[spectre] HYBRID CITY II: Subtle rEvolutions // Call for papers and projects

[Daphne Dragona]

The HYBRID CITY II: Subtle rEvolutions

Conference, workshops, exhibition and parallel events

23-25 May 2013

University of Athens, Athens, Greece

www.media.uoa.gr/hybridcity





Hybrid City is an international biennial event dedicated to exploring the

emergent character of the city and the potential transformative shift of the

urban condition, as a result of ongoing developments in information and

communication technologies (ICTs) and of their integration in the urban

physical context. After the successful homonymous symposium of 2011, the

second edition of Hybrid City has grown into a peer reviewed conference,

aiming to promote dialogue and knowledge exchange among experts drawn from

academia, as well as artists, designers, researchers, advocates,

stakeholders and decision makers, actively involved in addressing questions

on the nature of the technologically mediated urban activity and experience.



Hybrid City Conference 2013, in Athens, Greece, will consist of three days

of paper presentations, panel discussions, workshops and satellite events,

under the theme "Subtle rEvolutions". The events are organized by the

University Research Institute of Applied Communication (URIAC) and will be

hosted by the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, of the University

of Athens, in collaboration with the New Technologies Laboratory of the

faculty. The main venue of the conference is the central, historic building

of the University of Athens, while workshops, projects' presentations and

parallel events will take place in other University venues and collaborating

centers and institutions, in the center of Athens.





Theme - Subtle rEvolutions



ICTs, whether mobile, wireless or embedded in persistent architectural

forms, facilitate the collection and dissemination of data, infusing the

physical expression of the city with digital layers of content, contributing

thus to the emergence of new hybridized spatial logics and novel forms of

social interaction. These systems and the hybrid spatial experience they

afford, encourage encounters among users; both embodied and mediated, and

influence community dynamics, giving rise to networks around common

interests and collectives of affect. Sometimes, such groups, irrespective of

how ephemeral, unstable and dispersed they may be, negotiate a new kind of

engagement with the urban environment and civic life, suggesting thus an

organizational paradigm that manages to surpass traditional vertical

hierarchies of space and consequently of power and control. Such

configurations among communities, locations, contexts and intentions were

manifested intensely in the interlinking of protest events around the world

since 2011, the Arab Spring uprisings, the Occupy movement and

anti-austerity demonstrations in Southern Europe, but they also gradually

permeate everyday life in the contemporary metropolis.



As sharing and collaborative tactics migrate from online culture to the

urban realm and ICTs become increasingly open and personalized, rich

opportunities for new forms of participation in civic life arise. Citizens

may be enabled to access information about the city and also to become

involved in the production, collection and distribution of data related to

urban matters. The Hybrid City Conference considers a further investigation

of such processes of crucial importance, so as to gain a deeper

understanding of the effect they have on the urban experience and to explore

their contribution in shaping the future cities. In this respect, Hybrid

City cordially invites papers that present concepts, case studies, research

projects, works of art and best practices and promote the discussion on the

theme, at a theoretical or a more practical, applied level.  Emphasizing the

inherently interdisciplinary nature of technologically mediated urban

activity, we welcome proposals which examine, but are not limited to, the

following topics:



.       Open cities, open urban data.

.       Environmental sensing and the Internet of things.

.       Urban data visualization.

.       Environmental perception, cognition, immersion and presence in the

context of hybrid urban                  spaces.

.       Citizen science and peer production of knowledge.

.       Psychosocial perspectives into the impact of locative and pervasive

media use.

.       Placemaking, place attachment and place identity in the hybrid city.

.       Cartography of hybrid spaces.

.       Mobile commons and wireless practices.

.       Public spaces and mediated presence.

.       Gamifying the urban space: playful engagement and game-like

citizenship.

.       Hybrid spaces of conflict: forms of power and counterpower in the

networked city.

.       Tactical media practices in the urban context.

.       From open data to data commons.

.       Open source models of policy and governance.

.       Emerging currencies and values.

.       Issues of data ownership and copyrights in hybrid urban contexts.



The Hybrid City Conference welcomes submissions discussing concepts or

documenting projects which are rEvolutionary, in the sense that through

originality and innovation they contribute to shaping the future of the

hybrid city, bringing forth change, perhaps subtle or gradual, but radical

nonetheless. Contributions may also maintain a critical perspective in

examining issues relevant to the hybridization process. Potential topics for

further investigation could be:



. Openness vs. privacy. How much openness do we really need? Is there a

danger in too much openness actually leading to transparency?

. Whose data is open data? Who has access to them and who could potentially

make a profit out of them?

. How do citizens become motivated to contribute?  How do they remain

actively involved? Who benefits from such collective contributions?

. Are there any dangers when cities become too smart? Which are potential

tactics of disruption when facing such an emergence?





Keynote speakers confirmed so far:

.       Roger Malina, Distinguished Professor of Arts and Technology,

University of Texas, Dallas, Co Chair Art-Science Program, Mediterranean

Institute of Advanced Studies, Marseille.

.       Steve Benford, Professor of Collaborative Computing and Head of the

School of Computer Science at The University of Nottingham, member of the

Mixed Reality Laboratory and of Horizon, author of 'Performing Mixed

Reality' (with Gabriella Giannachi), MIT Press.

.       Eric Kluitenberg, independent theorist and writer on culture, media,

and technology, editor in chief of Tactical Media Files, an online

documentation resource of Tactical Media practices worldwide.

.        Stephen Kovats, media and digital culture researcher, 'r0g_agency

for open culture and critical transformation', #OSJUBA project initiator.



Submission of papers:

Submissions should include:

*       Extended abstract of 750 - 1000 words, (including references).

*       Biographical statement of no more than 250 words.

Submissions should be in a Word or PDF format and not exceed 10 Mb in size.

Please upload submitted files at:  www.media.uoa.gr/hybridcity



Selected authors will be asked to submit a full paper (8 pages), or short

paper (4 pages) to be included in the printed conference proceedings.

Further details will be announced right after the notification of

acceptance.



Important Dates:

All abstracts will be peer reviewed. Authors of accepted abstracts will be

notified before the 20th of December 2012. Final submission of full papers

will be expected no later than the 20th of February 2013.



Deadline of Abstract Submission extended till the 9th of November 2012.



Notification of Acceptance: 20 December 2012.



Deadline of Full Paper Submission: 20 February 2013.



Conference Dates: 23-25 May 2013.





Submission for projects:



In the context of the Hybrid City events, a showcase of works relevant to

the "Subtle rEvolutions" theme will be organized in partnership with the

National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (EMST). Projects will be

presented as part of an online exhibition to be launched during the Hybrid

City events, and will also be on view at the Media Lounge of the Museum.

We, therefore, welcome submissions of works that reflect the changes and

dynamics of today's cityscape and offer citizens new modes of information

processing and understanding. This can include, but is not limited to:

. online or downloadable digital tools,

. urban data visualizations,

. data flow mappings, digital cartographies,

. models for emerging alternatives,

. online documentation of innovative practices and tactics.

Works do not need to be strictly net-based but they do need to provide

sufficient information online. Projects which will not involve digital

technology in their production and do not refer to the theme addressed in

this call will not be considered.

Submissions should include:

. a 300 word description of the project

. a 200 word biographical description of the creator/s

. URL of the project and other related links

. Technical specifications


Deadline for submissions: 20 January 2012



Submissions for projects can also be uploaded at:

www.media.uoa.gr/hybridcity



All projects will be reviewed and selected by curators from the "Hybrid City

II" organization committee, the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens

and the partner institutions (BIS and CIANT).



Please note that creators wishing to have their work published as a paper

and presented in the conference should also submit an abstract under the

call for papers.





The "Hybrid City" events are realized in the context of the "City as a

Hybrid Interface - HYBRI-C" project of the EACEA Culture programme 2007-2013

(partners of URIAC in the project are: BIS - Body Process Arts Association,

Istanbul, CIANT, Prague and Fearless, Marseille). For more information on

the project visit:

http://hybri-city-project.eu/.



For any queries or further info please contact us at: 

hybridcityathens [at] gmail [dot] com

 		 	   		  
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