The internet has tremendous power to connect and empower individuals, but as centers of power online grow larger they become less affable to individual users and less responsive to their needs.
How can we rebalance the internet economy?
The Right Time for Action
Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code, while flawed, has sparked discussion about what a genuine ability to bargain with platforms may look like between creators, community leaders, and independent artists.
Have digital platforms done enough to support local needs as they continue to grow and expand?
The pandemic has shown us that digital platforms which step up for creators are rewarded—the crowd-funding platform Patreon has multiplied their membership thousand-fold and hit a $1 billion valuation during the pandemic.
What are we doing?
This year we will be hosting FOUR town hall style discussions here in Melbourne, bringing together representatives from digital platforms and local creators to discuss the ways in which the internet is great—and where it could be doing better. Our four themes are:
EXHIBIT | IMAGINE | CREATE | GATHER
…. and they will feature writers, film makers, storytellers, poets, vloggers, bloggers, artists and creatives, activists, community leaders, sex workers, thinkers and overall everyone who relies on the internet to do their work.
The Objective
This project aims to develop the idea that the Internet can work with, and for, the local needs of Australians!
We want to create a grassroots narrative to guide the way Internet public spaces are governed in Australia. Industry has attracted criticism for failing to take concerns seriously, government responses have been heavy handed and misdirected.
A totally unregulated Internet is not the same as a free and open one.
To foster inclusiveness online, and create accountability and fairness, we need rules of conduct and platforms that are sensitive to the experience of vulnerable people. This means making solutions work for independent artists, writers, content creators, as well as the indigenous communities who are entirely unrepresented on the international Internet governance space.
We want to paint an accurate picture of the local internet economy and codesign ways of evolving that space to genuinely serve local needs.
Everyone gets to participate in this conversation. Whether you’re just curious or want to share your experiences, we invite you to join us for our townhalls.
Our Townhalls
We’re busy preparing these four events—but don’t worry you won’t miss out, we will be back in your inbox once the dates are locked in and tickets go up! Just make sure you’re subscribed to our email updates.