The Society for Free Culture and Software

Looking for sponsors

With FSCONS less than 180 days away, we're calling on companies and other organisations with an interest in FSCONS to sponsor the conference. As a sponsor, you would join the ranks of Google, Mozilla Europe, Nokia, Rejås Datakonsult, the Nordic Cultural Fund, who sponsored the conference in 2009, as well as several other sponsors in 2007 and 2008.

Call for Participation

It's that time of the year again when it's time to think about FSCONS 2010. Following a five month winter hibernation, things are now progressing rather rapidly as the 5th of November draws near. As of today, the Call for Participation is out, and if you have an idea, project or general topic which you would like to present during FSCONS 2010, it's time for you to let us know.

The Agony of Funding - ISOC (0), .SE (0), KKNORD (1), NORDEN (1)

As most non-profits, the Society for Free Culture and Software, as well as me personally for projects I would like to engage in, are always struggling to find money. Quite often, we make do with quite limited means: some money for someones trip here, a hotel night there, some printing material, or so on. I don't count time here, because while we all spend a considerable amount of time on various projects, it's not something which is regularly funded.

There are preciously few opportunities for funding for non-profit, activist, projects, but there are some, and I have both good news, and bad news, this year. A lot of the places that do actually give grants to various projects have their deadlines in the beginning of the year, so the results of these are just starting to come in. If we go with the good news first, I actually have two to share.

The Nordic Culture Point has given a grant to the Society for carrying out a project aimed at bringing the Creative Commons networks in Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Sweden and the Faroe Islands together. The project will start in October this year, and will last for one year during which representatives of the Creative Commons groups in those countries will be able to meet, exchange ideas, discuss common problems, and hopefully, come up with a great deal of good answers and plans. More news about this is likely to follow.

Following up on this, the Nordic Cultural Fund has given another small grant for bringing Creative Commons to artists, musicians, writers, and others engaged in creative art. Again, the focus is the Nordic cooperation. This funding comes with strings attached though: we'll only get that funding if either the Nordic Culture Point, or someone else, grants us an additional estimated 40,000 Euro for the project. Should we manage to attract that funding though, we have a really good project coming up in which we'll be able to bring Creative Commons so hundreds, or thousands, of artists, which have not yet heard of Creative Commons.

Apart the two successful applications, we also have a couple of failed ones. The foundation .SE refused our two applications for their Internet Fund: one was about bringing Gothenburg, Malmö and Stockholm, closer together by encouraging movement of people between FSCONS and Internetdagarna. The other project was about bringing the power of the Internet to rural local communities in Sweden.

In addition, I submitted an application to the Internet Society (ISOC) aimed at revitalising the ISOC activities in this region through the organisation of a series of seminars on current issues relevant for ISOC. We had support from ISOC members in both Denmark and Norway for this, but ultimately ISOC decided not to grant the application because nothing was heard from ISOC Sweden, and it's naturally difficult to do something without the support of the local chapters.

We're still waiting for answers to some applications, but that's the status right now. And I should add that we are very grateful to the Nordic Culture Point and the Nordic Cultural Fund for their support. The Nordic Cultural Fund also supported FSCONS last year, which was a very significant and well needed contribution, so we are doubly grateful to them for giving us the opportunity for repeat successes.