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Later this month an extraordinary evening will be hosted at the Waag Society by Rob van Kranenburg. While you might know him from his recent publication The Internet of Things (which covers the society of control and hacktivistic approaches), I’ve come to meet him a couple of times during discussion groups organized by a fellow student, Ramses Petronia. In these multidisciplinary discussions groups, topics like distributed, open networks, and appropriate democracies for the digital age have been covered a lot, and were overall quite exciting. (Let me know if you’d like to join these discussions sometime).

With this upcoming event, an international panel will discuss the micro-politics that emerged in the Pakistani city, Karachi, where organisation and intellectual property are constantly reinvented by local parties. Geert Lovink will also join the discussion by elaborating on his notion of ‘organized networks’ as a political structure.

Here’s some more information on the event coming from the mailing-list:

Rumana Husain, author of Karachiwala will launch her book in the Netherlands
Mukhtar Husain, author of ‘100+1 Pakistani Architects and their Own Houses‘
Atteqa Malik, from Mauj Collective Karachi skyping in
Geert Lovink, from Institute of Network Cultures on Organized Networks

(Rumana Husain) Karachiwala describes the diversity and change within Karachi, as a microcosm not only of Pakistan but of the entire south Asian region. A Subcontinent within a City : “I have always been curious about different peoples: who they are, where they come from, the languages they speak, the clothes they wear, the food they eat, what their beliefs are, the varied customs and traditions they observe, and what they do for a living.

This book is a study of — and a tribute to — that diverse mix of people who inhabit Karachi.”

A noted architect and interior designer, Mukhtar Husain did something unusual cataloguing and presenting the houses architects have designed for their own living. The pictorial volume shows the personality, design philosophy and lifestyle of each architect.

(Atteqa Malik) Mauj Collective for Open Technology, Art & Culture. Mauj Collective is conducting a study on e-Culture and New Media practices in Pakistan. It covers the arts, social development, business and nonprofits.

Geert Lovink will discuss ‘Organized Networks‘. The celebration of network cultures as open, decentralized, and horizontal all too easily forgets the political dimensions of labour and life in informational times. Why have radical social-technical networks so often collapsed after the party? What are the key resources common to critical network cultures?

Host: Rob van Kranenburg
This evening is made possible by the Prince Claus Fund and Waag Society.

See you the 24th.