[dundee] Software Freedom Day & The DCA

[Rick Moynihan]

Hi all,

Before I went away on my holidays I contacted Clive Gillman of the
DCA, about the possibility of tying up our software freedom day event
in the Hannah Maclure centre with the DCA's open doors day event (on
the same day).  The idea being to increase awareness of each others
events, have appropriate supplies of fliers advertising each others
events.  Beyond that, more ambitious ideas involved hosting a live
video feed between each event.

Anyway, Clive responded by saying how the DCA likes to tie their event
to some specific activity... For example last year they celebrated the
anniversary of print making in Scotland (presumably tying it into
their print-making workshops etc...), however this year they don't
have any plans for what they want to do.

Clive then presented us with an opportunity to suggest some
events/activities/anniversaries etc... that the DCA would be well
placed to run which could thematically be tied into Software Freedom.
Time is short, and there's a possibility that in the time since I've
returned from my holidays the opportunity has passed.  However I'd
like to solicit any ideas that these lists might have.

I'd encourage you to think about what the DCA does for the community,
and the facilities it offers...  Anything that might lead to a strong,
significant link.

I can see some thematic links between their print-making event last
year, e.g. Print-making made it easy to create multiple impressions of
a work, whilst Free software does the same (but goes further by giving
everyone the matrices, jigs and tools necessary to make their own
impressions which may then be derivative works).  Also If you extend
print-making to include the development of the printing press then
there are links between that and the internet/free-software.

However I get the sense from Clive that they'd like to try something
new...  I've tried thinking of things, but have largely been drawing
relatively weak links, for the benefit of others:

- Education/Freedom-of-knowledge etc...

 + Are there any notable anniversaries here?  What about links to
Scottish philanthropy or the Scottish Enlightenment?

 + The DCA offer educational courses etc...

- The history of Film & Cinema

 + Draws attention to the DCA Cinema, future of Film/Cinema?

 + Links are maybe the evolution of media, DRM etc...  Which are
topics of concern to free software advocates.

If we can come up with a good idea on how we might relate Software
Freedom to an event at the DCA, we should be able to increase our
exposure.

R.