iSummit'08

▷About

Once a year, people from all over the world meet at the "iSummit" conference to discuss the latest developments and issues of Digital Culture. This year's "iSummit 2008" will be held from 29th of July to 1st of August in a Japanese city that keeps its growth as the "Creative City" by truly devoting itself to foster the revolution of the digital contents industry: Sapporo.

Leading thinkers, scholars and artists from the fields of fine art, copyright, IT and economics, etc. will gather at "iSummit 2008" for open discussions and free information sharing concerning Creative Commons and related topics. Those topics will span a wide range, such as art, IT technology, science, education and North-South issue.

At the same time, however, the participants of "iSummit 2008" is not limited to core users of Creative Commons. We would like to invite anybody who has an interest in our ideas to enjoy the concerts andnumerous workshops held at 'iSummit 2008". We desire to let people better understand the activities and ideas of Creative Commons and raise awareness for our cause of Free Culture. In addition, joining our international open community, people will find plenty of opportunity for cultural exchange as well.

As we are now in the process of mapping out the particulars of the iSummit's programme, we welcome you sharing your ideas for the event with us - so that we can mix them into a nice blend for all visitors to enjoy. Soon, we will create a special section on our homepage for your proposal of ideas and suggestions.

We eagerly await all of your thoughts, comments and hopes for the "iSummit 2008".





▷Legal Day

At the 2007 iSummit in Dubrovnik, a separate Creative Commons International (CCi) Legal Day was held on 14 June, to give Creative Commons project leads and teams the opportunity to discuss legal issues and international aspects of the Creative Commons licences. The 2007 agenda included topics such as License Version 3.0, international private law, statistics of CC license uses, and the global growth of Creative Commons, as well as a session about future versioning and strategies. Furthermore, David Uwemedimo, Director of Legal Affairs at CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) joined the conversation about collecting societies. A detailed report of last year’s proceedings can be found here.

At the iSummit 2008 in Saporro, Creative Commons will again invite its international network of project leads and teams to participate in a workshop about the legal and international aspects of the Creative Commons licences. Similar to last year’s CCi Legal Day, this special meeting will be held on 29 July 2008, one day ahead of the actual iSummit events. With the increasing growth of Creative Commons worldwide, a structured discussion about policies, legal issues, and questions about interoperability will prove both necessary and fruitful.

We hope that the CCi Legal Day in Saporro will build upon the initiative begun in Rio de Janeiro and continued in Dubrovnik, and that the event will help set the stage for further detailed collaboration on questions about the international Creative Commons licensing suite.

The agenda will be opened in late February/March 2008 with a call for discussion topics. The CCi team is looking forward to receiving your input and ideas in order to organise a successful and interesting day in Sapporo!





▷Social Events

Very important and serious issues are discussed at the iCommons Summit, from the future of the Internet to the death of email. But we also have a kicking party every year, and the 2008 Summit in Sapporo will be no different. The social aspect of the Summit is a great way for people to get to know each other and build on the friendships and projects that have become the hallmark of the event.

The social programme kicks off with the opening party, which will be held at the famous Okurayama Ski Jump on 29 July. Construction on this ski hill started in the 1930s, and it was used in the 1972 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sapporo. The jump offers a splendid view of the city of Sapporo, and is the ideal place to open the 2008 iSummit.

After a function hosted by the Mayor of Sapporo, all the delegates will have a chance to show off their musical talents at a night of karaoke and dancing at the trendy club called King Mu, on the first night of the Summit. The following evening will be filled with the sounds of local bands and musicians, when delegates attend the very cool concert organised by our friends at Digital Garage.

And, in true iSummit style, we’ll be ending the three-day programme off by celebrating Japan’s rich and vibrant culture, which is one of the reasons it was selected for the iSummit. Sapporo has various places nearby which are fit for excursions – there is the nearby harbour city of Otaru, the Ainu Cultural Center where the history and culture of the Ainu people, who are indigenous to this area of Japan, has been recorded and preserved, and the famous Moerenuma Park, site of some exquisite sculpture and landscaping.





▷The iCommons Summit 2008 is proudly hosted by the City of Sapporo.

"I am very excited that a conference such as [iCommons Summit], an important conference for IT corporations, is being held in Sapporo."

Sapporo is the fifth largest city in Japan and is well known as host of the 1972 Winter Olympics and the annual Sapporo Snow Festival, held in February each year. Shortly before the iSummit, Sapporo will also be involved in hosting the G8 Summit.

Sapporo is the largest city on the island of Hokkaido. Compared to the traditions and history in other parts of Japan, Sapporo is a young, new city. But what Sapporo lacks in traditional Japanese architecture it makes up for in its tree-filled parks and outdoor entertainment in summer and exceptional snowfall, which makes it a skier’s paradise in winter. The city features a variety of venues for musical performances and art exhibitions, as well as famous sites such as the Sapporo Clock Tower. In Sapporo you can savour local specialties such as soup curry, fresh fish, Sapporo sweets and a local variety of blueberries called Haskup, not to mention the famous Sapporo beer.

iCommons is working closely with a team from the city of Sapporo to prepare for the event. The city of Sapporo is part of the municipal government system, so its primary interest is in the public affairs and well being of the city and her citizens. The goals of the city of Sapporo are to increase productivity and vitality in the local community; establish and protect the dignity and integrity of the city's character; and efficiently utilise limited public resources to create a vibrant city and community.

Sapporo is known as ‘the ideas city’, as it is becoming a well-organised base for modern, creative technology-orientated businesses. Thus, it is the perfect setting for the meeting of Internet activists, entrepreneurs and creative professionals who will be attending the iCommons Summit to exchange thoughts and inspiration on how to strengthen the global commons movement.





▷iSummit 2008 Team

＊From iCommons

Heather Ford: Programme, fundraising and sponsorships
Kerryn McKay: Overall logistics, housekeeping, scholarships
Rosanne Hack: Registration, accommodation and travel logistics
Daniela Faris: Summit website, reporters
JC Bukenya: Speakers’ technical assistance
Rebecca Kahn: Press, podcasts, Second Life co-ordination
Hettie Dreyer: Reimbursements
Stephanie Traynor: PR and marketing

＊Creative Commons Japan

Yuko Noguchi, Dominick Chen, Maki Higashikubo, Naoto Ikegai, Yuta Ishiguro, Kou Matsumoto, Takuya Nakadai, Takahiro Saito, Izumi Yoshida : Programme, CCi legal day, Summit website, PR All CCJP　Internｓ (http://119.245.139.200/about/): Miscellaneous support

＊City of Sapporo team

All: Local logistical coordination and support
＊Digital Garage

Fumi Yamazaki:
Jun Kosono
Hiroki Sakurai:
Masanori Sugiura

＊From CCi

Catharina Maracke: CCi legal day, programme and scholarships
Michelle Thorne: CCi legal day participants’ travel and logistics, scholarships

＊Loftwork

Chiaki Hayashi: Creative Direction
Minaoko Arai: Miscellaneous Creative Works
Rieko Kobayashi：PR