1. Local Place & its Co-construction in the Global Network Society Film and Communication Technologies For Inclusive, Locally Grounded Civic Cosmopolitan Projects in a New “Network Locality” Hazel Ashton (SPEaR Linkages & BRCSS)

2. Local place in a globally interdependent world

3. Pressures & Problems on Localities & Inhabitants * Continual bombardment on screens about problems that we can’t seem to control: economic, ecological, violence, social breakdown * Difficulty connecting to create shared narratives to live by

4. Who creates our stories?

5. We need new stories to live by “We are in trouble just now because we do not have a good story. We are in between stories. The old story, the account of how the world came to be and how we fit into it, is no longer effective. Yet we have not learned the new story. Our traditional story of the universe sustained us for a long period of time. It shaped our emotional attitudes, provided us with life purposes, and energised action…” (Thomas Berry 1989 cited in Grassie, 1994)

6. Developmental narrative-based methodology Contextualization by local people around their needs & aspirations Screen-based communicative platform to open up new possibilities Cosmopolitan Transdisciplinary Locality-policy-academia communication tripod (within & between)

7. Creating new local-cosmopolitan stories & projects Qiyun from China Member of local web project Uncovering so see more Local contextualisation so globally street-wise Socially robust policy

8. The story of the unworthy tree Not native Not special Not qualified Not networked No connections No power

9. Then the tree became worthy

10. Co-constructing local place in a globally interdependent world First recognise the affordances & benefits of communication technologies for building shared local agency & local-through-to-global connections So as to create new stories & relevant social action around needs & aspirations So balancing quadruple bottom line – economic, ecological, social and cultural – factors Well-connected “Network Localities” can do anything (well almost )

11. Sometown migrants connect with each other, disconnected from the locality

12. Whilhelm Koff, the café-owner, fearing the worst is disconnected

13. Reacting with ‘ready-to-hand’ tools’

14. Methodology via a disc The screen platform Film (aesthetically engaging & developmental): viewed & discussed together Internet: cumulative, online contributions & interaction by any or all, 24/7 – New accessibility post 1990s Combining miniaturised hardware & digitised software Internet access & use increasingly diffused Newly portable affordable cameras & PC film editing

15. Unprecedented transdisciplinary locality/academia/policy connection On the one hand, local inhabitants’ everyday situations, perceptions, feelings & aspirations conveyed in their own language & expression On the other this becomes available for multiple forms of multi/trans- disciplinary analyses & contributions by academics & policy makers So this compact, portable & shareable disk can now become a “2-sided lifeworld/research coin”

16. Acknowledgements Dare to create! (J. Wall, 2003) For conditions to support creativity: Mother: Frances Ashton (picture slide 3 of Hiroshima) Supervisors: David Thorns & Geoff Fougere SPEaR: Linkages doctoral scholarship BRCSS: Networking, Access Grid, scholarship & possible post doc