity?
How do you implement the concept of diversity in your life?
Do you believe in the power of organic agriculture?
Do you defend indigenous knowledge?
Are science and technology important to you?
What is the importance of water in your life?
Do you actually go through a stage of transition?
Do you contribute to the debate on social change?
What are the (working) tools you have at your disposition?
Where do you get you information?
What are your tools for communication?
Is spirituality important to you?
What are your economic values?
What changes would you like to embed in your daily life?
What is you job description?
How do you see your children's future?
Do you see yourself as an entrepreneur?
Are you self-supporting?
Is language an important tool to you?
What is your commitment towards your community?
Are storytelling and oral transmission important tools to you?
What means the concept of equality to you?
Can you compose a song about your future?
What is your contribution to a sustainable society?
Can you share your ideas with your community?
Belgium
Brussels
OKNO
On Methods and Networks
Thoughts and Talks on Politics of Change
Collaborations arise between groups that are aware of the actions and solutions needed to build a more balanced society, contributing to sustainable changes to social and ecological structures. People with a critical view on the use of technology in our wasteful consumer society, people open to knowledge sharing.
Politics of Change wants to position itself as a platform for collaborations and partnerships. Collaborative knowledge building and transmission is at the core of the project. The research focuses on employing and deriving today's and future's technologies in a new and surprising way. The connection between art and science, between analog and digital media is explored continuously. The results of the research processes are made public through films, workshops, artistic interventions and presentations.
A workshop can be a valuable tool for engaging in collective artistic research. The different angles and inputs reveal the full complexity of the issues in discussions. Each participant comes up with tools that can be used in a collaborative way. Discussing practices became the focal point of conversation and examination, a self-reflection on how we work and how we can or want to work. Because with each shift in practice, new questions arise.
Let's focus on north/south/east/west collaborations. What can we learn from innovative approaches in non-Western societies?
What creative interventions can be transformational? Which processes enable individuals and communities to live in a more sustainable way?
If we consider knowledge production as a collaborative process, we also have to consider how a research process can become a true partnership with full advantages for all the partners involved.
The Brussels' PoC-workshop discussed gender and activism in the cultural field, examining the technical tools we use to document what we do and to spread the word.
The participants in this open dialogue came from different fields: writers, filmmakers, anthropologists, journalists, visual artists, economists and researchers.
Participatory tools for action:
discussion platforms, workshops, artistic and social networks, alternative economic formats / micro finance, women's groups, artistic databases, lectures and presentations, mailing lists, interventions in public, social and artistic space.
Collaborative creation and open-source technology could become tools to transform ourselves and our society into more participatory projects.
Cultural diversity is a valuable resource for alternative models and innovative approaches.
Keywords for action and interaction:
Networks, bottom up, horizontally organized, hybrid field, fluid boundaries, open ends, organized in a disorganized way, flexible, feminism, identity, grid, sustainability, women, independence, empowerment.
activism
network
technology
women
women empowerment
workshop
Pad.ma requires JavaScript.
