Introduction

CIRCLE symposium 2014 explores how circulation of information might result in knowledge exchange, and how the maximisation of active engagement with the circulated information might trigger appropriate transformations of the initial pieces of information through which new (areas of) knowledge might be accessed or generated. The role of interdisciplinary research encounters is very important in this process.

CIRCLE symposium 2014 is a three stage ‘playful’ event, which unfolds during May as a primarily on-line event, through use of multiple platforms and tools. The aim is to find ways to “network the networks”, this meaning to create interactions between CIRCLE members and other researchers who are not in CIRCLE but belong to groups in which CIRCLE members also belong. It is a game involving concepts, processes and online technologies, aiming to create activity with researchers who are ‘networked’ with members of the research group CIRCLE.

The game consists of three stages:

CIRCLE symposium 2014 is a three stage ‘playful’ event –

  • Materials

    Each network offers a piece of material (an idea, a question, a process, an example of something) for a pool of materials for everybody to use.

  • Processes

    Each network selects a piece of material offered by another group and proposes a way to use this material.

  • Making

    Each network, or even individual people, or even new temporary groups select one of these propositions and tries to undertake the proposed process in some way over a period 3 days (26 to 28 of May).

During Stage 3 there will be some live events, such as streamed performances, presentations and discussions, however the main bulk of the activity will be about ‘activating’ the processes which will be proposed during stage 2.

A small team of perhaps 3 persons will oversee these activities, set up a way of capturing them, and create some small interventions, which will be improvised as the process unfolds.

The ultimate aim of this symposium is twofold:

a) to explore how to run a hands-on participatory multi-layered event of this type and what actually happens, how a networking environment facilitates exchange, and how space is understood, used and created as part of this exchange

b) to see whether there are any new ideas relating to the themes explored in the symposium and which emerged through this process and are worth pursuing further in some way through an appropriate research process.