Drumbeat/Eu-Drumbeat

Introduction

This document explains detailed how we, the European Mozilla Community are thinking that Drumbeat should be planned and organized in Europe. This document may be modified in the next weeks.

What is Drumbeat?

Drumbeat is a new project of Mozilla, aiming to gather a worldwide community around Mozilla Mission (behind the code) in order to come with new ideas and build open technologies for the (open) web. More information: Mozilla Drumbeat Wiki page

Why Mozilla Drumbeat - Europe?

We consider that in Europe the Mozilla Mission is not very well understood. Through Drumbeat we would like to articulate more the Mozilla Mission and Mozilla story among the Europe. European public is different from the other cultures and we have been thinking that we need to adapt Drumbeat.

Who can participate?

Drumbeat Europe is open to everybody with an affinity for ideological aspects of Mozilla and, specific interest in Europe.

Strategy

Following will be described the strategy of Drumbeat in Europe. Our aim is to gather people from all domains of interest: business/economy, computer science, politics, philosophy. We believe that the Mozilla mission is not well understood nor well articulated, even amongst the free software / liberalising IP community what are the battlegrounds?

what are we "for" and "against" ?

who are our allies and our enemies?

what does the Mozilla mission "look like"?

why is it (still) relevant?

what can people do to get involved?

Unless we answer these questions, Drumbeat is likely to only appeal to those who are already close to these issues and fail to create much support. Therefore, we think that first, Drumbeat needs to explore these issues, and be a central place for exploring these themes with interested parties, and to surface the threats and what activities people can take. Ultimately, Drumbeat needs to get to a stage where specific consumption choices (e.g. software you use, network operator you choose etc.) may be recommended.

Methods – grassroots campaigning

Promoting Mozilla Mission through grassroots campaigning, by involving actively people from a wide area of interests.

Blog Drumbeat EU - Exploring the Mozilla Mission during a year [1]

 This blog will contain original articles (content) written by people actively involved in the project and with an affinity for ideological aspects of Internet and Mozilla. 

The objective of Drumbeat_EU blog is widening and deepening our understanding of Mozilla's mission and to promote it. Articles will be published once a week.

Local Events

Another method is promoting Mozilla Mission/speaking about Open Internet at local events. (see Tomcat events with OpenOffice) During FOSDEM, organize a specific track on this topic.

Specific presentations We are thinking to create a Speaker Guide, to help people who want to speak about Mozilla Mission

Press Involvement

Press is very important in order to make visible the Mozilla Mission. Brainstorm with PR about methods to get involved the press, documents to be provided to journalists. How to gather the attention of journalists on these aspects?

Mozilla Drumbeat blog - Explore the Mozilla Manifesto

Mozilla Manifesto still represents the big “unknown” for people (even community members). So important but in the same time so incomprehensible. Mozilla Manifesto is an important step in order to understand Mozilla Mission. For that, people should first, go to read it and then understand it. The simple way to be understood is to explore and explain it. The main question is: how many community members speaks about Mozilla Mission at local events?

How many people are going to read the Mozilla Manifesto?

Answering at this questions, we observe that the interest of spreading Mozilla Manifesto is minimal, even it is essential in order to promote the Mozilla Mission among a large public, we are thinking to use it as “source code” for the European Drumbeat. During the last years, different people intended to Remix the Manifesto:

http://eaves.ca/2008/06/30/remixing-the-mozilla-manifesto/

http://zak.greant.com/mozilla-manifesto-dance-remix/

http://www.alinamierlus.com/2009/09/remixing_manifesto1/ After the Mozilla Manifesto Remix, from Prague, a wiki page was opened for this: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Remixing_Manifesto

Identify the main 4 principles of Mozilla Manifesto To start the Drumbeat_EU activity (blog, events), we identified 4 main topics to be advocated during the first year of Drumbeat, 2010 (once for every season of the year).

Principle 1: Internet as a global, public resource

Looking back at the history of Internet, we realize that it has been build to be a public resource, accessible for everyone. Internet (and then, the web) is the common result of Free Software. The evolution of the Internet has been also represented challenges (new proprietary applications, data security issues etc.). How to make Internet to remain a public global resource for people, during the next years? Mozilla has been contributing on that by building new open technologies, by offering to all users the security they need when they are online. What global, public resource means? Internet is a global public resource through: interoperability, innovation and participation. Free software promotes the development of the Internet as a public resource. Why Mozilla is one of the most successful Free Software projects?

Principle 2: Individual's experience on the Internet

We all believe that Individual's experience on the Internet is very important. Every individual should shape his own experience on the web. For that, security (data security) and identity are two critical aspects. During the years, by developing open technologies and promoting participation, Mozilla has been offered to thousands individuals the possibility to learn and develop technologies and applications in order to enrich their own Internet experience.

Principle 3: Open Technologies

By developing web technologies, Mozilla is committed to maintain the web as it was in the beginning: accessible and open.

Principle 4: Community

Mozilla is a community driven project (as Mitchell Baker said, is an organization of people). Hundred of people are contributing every day to maintain the web open and accessible.

Articulate the principles during 2010 – method

Those principles will be discussed, promoted during the 2010 through the Drumbeat EU blog, events and presentations, discussions list, press etc. We will focus especially on Drumbeat EU blog, where, for every topic will be published articles from different individuals with a deep interest in Internet philosophy (as European Free Software advocates, Internet/technology evangelists, active contributors in various Free Software projects etc.) As described in the calendar, every topic will be disseminated during 3 months.

Identify other organizations and individuals – participants

At Drumbeat EU, more individuals and organizations from Europe will be involved in discussions. In this moment, we are identifying them in order to contact in the following months.

Organizations

• See list.

Individuals

• See list.

Become a Drum-beater

Join us here

Drumbeat Forum

In 2010 will take place Drumbeat Forum, a global event aimed to gather together all Drumbeat community and participants. The EU Drumbeat participants will be invited. During first 5 months of next year, we will try to identify possible topics for discussions.

Mozilla Mission/Manifesto Speaker's guide

Here will be detailed the Speaker's guide, aimed to help people and community members who want to present/speak about these topics at various local events. For each topic will be provided a different speaker's guide. The final objective, after year 2010 is to create a solid guide for presenting/speaking about Mozilla Mission (including Mozilla history and Manifesto).

Timeline and authors

Project timeline:

December -January 2009 – launch the Drumbeat Eu blog with first articles, create eu discussion list, IRC channel, gather more Mozilla community members

January 2009 – start discussions around first topic

February 2009 – FOSDEM track

March 2009 – finish speaker's guide for the first topic

April 2009 – start discussions around second topic

Authors and their role in the project:

William Quiviger

Alina Mierlus

Patrick Finch

Bogomil Shopov add more --