OneWebDay

For the year that I have served as the Executive Director of OneWebDay, our community has never ceased to amaze me.  You have shown endless dedication, creativity, openness, and humor.   Over the last four years, OneWebDay volunteers have engaged thousands of new participants and built a deeply committed community of open web advocates, from the local to the global level.

I’ve spent most of my time with OneWebDay listening to as many of you as I can reach.  Here’s the number one thing I hear from you: “Our OneWebDay was amazing!  Let’s do more!  What’s next?”

Since OneWebDay 2009, the Board of Directors and I have been working hard to answer that question.  We’ve taken a long look at the organization – its history, impact, and challenges.  We’ve investigated every opportunity and made some tough decisions.  Personally, I wanted to find an answer that lives up to your energy and potential and honors your deep commitment to building an open web that is accessible to everyone.

Today we are announcing some great news and a powerful new opportunity for the OneWebDay community.

Starting today, OneWebDay has joined up with Drumbeat, a new initiative of the Mozilla Foundation that shares all of OneWebDay’s goals and values.

Drumbeat is a global community of people using web technology to understand, participate and take control of their online lives.   Like OneWebDay, it’s about everyday internet users playing a role in keeping the web open through projects and events they imagine and create themselves.  Unlike OneWebDay, though, is it’s going to be happening every single day and with some powerful infrastructure behind it.

OneWebDay was a great start.  It has helped thousands of people and many organizations, including Mozilla, realize that creating the best future for the web requires broad public participation in addition to open technology.  Now we have an opportunity to provide the OneWebDay community with a stronger platform for its energy and ideals.  For their part, leaders at Mozilla are very excited about the diversity and local organizing experience that the OneWebDay community brings to Drumbeat.

One day comes and goes, but a drumbeat goes on, which is why, with this new relationship, OneWebDay will retire its brand and invite all of its people to join forces with Drumbeat’s growing community.   I have joined the Mozilla team with the top priority of making sure our OneWebDay community makes this transition and takes full advantage of Drumbeat’s amazing resources.

Our OneWebDay community brings diversity, great project ideas, and local organizing experience to Drumbeat, and Mozilla wants everyone to join – now!  You can get involved by:

•    Signing up for the Drumbeat community e-mail list to get involved in shaping Drumbeat at this early stage.  To receive Drumbeat updates and newsletters, sign up at www.drumbeat.org. Note that Drumbeat isn’t yet fully launched. You might notice some rough edges, but this is the perfect time to shape it!
•    Joining a project that excites you.  Right off the bat, we recommend joining the WebMadeMovies project, an “open source documentary about the Web, by the Web.”  To start off, they are looking for story idea submissions about the open web, and I know you have great stories.
•    Proposing a new project. Learn more here.
•    Planning a local Drumbeat event.  We’re working on the plan for ongoing events, including an annual Drumbeat Festival in the fall.  If you can come to Toronto (April 23-24) or Berlin (May 7-8), join us for a two-day Drumbeat event organizer training experience.  Some travel expenses may be covered if you contact us soon.  Contact Nathaniel James to learn more.
•    Finally, Mozilla, Creative Commons, and the Wikimedia Foundation are launching the Be Open campaign for the month of June.  We will be making announcements soon on how you can get involved in promoting the Open Web during the campaign!

Next week, we will host two conference calls to talk through the transition, gather your ideas and solicit your advice.  This your chance to talk with me, Mark Surman of Mozilla, and a number of OneWebDay board members.  Please check out call details and sign up to join us on one of the calls.  I’m also happy to set up one-to-one calls with any OneWebDay stakeholder.

We are excited.  Mozilla is excited.  We think you’ll be excited, too.  This partnership is a perfect next step and will help us truly make the OneWebDay vision a reality – 365 days a year!

Thanks for everything you do.  You have been my inspiration and offered me so much support.  Working with Drumbeat, I look forward to working with you to realize a truly universal, open One Web in the months and years to come.

FAQ

We’ve tried to anticipate your most pressing questions.  Feel free to post comments and questions below.

Should I plan to organize an event or project for OneWebDay, September 22, 2010?

OneWebDay is your day.  While no one will stop you from organizing OneWebDay events, we need your active participation in this new phase.

Going forward, there is no central support for any future event or project using the “OneWebDay” brand.  We believe that OneWebDay values can be enacted best by working within the Drumbeat initiative.  We’re here to help you have powerful open web events any day of the year that works for you and your community.  We hope you will join Drumbeat!

Help! I’ve already begun to plan for OneWebDay 2010.  What should I do?

We apologize for any uncertainty or confusion this transition may cause any OneWebDay volunteer, as we value your many contributions to the effort over the years.  Please contact Nathaniel James as soon as possible to receive support and decide your next steps.

What will happen to OneWebDay.org and my.OneWebDay.org (the Ning site)?

We will keep the main site up and running to document OneWebDay’s history and link to the new Drumbeat projects and events.

We will also keep up the Ning site, but we will be changing its name.  Also, we will likely turn on the advertising option so that the site can remain free to use for as long as people need it.  You have built an impressive social network on my.OneWebDay.org.  We hope you can continue to use this resource to share your work, find like-minded people all over the world, and self-organize your own collaborations.  If you would like to join a small administration team for the Ning site, please let us know.

Originally posted by OneWebDay Sydney Organizer, Vicky Pinpin-Feinstein at http://owdtest.ning.com/profiles/blogs/nsw-parliament-passed-a-motion (log in required)

A motion recognizing OneWebDay drafted by the Hon. Penny Sharpe (MLC) was passed by the Upper House on September 23, 2009. Here’s a link to the motion: http://parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LC20090923006.

The full text of the motion is as follows:

1. That this House notes that:

(a) Tuesday 22 September is OneWebDay,

(b) the theme of the 2009 OneWebDay is One Web. For All,

(c) OneWebDay is a global event that will be celebrated in 20 countries and in 50 cities and is a network of organisations, citizens and consumers who are committed to universal and equal access to the Internet,

(d) the most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that in 2007-08, 67 per cent of Australian households had home Internet access and 75 per cent of households had access to a computer, and show that in the last 10 years household use of the Internet had quadrupled from 16 per cent to 67 per cent and access to computers has increased by 31 per cent to 75 per cent,

(e) despite growth in Internet usage, there remains a significant digital divide between those who have regular access to a computer and the Internet and those who do not, in particular, indigenous Australians, people living in remote communities with lower education qualifications or incomes, people with a disability and single parent households, and

(f) as the Internet and digital services become more integrated into everyday economic, social and cultural life, those who are unable to access, understand and use this technology safely and with confidence will be excluded from its many benefits.

2. That this House supports:

(a) initiatives that work to close the digital divide, including access to broadband, access to computers, support for public library and community information hubs, free wifi access points in public places, and education and community initiatives that teach people how to use technology, and

(b) moves to open government processes and make public information more accessible.

On September 22, people worldwide participated in the fourth annual celebration of OneWebDay 2009. Through education and activism, a globally distributed network of activists, educators, entrepreneurs, and creatives coordinated their efforts to deliver a simple message: Everyone, regardless of their socioeconomic status or where they live, should have access to fast, affordable Internet service and to the skills and tools they need to empower their communities and improve their lives through 21st century communications.

Read the full article at Yes! Magazine.