David Millar

Began my online experience as a university prof teaching history and research methods.

Now I manage several blogs, and work as a volunteer for non-profit organizations Quaker Earthcare Witness (creating an international threaded online forum),Quaker Institute for the Future's Moral Economy Project, InnovativeCommunities.org, Ile sans Fil, Edupax, Forum Ouvert, ROJeP, the magazine Vents Croisés.
See my homepage for details and links: http://fdmillar.googlepages.com/home

This SCoPE seminar may help me choose the best platform for the QEW forum, and how best to link it with a number of other networks, including

* young Quakers in various countries could interview older members of their meetings who have difficulty with the internet, and make these interviews available as text, podcast mp3, or streaming video. This would mean that the lived experience and testimonies of older Friends worldwide could be heard. For examples of such testimonies see http://www.updatesonkenya.blogspot.com/ (Kenya Quakers) and http://globalvoicesonline.org/ (non-Quakers from many countries)
* Paul Hawken's WiserEarth.org shows how threads can be used for discussion of environmental topics http://www.wiserearth.org/aof/browse and
the Moral Economy Project http://www.wiserearth.org/group/moraleconomy. YF are welcome to join in the the discussions leading up to the May 2009 launch of the book Right Relationship. See the description of the Moral Economy Project in a previous posting to Facebook Quakers. WiserEarth also allows you to find and talk to other NGOs with similar aims. See Hawken's book Blessed Unrest.
* A Quaker youth site has already been set up that can be used for discussing international action on environmental issues. A free signup will get you access. http://groups.takingitglobal/TMEE The advantage of Taking IT Global is that it allows you to link to other youth groups (online, or face-to-face in your region) with similar aims.
* Robert Howell of New Zealand, with the blessing of FWCC, is setting up an international group of senior Quakers to develop strategies based on the August 2007 Earthcare minute of FWCC Triennial. We will be announcing more news shortly.
* Conservative Friend Marshall Massey's http://journal.earthwitness.org/ has stories of his own walk for earth, and contributions from Evangelical Friends
* Rolene Walker's http://www.walkwithearth.org/ is a blog with comments by Latin American Friends, as she walks from San Diego CA to Tierra del Fuego
* Julia Ryberg of Sweden YM and Woodbrooke are developing an online "Quakerism 101" course in many languages. They are currently training facilitators. Eventually this may link Pendle Hill and other groups. We will make further announcements.
* the Lutheran Archbishop of Sweden has called an interfaith conference 28-29 Nov 2008 to support a UN post-Kyoto action framework, and in the Uppsala manifesto put worldwide pressure on reactionary rich countries, leading up to COP-17 at Copenhagen 2009. See http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/default.aspx?id=100243&did=102286 and further updates which will be posted here.
* Friedrich Huth and the Peace Committee of Germany YM has proposed a virtual conference for Friends worldwide on the meaning of the peace testimony, to start on the 350th anniversary in 2009
* The Ottawa Valley regional gathering of Canadian YM has created a "Building a Culture of Peace" wiki at http://cympeace.wikidot.com -- you are invited to read and contribute. You will find peace and environment minutes there from NZ. Australia, FWCC, and Keith Helmuth's "Revisioning the Peace Testimony".
* other peace materials will be shared by France YM, le Mouvement pour une Alternative Non-Violent (MAN) and Canadian Centres for Teaching Peace http://www.peace-education.ca/core.php which held a national conference in October 24-26, 2008
See also
http://www.cultivatingpeace.ca/pematerials/online.html
* the trilingual blog Towards a Moral Economy http://mecteam.blogspot.com has contributions from Friends around the world on environment, peace and social justice issues. You are invited to read and contribute.
In the long run, we hope the proposed online discussion forum will provide link to all these Quaker sources, so if you are interested in a particular concern you will find a wide range of resources and Friends voices. Do any YF or YAF wish to volunteer as technical support or moderators for particular topics?

This retrospective/prospective seems a good idea. I will participate as much as possible while travelling. I am currently trying to set up a worldwide environmental information exchange.

Hi Nellie, got your email. I've been in Quaker meetings in Alberta and France recently, often with little access to the internet. In another 3 days I'll be in another conference in Paris. See my remarks in COO9. I look forward to more sustained contact with you after Sep 8 when I return to Montreal.

David Millar -- I volunteer with two NGOs, the Moral Economy Project and InnovativeCommunities. The first is an international Quaker book and research team urging a paradigm shift in economic thought & activity, the second started by housing the homeless in Victoria BC and after setting up a low-cost "virtual office" for admin, attracted a number of international aid projects. Though these NGOs have larger goals, my personal hope is to set up web-based international forums exchanging info on mini-projects that have united local communities, around permaculture, food, housing, health, transport, environmental issues. Several other organizations are interested in this approach.

Though my interest is not the main focus of this SCOPE seminar on PD collaboration, it raises similar questions.

I would be grateful for any suggestions about possible Web 2.0 platforms for such purposes, or a comparison of platforms. Almost all of you will have experience with different forums. Do tell me what works best for you, what does not work.

Nellie Deutsch is being modest - her blendedlear.ning.com forum was discussing this topic earlier this year. Some posts are still appearing there.