I was recently at Technology for a Small Nation, a conference organised by bloc, exploring the ideas, implications and uses of technology in a small nation context.
First off, I was sitting in a session called “Small Nation Technology”, listening to Michael Cross, a journalist for the Guardian and campaigner for Free Our Data.
Michael made a very interesting point about the knowledge economy and governmental involvement. He asked the room if anyone had heard of Transport Direct, a website for comprehensive travel planning in the UK. No one had. He then revealed that Transport Direct is operated by a consortium, as a non-profit service funded by the UK Department for Transport, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Scottish Executive.
He posited this as problematic, a throwback to the 1950s – governments don’t operate factories anymore, so why do they operate businesses in the knowledge economy? (The funny thing is, as most Canadians know, the Canadian government still operates major businesses, called Crown corporations, which are state-controlled companies.) Despite the lingering presence of Crown corporations in former colonies, Michael’s point was still strong – allow private enterprise to establish themselves in the knowledge industries.
Quotes of the day go to Saul Albert, who notes: “It’s amazing how many wires are involved in wireless technology”, and also, in reference to his lending library project, “You don’t actually have to read the book, you could just talk to someone who has.” It was all very tongue-in-cheek. I only wish he had more time to talk about alternative currencies, particularly the example of the “Lime“, a currency (on par with the Pound Sterling) that was temporarily implemented during the World Summit on Free Information Infrastructures in London.
Later on in the day, issues of nationalism and its impact came up. I was so caught up in the discussion itself, that I have hardly any any notes. However, on my panel, William Housley really made an impact with his discussion of “cultural citizenship”. He described tensions between top down vs. bottom up, and introspective vs. international perspectives on national identity. (I later suggested to him that also expansive vs. fragmented could be another set of polarities.) He mentioned one particular case, of a proposal to hold the Welsh National Eisteddfod (an ancient festival of Welsh culture), in Liverpool, England, rather than in Wales. William outlined the outrage that this roused in some, but also the rationalisation of this by others, since Liverpool has a large Welsh community and is, in fact, very close to Wales. What determines “Welshness”, or in fact, any notion of national identity? In the Q+A afterwards, I brought up my favourite Scottish cultural mash-up, the haggis samosa, which to me is part of the way forward, not just for small nations, but for all nations – to acknowledge the hybridity of their populations. This notion seemed to also perfectly compliment the “Mash-Ups” workshop session run by Francis Irving & Ben Campbell of mySociety. Bring it on – mashed-up content, mashed-up identities.