The iCommons Summit ‘07 was co-hosted by the Multimedia Institute (MI2) in Croatia, one of the most exciting communities in the iCommons network and a source of inspiration for Creative Commons country projects around the world.

The MI2’s activities range from informal education and training in technology and digital media, free software development, archiving and publishing of digital and print media, cultural management and content curation, and policy and advocacy work.

The MI2 is situated at the centre of Zagreb, in the heart of the city’s cultural hub, to provide services and support to the vibrant cultural and technology communities in the area, and beyond. The goal of the Multimedia Institute is to promote and educate the public on media culture, socially inflected approaches to new technologies and the newest developments in social theory.

Tomislav Medak, project lead of ccCroatia and staff member at the Multimedia Institute was excited about MI2’s involvement in the Summit 07: “We’re honored to have been able to contribute directly to making the Summit ‘07 happen. It was exciting to continue the debates from last year and strengthen the bonds between our commons communities in the face of the wonderful advances we’re seeing in the collaborative production of culture and knowledge, and the promises it holds for more equal global development. And where better to do it than in a town where the flag sports only one word, ‘Libertas’!”

The Venues
This year’s iCommons Summit took place in the city of Dubrovnik on the coast of Croatia. The city’s age-old motto ‘Libertas’ is still a source of pride, and just one of the reasons why we were so thrilled with the invitation to host freedom-lovers around the world when they attended the iCommons Summit 2007.

The bulk of the Summit events took place in two of Dubrovnik’s most important historical buildings. The first was a fortress called Revelin which was built in the 16th century to protect the eastern entrance to the city and the port.

Just a few minutes walk from the fort is the second venue for the Summit: the city’s quarantine, called Lazareti.

Now a vibrant centre for local culture and art, the quarantine was originally built in 1377 as a stopover for sailors disembarking in the city. The Lazareti Art Workshop now supports and hosts cultural events, and is especially devoted to empowering the youth through the support of their productions and initiatives. Lazareti offered us conference facilities during the daytime and a concerting and chill-out venue in the evening.

In this setting, inspiration was certainly not lacking for creative ideas and even better commons collaborations!