A call to action

by Frank Schnittger Wed May 14th, 2008 at 08:51:57 PM EST

There has been much debate within the ET community concerning the possibility of developing an ET vers. 2.0 with much enhanced content management and user functionality - most recently on Meta ET and To ET or not ET.

Most of these discussions have foundered on the lack of resources available to follow through on them. In our last discussion Melanchthon and Migeru pointed to the availability of EU funds to support some of the kinds of activities ET engages in - specifically the EU is looking to fund proposals on the following lines:

Summary of the call for proposals EACEA/07/08...
This call for proposals, concerning action 1, measure 2.1 -- Citizens' projects within the `Europe for
Citizens' Programme (1), is designed to contribute addressing a major challenge of the European Union
today, namely how to bridge the gap between citizens and the European Union. It aims at exploring original
and innovative methodology with the potential to encourage citizens' par ticipation and to stimulate dialogue
between European citizens and the institutions of the European Union.
The specif ic objectives of this call for proposals are to suppor t citizens' panels which enable to:
(a) collect the opinion of citizens on some key European challenges for the future (see themes);
(b) consolidate a method for stimulating active interaction and discussion between citizens on certain
EU policy areas that affect their daily life;
(c) create mechanisms that enable European citizens to develop civic competences, to formulate their views
and opinions on the European integration process in the form of recommendations for policy makers at
European level;
(d) encourage the dialogue between European citizens and the institutions of the EU, empowering citizens
as regards EU policies and their impact, and ensuring appropriate follow up of citizens' opinions by the
EU institutions.
Applicants under this programme are invited to address in their projects at least one of the following
priority themes:
-- intercultural dialogue,
-- new institutional developments: a new momentum for active European citizenship,
-- women par ticipation in political life,
-- spor t for active citizenship and social inclusion,
-- the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009.

However in order to apply for such funding, certain criteria have to be met...
COMMISSION

2. Eligibile applicants To be eligible for a grant, the applicant must satisfy the following requirements: -- it must be a public body or a non-profit-making organisation with a legal status and legal personality. Consequently, natural persons -- i.e. individuals -- are not eligible, -- it must be established in an eligible country. Project must involve partner organisations from at least four different eligible countries other than the country of the applicant, fulfilling the eligibility criteria as defined above. Applicants must be established in one of the following countries: (a) the 27 Member States of the European Union: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom; (b) Croatia; (c) information concerning the agreements establishing the participation of other countries can be consulted on our webpage: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/citizenship/index_en.htm 3. Budget and project duration The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects within this call for proposals is estimated at EUR 920 000. The grant awarded may not exceed 60 % of the total amount of the project's eligible costs as specified in the detailed budget estimate. Each grant will amount to between EUR 75 000 and EUR 150 000. Activities must start between 1 December 2008 and 28 February 2009. Activities must end before 31 December 2009. The maximum duration of projects is 10 months. 4. Deadline Applications must be sent to the Agency no later than 1 July 2008

The key criterion is thus that we need to identify public or non-profit partners in at least 5 EU states who will sign a letter of support for the project and make a relatively small contribution towards its costs. If we could identify 5-10 partners in at least 5 EU member states, contributing a total of €50K - we would be able to apply for (the minimum) 75K of further funding from the EU (= 60% of total cost thus yielding a total of €125K) - enough to fund a substantial redevelopment and upgrade of the ET site.

This Diary is by way of a call to action to ET members throughout the EU to see if you can find any public or non-profit bodies who would be prepared to give some support to a significant enhancement and expansion of the ET site across national and linguistic communities within the EU. Perhaps you know of an MEP, local EU office, or national foundation which would be prepared to show some support. 5K is a small chunk out of most organisations promotional budget - about what it costs to host a reception or seminar.

In order to assist you in writing begging letters to possible sponsors, a short description of what the proposed project is about is included below. It is a very rough draft, and any suggestions for improvements are most welcome:

Blogging is one of the fastest growing phenomena in the world, creating virtual communities which socialise, exchange ideas, hone their writing skills, build relationships, and sometimes create whole new forces in civil society. The phenomenon is most advanced in the USA where some blogs have become quite influential in public discourse and political activism. Blogging is much less well developed in the EU for a variety of reasons - lower broadband penetration, lower levels of computer literacy, but chiefly because there is no single large linguistic and national community on the scale of the US within the EU.

The European Tribune has been partially successful in filling this void. It has 4000 registered members and 2000 visitors per day who engage in on-line discussions on social, political, economic, environmental, cultural and artistic subjects, the publication of papers on various topics, and occasionally, on-line collaborations on specific projects. A series of papers on "the Anglo-Disease" has become influential in both US and European discourse on alternative economic models, series on Peak Oil, Credit and Food have informed public debate, and a recent collaboration opposing the nomination of Tony Blair as President of the European Council received widespread publicity and 27,000 signatures for an on-line petition.

In all of this, it is clear that the European Tribune is making a growing contribution to the development of a European civil society. However, it has become increasingly clear that linguistic and other barriers are inhibiting the further development of blogging, information sharing, and on-line collaboration in Europe, and that a more function rich multi-lingual environment is required to encourage the development of larger on-line communities and a truly trans-lingual demos within Europe.

Many contributors to The European Tribune are multi-lingual, but feel comfortable in engaging in discussions and contributing papers in only one language. Many, who lack confidence in their command of English, do not contribute actively at all. The European Tribune community have decided to upgrade their blogging software to support multi-lingual blogging but lack the financial resources to achieve this objective. Some major US blogs do survive on donations and paid advertising alone, but this model has proved unviable to date within the context of the much smaller on-line linguistic communities/markets within the EU.

This proposal therefore seeks once-off financial support to enable the European Tribune to provide the following enhanced functionality for a rapidly expanding user base:

1.    Automated translation of content to a range of European Languages supported where possible by human editorial enhancements
2.    More sophisticated content management functionality (tagging) to enable much larger content streams to be presented and channeled to users who express an interest in particular subject areas
3.    A wikipedia like repository of seminal papers which have been peer reviewed by the ET community
4.    Greater accessibility and search ability of the content to casual users/browsers who are not signed up members of the European Tribune on-line community.

The enhanced site will allow an ever larger membership from a more diverse range of EU nationalities and language communities to engage with each other in on-line socialisation, discussion, research and collaboration on an ever wider range of projects. It will assist in the development of transnational relationships, the development of greater linguistic skills, and in the education and mobilisation of a growing membership on a wider range of issues thus creating a more active and engaged EU citizenry.

The project will be managed by the European Tribune Editorial Board. In order to apply for EU funding we need some initial seed funding and sponsorship from public/non-profit bodies in at least 5 EU member states. We would like to invite you to become one of the founding sponsors of this very worthy initiative and would be pleased to meet with you to answer any queries you might have.

------

The main problem with this whole proposal is the application deadline of 1. July. However similar "calls for proposals" are issued by the EU from time to time, and all tend to have similar eligibility criteria. Thus, even if we are not successful in meeting the requirements of this application on this occasion, any preparatory work we do now will be re-usable for any subsequent application.

There are also a lot of other issues to be trashed out concerning the exact nature of the enhancements to be included in ET version 2.0, the best technical means of achieving them, who should do the work, and how the project should be managed. However these issues can be thrashed out in parallel with our efforts to overcome the major obstacle to any successful application, and that is to find partner/sponsor organisations in at least 5 EU countries.

So it's over to the ET community now. Are we serious about upgrading ET in a substantial way? Do we accept that this cannot be achieved by voluntary effort alone? Is the EU funding option a reasonable and viable means of funding such an upgrade? Does it compromise our independence in any way? Can we find partner organisations in at least 5 EU countries to co-sponsor the application? Can YOU do your bit to help by sending out begging letters to possible candidates for a partner organisation in your country?

Is this a project we can all engage with, or are we happier just moseying along with Jerome paying the bills?

A call to action | 42 comments (42 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: A call to action (4.00 / 5)

Frank and friends,
This diary is the culmination of a series that created a good discussion, in which several people brushed on this question--do we WANT to be "sponsored", and what are the implications of accepting money from the EU and the necessary supporting organizations for application?

I agree with those who say that it's time for change.

I also think that if we choose to solicit donations, we need to be very careful from whom, and we need to first establish a clear policy of structural and editorial independence and a clear mechanism to maintain this independence.
Consider that a financial contributor will likely (and reasonably) expect to influence editorial policy, and be represented on any board or executive committee.

That said, we also seem, to me, to have as yet a very unclear policy of who and what we are, and where we want to go, in spite of the many thoughtful posts on the subject.

We need a mechanism to clarify this question first, in order to decide just who to ask about funding and support.

I read your last diary carefully, Frank, and the meta ET one, and they're a good start. But there's a real danger in pushing past undecided issues with a view supported by a minority, perhaps just in the interest of getting something done.
The dialog needs to be expanded to include as many registered users of ET as possible. Perhaps we need to construct a good questionnaire, and then canvass, directly, all contributors.

If we fail to do this, sweeping imposed changes take on the look of a "Putz" instead of a healthy evolution--they will develop the usual flavor of self-referential elitism (think Kos) instead of an inclusive search for better ways--of intolerance instead of egalitarian inquiry.

It is perfectly legitemate for a small group of people to create a structure to channel their personal agendas and issues, and to manage it as they see fit--as long as this overlay is clearly stated, well understood.

I don't think we want to go there. We have our own way, and it's better.

Blow off June, and do the foundation work now--include everyone who will contribute their thoughts,, actively solicit opinions in some fashion resembling a two-step referendum process.
First, formally solicit from everyone, in a coherent format, the submission of each's ideas of where ET needs to go.
Then create a questionnaire, perhaps rating each widely-supported issue as to degree of importance, and ask everyone to fill it out.
Perhaps then we could create a democratically selelcted group of diarists, with Front-pagers given no more control or voice than any one else, which will generate the final document on which we will solicit opinions, and which will become, after a democratically managed winnowing of the issues, our bylaws.
Then we vote on them.
And then we inevitably modify as needed to reach consensus.
Then we move as a better united group, and no one (well, almost no one) will feel discarded or ignored.
Then we will be able to honestly decide who might be a good partner, and grab some EU dough
We'll not finding ourselves in the nasty position of turning tricks for a supporter for chump change.

Capitalism searches out the darkest corners of human potential, and mainlines them.

by geezer in Paris (risico at wanadoo(flypoop)fr) on Thu May 15th, 2008 at 01:10:02 AM EST

Re: A call to action (4.00 / 2)

Many thanks for a very well reasoned and thought through response. As you may have guessed, I am deliberately pushing the boat out on this just a bit to see if there is a real desire for change out there, and in what general direction people want that change to be.

I sometimes feel that ET is a bit like an amoeba - an amorphous single cell organism. If you push it in one direction, it changes shape a bit, but it doesn't actually go anywhere, and if you push it in a different direction - well it just changes shape a bit again!

Something about having a lot of very bright people - all going in their own directions, all resisting "management" or coordination - but no actual mechanism for moving the whole community forward - in any direction. Perhaps this is precisely how people want it to be, and that that is why they like ET. If that is the case, so be it, I don't ultimately, have a problem with that, but I just want to know one way or the other.

I'm just testing the hypothesis as to whether that is the type of organism/organisation people want ET to be, or whether they would prefer a slightly more organised/specialised/differentiated organisational structure with some democratic mechanisms for enabling change to happen in an organisd way.

Having said all that, I think change can also happen in a very pragmatic way, without everyone having to be agreed on everything, or all issues having to be resolved to the nth degree. We just have to agree that a particular set of objectives are reasonable for a particular group to pursue at a particular time - whilst reserving our right to change our minds in the future.

As you may recall, I had my doubts about the StopBlair campaign, but I wouldn't have dreamed of trying to stop those who were engaged in that initiative. Sometimes the actual doing of something is the real learning and transformative experience and we are too afraid to try things in case we make a mistake or upset others. Nothing we do here and now need be irreversible if a majority should decide otherwise, and no one is trying to change the culture of ET as a whole. Think of it as putting a toe in the water of the real world, and perhaps shifting the centre of gravity just a bit, but certainly not with the intent of changing any of the many attributes of ET that most people know and love.

For instance, I would have a real problem with this:
geezer in Paris:

Consider that a financial contributor will likely (and reasonably) expect to influence editorial policy, and be represented on any board or executive committee.

Absolutely not! For 5K you get the right to associate yourself with a very positive and rapidly growing phenomenon within Europe - but no external group gets the right to influence ET editorial policy!

I hope this helps to clarify where I am coming from on this. We can continue with this discussion going around in circles for ever and a day - but I get bored with that very quickly unless some action plan emerges. This will be my last attempt to "herd cats" on this issue. I want to bring closure on this (for myself at least). If we want to develop a radically enhanced ET 2.), and if we accept that it cannot be done by voluntary effort alone, we need some plan to make it happen.

If someone comes up with a better plan, then great. If we decide this option isn't worth the hassle, then fine. If we decide we prefer things as they are, wonderful! But I for one am not going to spend any more time on this topic because I hate chasing lost causes, or people not thinking through the implications of what might be required to make their ideas come to life. I can talk as much as most people, but ultimately I'm a doer and like to test ideas in the real world. And I hate wasting time on projects that are never going to go anywhere.

So will someone please convince me that this project has any prospect of going anywhere, any time soon, or as they say - I'm outa here! There are so many more fun things to do in life and going around in circles all the time isn't one of them!

"It's a mystery to me - the game commences, For the usual fee - plus expenses, Confidential information - it's in my diary..."

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Thu May 15th, 2008 at 05:23:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A call to action (4.00 / 3)

i'd find it sad if you split, frank, but if your participation is conditional on ET becoming something else than it is, i'd understand.

i hope you stick around, as you contribute some really interesting points of view on europe.

perhaps you are trying to be a good midwife to ET's next phase, and perhaps the birth progresses well already.

please check in sometimes and let us know if you find other blogs which fulfill your activist needs better.

thanks for all your passion and ideas. you have definitely made us think harder, and i feel your style blends in really well with the eclectic mix of characters here.

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Thu May 15th, 2008 at 06:56:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A call to action (none / 1)

Sorry Melo - I may have expressed myself poorly. I'm not threatening to leave ET - and certainly not because "I'm not getting my way on this".

But what I generally do with I join a community/organisation is to try make some positive active contribution and my approach is often to take some ideas floating around (rarely original ones from me) and see if I can develop a coherent action plan to make it possible for them to happen. If nothing comes of it, no big deal. But I felt I owed it to Jerome and the community here to make the effort because of all the fun I've had - made possible by the work you have all previously put in. I have some sympathy for Jerome and the FPers putting in so much time/effort/money and perhaps not getting much thanks for it, and I wanted to see if I could make a positive contribution.

If nothing comes of it, then fine. I will stop publishing any more diaries/comments on this subject. However that won't stop me participating in a more passive way and perhaps publishing the odd diary on other topics as the mood takes me. It's just I won't take an activist responsibility for what happens on ET and just drop in and out doing my own thing - leaving it to others to worry about where ET is going.

geezer in Paris:

If we fail to do this, sweeping imposed changes take on the look of a "Putz" instead of a healthy evolution-

Nothing could be further from my intention, and geezer is of course right to point to the need to create a consensus around all this. I think there may have been some feeling out there that I have a personal agenda in all this. I have. To help out with a project that I think has come a long way and is doing some great work - work that I think is worthy of some more public recognition and support and capable of receiving it.

To be honest, as a former project manager myself, I wouldn't want to touch this project with a barge poll. There are too many conflicting ideas, no clear processes for defining requirements and solutions, and no management processes for ensuring that a coherent set of deliverables are agreed and implemented. But thats ok - life is often like that, and I've got a lot of other things on.

I look forward to seeing your contributions in the future and doing the odd bit myself- but as a more passive rather than activist member of the community. Cheers!

"It's a mystery to me - the game commences, For the usual fee - plus expenses, Confidential information - it's in my diary..."

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Thu May 15th, 2008 at 07:22:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A call to action (4.00 / 2)

There are too many conflicting ideas, no clear processes for defining requirements and solutions, and no management processes for ensuring that a coherent set of deliverables are agreed and implemented.

sounds like my life, lol

it's just not ready...

hunch: it will self-organise, your efforts are like the foam that the wave spits before crashing, the signs of its arrival.

it's like some dishes, they can't be cooked too quickly, or you don't get the full flava.

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Thu May 15th, 2008 at 07:44:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A call to action (4.00 / 3)

Thanks Frank for all your effort. I just think that processes on ET are somewhat slower and take more patience and time. It looks like this week some of the usual contributers to this kind of discussion are not present, meaning busy otherwise. So not much response, does not necessarily mean no interest. :-)

by Fran on Thu May 15th, 2008 at 09:00:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A call to action (none / 1)

Thanks, I appreciate that, and have been conscious of a lack of frontpager engagement/endorsement on the other diaries as well - for whatever reasons. However, either way, I think I have now taken this as far as I can, or should, and that if it doesn't now gather a head of steam of its own accord, with others leading parts of the action, then it becomes clear I am trying to role a square stone up hill and its best to leave it at that.

At least we now have A concrete proposal, which others can reject, modify, build on as they see fit - or better still, come up with a radically different and better proposal. Without other people taking up the ball and running with different aspects of the proposal, nothing is going to come of it in any case.

Besides engaging in an ET community consultation process on the lines geezer has suggested, we need to develop a more detailed and internally consistent set of requirements for ET 2.0, do some technical feasibility work, put together an outline project plan, timescale and budget, consult with possible sponsors/partners in various countries, look at options for an ET legal personality, start filling in the applications forms etc. As each aspect becomes more defined/agreed - it will feed into and clarify work that need to be done on other aspects - and perhaps change the shape of the project somewhat.

However I will now leave all of that to others to contribute to or not as they see fit. This isn't going to happen if only a few people think it is the right thing to do and are prepared to contribute towards doing it. Like many good things, it will come when people are ready for it.

"It's a mystery to me - the game commences, For the usual fee - plus expenses, Confidential information - it's in my diary..."

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Thu May 15th, 2008 at 09:26:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A call to action (4.00 / 5)

You're not getting front-pager comments because it's not easy for us to take up hard and fast positions on some of these matters -- that have, though you may not realize it, been discussed before (though not including your welcome efforts, for which thanks, to seek out EU funding rules).

As for endorsement, I read and rec'd this diary this morning.

A front-pager who argues forcefully in favour of something risks being seen as authoritarian, and some will be quick to see an agenda. But silence is, well, noticed. Maybe it's an agenda that dares not speak its name... Or maybe not.

What I think of your proposal is that I have not yet seen this community undertake anything like that amount of work in a consistent manner. I don't oppose it - and I support the aim of some form of multilingual platform with easy-to-search data - but I don't see it happening in a hurry. That's my personal view as an ET member.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu May 15th, 2008 at 10:47:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]

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