What's Free Culture?

Students for Free Culture (SFC) is a diverse, non-partisan group of students and young people who are working to get their peers involved in the technology policy, copyright reform, remix culture, and open access. Launched in April 2004 at Swarthmore College, SFC has helped establish student groups at colleges and universities across the United States. Today, SFC chapters exist at over 30 colleges, from Maine to California, with many more getting started around the world.

Free Culture Conference 2008

While SFC has held small, regional conferences before, this is the first we’ve done on a large scale with a real budget. We’ve raised over $10,000 to help fly out students, activists, and free culture community members for Columbus day weekend to help strengthen and grow our movement. Day 1 is intended to give a thorough introduction to the players and issues in our movement—anyone interested in politics, tech policy, art, and culture will find something to like. Groups like Electronic Frontier Foundation and Creative Commons will be on hand with information on how to get involved in reform efforts. Day 2 is designed to help students learn the key components of activism through workshops and an un-conference setting.

We'll have a slate of fascinating panels—Politics and Transparency, Access to Essential Medicines, Remix Culture, and others—and keynotes by Lawrence Lessig and Mozilla CEO John Lilly. There's a little something for everyone—including an introduction to the Berkeley Art Museum's OpenMuseum initiative presented by digital curator Richard Rinehart. Register today at conference.freeculture.org

This years conference is an experiment. Instead of charging event admission, were asking attendees to pay what they think the value of admission is worth. Whether you give $1 or $100 is up to you. The proceeds will go towards conference expenses and further development of the Free Culture movement.

Want more details? Want to get involved? Check the conference wiki.

Details

Conference—October 11th, 2008
10 AM—7 PM
Chevron Auditorium, International House
2299 Piedmont Ave
Berkeley, CA 94720
Google map

Workshops—October 12th, 2008

Details TBA