University of Southern California

USC Network Culture Project

USC Annenberg School for Communication

USC Center on Public Diplomacy Panel Supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Participate in Interdependence Day, Mexico City

Have a look inside the conference:

Photos & Video:
Flickr: Interdependence Day Photo Album
Live Video of Conference
Gilberto Gil's Web Message
The Draxtor File: Interdependence Day in SL
Projectile Arts: Interdependence Day Video Archive

Statistics and Transcripts:
Event Summary
Event Metrics
Second Life Audeience Chat Transcript

Blogs:
Global Kids' Digital Media Initiative
The Click Heard Round the World
The Second Life Record
Dancing With Myself

Additional links:
Conference Schedule
About CivWorld
About Second Life
MacArthur Foundation
Press Release

Panelist Bios:

Joshua Fouts

Joshua S. Fouts is co-founder and former director of the University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School, a cross-disciplinary research, and training center. He was also director of the "Public Diplomacy in Virtual Worlds" project, for which he was a 2007 recipient of a $550,000 grant from the MacArthur Foundation. He has over 18 years of expertise in new technology innovation, international relations, journalism, and strategic non-profit management and development. He was previously co-founder and director of the USC Annenberg Online Journalism & Communication Center. Before joining USC, Fouts spent half a decade the U.S. Department of State and the Voice of America launching numerous new technology and public diplomacy projects. He is editor of the forthcoming, "Politics and Play" (Peter Lang). He is on the editorial boards of Games and Culture: A Journal of Interactive Media (Sage), and Place Branding (Palgrave Macmillan). Mr. Fouts is a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy, and the Public Diplomacy Council at the George Washington University.

Peter Marx
Former Chief Technology Officer for Vivendi Universal Games

Peter Marx is the Managing Partner for Analog Protocol, Inc., a consultancy which specializes in developing online virtual worlds for MTV Networks and other media companies. As the former Chief Technology Officer for Vivendi-Universal Games and former Vice President of Emerging Technologies at Universal Studios & Vivendi-Universal, Mr. Marx has an extensive background in developing digital technologies and digital consumer entertainment products. Mr. Marx' projects have included many games, including John Madden Football (98, 99), NASCAR, Disney's Daily Blast, Johnny Mnemonic, NCAA College Hoops, and many others. Other notable projects he has contributed to include “I Am Your Child” with Tom Hanks, Quicktime (Apple Computer), and MTV's virtual worlds. He is an Adjunct Professor for the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC School of Cinematic Arts and teaches digital media and entertainment at the graduate level.

Mark Wallace
Virtual Worlds Journalist

Mark Wallace is CEO of Wello Horld, Inc., a Brooklyn startup bringing virtual-world interactions to the Web. An editor of the Second Life Herald, he also runs 3pointD.com, a leading source of news on virtual worlds and the broader metaverse. His freelance journalism has been published in the New York Times, the London Times, Harper's and Wired magazine. With Peter Ludlow, Wallace is co-author of, "The Second Life Herald: The Virtual Tabloid That Witnessed the Dawn of the Metaverse." 

Virtual Panelists:

José Murilo Jr.
Manager of Strategic Information, Ministry of Culture, Brazil

Founder of the 'Ecologia Digital' movement and one of the first bloggers in Brazil, José Murilo Jr. has been working to promote the free and open use of the Internet as an open environment to share knowledge and culture. He has a bachelor's degree in psychology and has spent many years working with computers and the Internet. Since 2004 Mr. Murilo has been the Manager of Strategic Information at the Brazilian Ministry of Culture, working mainly on the implementation of the inspiring vision of Minister of Culture and world-renowned musician, Gilberto Gil. The goal is to bring the new digital activism into the government turning advanced web possibilities into public policy, especially through the integration of the Pontos de Cultura/Cultura Livre [Cultural HotSpots/Free Culture] movement.

Francois Bar
Associate Professor of Communication, Annenberg School for Communication

François Bar is Associate Professor of Communication in the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. He directs the Annenberg Research Network on International Communication . During the 2006-07 academic year, he is a senior fellow at the Annenberg Center for Communication. His research interests include comparative telecommunication policy, as well as economic, strategic and social dimensions of computer networking, new media and the Internet. His research has been published in books of collected studies, in policy reports, and in such journals as Information Technologies and International Development, Telecommunications Policy, The Information Society, Organization Science, Infrastructure Economics and Policy, Communications & Strategies , Réseaux, and the International Journal of Technology Management. He currently serves on the advisory boards of non-profit Compumentor , and start-ups Clickability and Polaris Wireless .

Gilson Schwartz

Academic Director, City of Knowledge, Universidade de São Paulo

An economist, academic and research fellow, Gilson Schwartz directs the City of Knowledge at the Universidade de São Paulo and teaches at the Universidade's School of Communication and Arts. Mr. Schwartz was Chief Economist at the SEADE Foundation, the Data and Statistics Agency for the State of São Paulo under the State Secretary of Planning. For almost ten years, he was a senior consultant to BankBoston on economic, political and international scenarios for clients worldwide. Mr. Schwartz has been a research fellow at Brazil's National Institute for Information Technology, Technology Research Institute of the State of São Paulo, Tokyo's Institute of Developing Economies and the University of California, San Diego. He graduated from the University of Sao Paulo in economics and social sciences and holds a Master's degree and PhD from the University of Campinas.

The panel explored how the interdependence of our world is highlighted ever more dramatically by the role the virtual worlds are providing for social good – especially opportunities to explore new forms democracy, public diplomacy, migration and intercultural dialogue.

(Simulcasted live on Annenberg Island, Second Life)

Panelists included:
Joshua Fouts, Former Director, USC's Center on Public Diplomacy,
Peter Marx, Former Chief Technology Officer for Vivendi Universal Games (USA),
Jose Murilo, Manager of Strategic Information, Ministry of Culture (Brazil),
Mark Wallace, Virtual Worlds Journalist (USA),
Gilson Schwartz, Academic Director, City of Knowledge, Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil),
Francois Bar, Associate Professor, USC Annenberg School for Communication (USA) and
Gilberto Gil, Minister, Department of Culture (Brazil).

View a special video message from Gilberto Gil.