University of the Streets Event.
Technology, Culture and Power
Moderator: Kenneth Werbin, Joint PhD in Communications, Concordia
University

May 17
7-9 pm
Presse Cafe
3501 Parc Ave

Guests:
Dr. Leslie Regan Shade, Communication Studies, Concordia University. Focusing on the social, policy, and ethical aspects of information & communication technologies, Dr. Shade is an Associate Professor in Concordia University's Department of Communication Studies. Author and co-author of numerous books and articles, Dr. Shade is also the President of the Canadian Communication Association for 2004-06 and Book Review Editor for the Canadian Journal of Communication. She is a Co-Investigator of CRACIN (Canadian Research Alliance for Community Innovation and Networking, http://www3.fis.utoronto.ca/iprp/cracin/index.htm), whose community partners include Communautique and Île Sans Fil.

Daniel Drouet, Representative from Ile sans Fils. Daniel Drouet, Île Sans Fil, http://www.ilesansfil.org/ Île Sans Fil is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development
of a free communication infrastructure to strengthen local communities in the greater Montreal region. Île Sans Fil is both a technical development project and a grass roots community group, involving professionals and students from diverse fields. The vision of the group is to use new technology, in particular wireless technology, to empower individuals and to foster a sense of community.

Stéphane Couture, Coordonateur, Laboratoire de communication médiatisée par ordinateur (LabCMO), Université du Québec à Montréal, http://cmo.uqam.ca/ The Laboratory of computer-mediated communication (LabCMO) is a research and experimentation group that focuses on interdisciplinary and
socio-technical questions of open source technologies and computer-mediated communication.

Ariane Pelletier, Directrice adjointe, Communautique,
http://www.communautique.qc.ca/ Communautique is a Montreal-based non-profit urban community network founded in 1995 which assists low income and other groups potentially excluded from participation in the information society. It provides Internet access and other ICT services and training throughout the province of Quebec. Communautique has assisted with the installation of over 80 Internet access points in communities such as Quebec City, Hull, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières, Amos, Rimouski, Chicoutimi, Longueuil and four districts of Montreal. Its Internet initiation and new technologies workshops have been attended by over 30,000 people.

Sponsored by ISF.

Series Overview
The University of the Streets Café Series on Technology, Culture and Power focuses on probing the interconnections between these three highly contested terms. How does power operate in and through technology and culture? How do cultural and technological processes and practices cement and loosen powerful social structures? How is cultural dominance and resistance engaged through technological apparatus? Considering our increasingly networked, technologized and global society, this series of cafés will highlight pressing social issues including questions of security and surveillance; digital citizenry; and radical uses of media.