Summer of Content

Summer of Content What do software developers have to teach creators of other content? What do other content creators have to teach developers? What are the traditions that should be honored here, in the way that the FOSS and free licensing communities honor the idea of common spaces where creativity is shared, inspired, and grown? -Karsten Wade, paraphrased

Introduction

We believe that this is a powerful idea: that everyone is a creator, and that creativity and understanding improve when they are shared. Open source software is part of this; open content is another.

The Summer of Content program (SoCon) is a way for us to turn this belief into action. We are focusing on summers in the southern hemisphere as much as in the north; on local creation in developing nations; and on providing an outlet for creators devoting energy to freely licensed content and for organizations that want to support this creation.

SoCon sessions

• We are currently running a Northern Summer of Content 2007 session from August 10 to September 24. This page also has more general information applicable to all SoCon sessions in general. (discuss)
• We are also planning a Southern Summer of Content, with projects running from December 2007 to February 2008. (discuss)

What is SoCon?

From the Summer of Content 2007 main page:

See the original proposal on Wikieducator and some first ideas about the first round at Summer of Content 2007/Archive, and add your own thoughts to the mix.

Why is this important?

From the Summer of Content 2007 main page:

We're lowering the barriers to participation in free culture and open content development, making it easier for everyone - including demographics that have traditionally been underrepresented in the open content world, such as non-technical people or residents of developing countries - to participate. We're not just building content, we're building an entire ecosystem - a community of content. This item on the Summer of content FAQ has a more detailed explanation.