Principles for Developing Technology for the US Social Forum in 2010

The following principles were collaboratively written on March 26, 2009 in Detroit by representatives of the local organizing committee, local anchor organizations, the National Planning Committee, and May First/People Link. We propose these principles, for approval by the National Planning Committee, as a urgent initial step to developing the technology for the social forum.

1. Free and open access to all, including people unable to travel to the forum or organizing meetings, is essential. Ease of use must mitigate the technology divide, as well as the incorporation of low-tech means of communication. (consistent with Charter of Principles 3, 8 and 14)

2. Develop technology that is useful beyond the forum itself, providing the means to share and exchange information among participants and their organizations. (consistent with WSF Charter of Principles 2)

3. All technology users and developers commit to transparency, empowering cooperation & collaboration at every level of the organizing process. (consistent with WSF Charter of Principles 11)

4. Technology decisions will leverage the principles of free and open source software; software free of corporate control, non-proprietary, owned and maintained by the community of developers and users. (consistent with WSF Charter of Principles 4)

5. Technology is integrated into the process of organizing. The USSF National Planning Committee recognizes technology as a part of the organizing process. Technology is integrated with offline, face-to-face communications whenever feasible. (consistent with WSF Charter of Principles 14)

6. Multiple languages, handicap accessibility, and cultural expression must inform technology decision-making. It is essential that people of color and directly-impacted communities have access. (consistent with WSF Charter of Principles 9)

7. Technology and media should be handled by a diverse working group of the National Planning Committee. The principle of diversity must be influenced by gender, race, class and also diversity of organizations from around the country. (consistent with WSF Charter of Principles 9)

8. Technology decisions promote a safe participatory experience that allows broad contribution and respects diversity of opinion and experience, while doing no harm to others. (consistent with WSF Charter of Principles 8, 10)

9. Technology needs to proliferate, share, and exchange information about the USSF among participants and their organizations via blogs, document libraries, FAQs etc. While critically and strategically using popular culture and applications such as Facebook, Twitter & YouTube, the social forum needs to develop free and open souce alternatives.

10. Information is power. Participants must have control over their own data. The National Planning Committee needs to develop a data policy to guide how data collected during the social forum is made available for organizing purposes.