[CWN-Summit] SAVE THE DATE: October 4-7, Barcelona

[faith swords]

*SAVE THE DATE!

October 4-7, 2012: International Summit for Community Wireless Networks

Barcelona, Spain

CALL FOR PROPOSALS WILL OPEN APRIL 1.

It is, as ever, my great honor to announce that the annual International
Summit for Community Wireless Networks will take place in Barcelona, Spain
from October 4-7, 2012.

The International Summit for Community Wireless Networks (IS4CWN) convenes
technology experts, policy analysts, university researchers, and
on-the-ground specialists who deploy state-of-the-art community broadband
projects. We will come to Barcelona in October to discuss technology,
policy and organizing issues as well as the practical solutions to
challenges facing community broadband. Participatory meetings and workshops
at IS4CWN help the leaders of community broadband initiatives build and
execute a strategic plan. Participants will bring their skills and stories
and leave ready to expand the deployment of networks and lobby governments
to create policies that expand broadband access, open more unlicensed
spectrum, and break the market power that stifles economic growth and
social opportunity through technology.

The first IS4CWN in 2004 launched what is now called the community
broadband movement. Conversations and collaborations at the 2010
Summit<http://wirelesssummit.org/>in Vienna, Austria gave rise to two
new multi-million dollar initiatives,
the Commotion Wireless
Project<http://oti.newamerica.net/commotion_wireless_0>(also known as
the
Internet-in-a-Suitcase<https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/12/world/12internet.html>”)
and CONFINE <http://confine-project.eu/>. Both partnerships focus on the
development of next-generation community networking technologies. Commotion
and CONFINE have received major grants from the United States and the
European Union, respectively, to convene partners from around the globe.
With its strong focus on social justice and human rights, IS4CWN 2012 will
bring together participants not just from these projects in the US and the
EU but panelists from the developing world who are interested in building
and expanding community wireless networks in their own countries.

IS4CWN 2012 will take place at Universitat Politècnica de
Catalunya<http://www.upc.edu/eng/>(UPC) in Barcelona, a university
with an exceptionally high percentage of
international students. UPC houses  numerous projects funded under the
European Union's Seventh Framework
Program<http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home_en.html>and  Barcelona is
also home to
guifi.net, one of the largest community networks in the world, encompassing
over 23,000 individual nodes.

In 2012, we can catalyze the explosion of community networking
organizations and create shared technology, policy, and public education
goals. The Summit distinguishes itself from other technical and academic
conferences through the cross-discipline and global diversity of its
participants. IS4CWN is a venue for participants to develop a shared vision
and strategic approach to meeting new technology infrastructure needs and
formulating policy reforms and intervention strategies in their own
countries that support community wireless networks. Participants engage in
an ongoing dialogue that encourages a strategic approach to community
wireless network development and spectrum policy reform.

Through years of development, IS4CWN is the foremost gathering of leaders
in the community networking field and promises to shape the future of this
movement. Panelists do not simply present their own work and opinions: they
also facilitate a process that records lessons learned and produces a
comprehensive list of action items for the coming months and years. IS4CWN
is a significant opportunity for thinkers, developers, and stakeholders to
develop and improve collaborations for the success of community wireless
networks.

Nos vemos en Octubre - We look forward to seeing you in October!*
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