This is a copy of an email I have been sending around Australian
Universities calling for Australian academics to respond to globalisation
by posting an article on the Internet.
Dear Colleagues,
As you may know, there is a large civic demonstration planned for Crown
Casino in Melbourne on September 11 (S11).
The movement's plan is to disrupt the World Economic Forum (WEF), a
meeting of some of the world's most powerful business leaders (that
include MicroSoft's Bill Gates). This may be the start of a large
anti-globalisation movement that has gained momentum in North-America and
Europe.
There is much indication that the movement is being organised via the
Internet through web pages and discussion lists. The weekend's newspapers
had numerous articles about the use of the Internet, and there are a
number of other journalists who have indicated that they are writing
articles about the political use of this medium. The protesters have
targeted the WEF because it is perceived as one of the unaccountable
bodies with a strangle hold over our present period of globalisation.
The problem that many individuals see, is that there is little
intellectual and historical contribution to the understanding of
globalisation for both the movement and the broader press. I urge you as
informed citizens to make timely contributions to the discourse on
globalisation via the Internet page that I have set up at:
The contributions can be in any form and of any length and of
any standard, and the content will not be edited. You do not by any means
have to indicate that you support the movement, this is simply and
exercise in the greater understanding of globalisation. There is every
indication that members of the press and the broader public will read you
contributions and your ideas will help prevent misinformation filling
what could become an intellectual void.