About the event

Our Networks is a conference about the past, present, and future of building our own network infrastructures. The event brings together enthusiasts, hardware and software hackers, researchers, organizers and more to collectively explore creative and critical engagements with the Internet and alternative infrastructures.

The event has a Code of Conduct in order to foster an environment we can all be in together. During the event if you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, we ask you to contact an organizer immediately. Those who wish to do so but don’t feel comfortable talking to the organizers in-person can email coc@ournetworks.ca.

In previous years we have hosted this event in Tkaronto (Toronto), in territory subject to the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant and the land of the Huron-Wendat and Petun First Nations, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River.

After two years of hosting the conference remotely we will be hosting the event in so-called Vancouver, British Columbia.

We would like to acknowledge the land on which Our Networks will take place. Vancouver is the unceded and ancestral territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) speaking peoples, the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, and has been stewarded by them since time immemorial.

The term unceded acknowledges the dispossession of the land and the inherent rights that Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh hold to the territory. The term serves as a reminder that Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh have never left their territories and will always retain their jurisdiction and relationships with the territory. We are grateful to have the opportunity to gather on this territory.

We credit The City of Vancouver for the language acknowledging the unceded territories.

Organizers

Garry Ing is a designer and researcher. His practice looks at the materiality of the web and expressive uses of technology. He is a sessional faculty member at OCAD University teaching interactive media. Previous work and collaborations has been with the University of Toronto, Normative, Format.com, Pivotal Software, and VMware.

Dawn Walker is a researcher and designer interested in just transitions. Her work explores infrastructures that create lasting alternatives to data stewardship, networks, and organizing structures. She completed her PhD at University of Toronto (2022). Her current research looks at emerging practices of low carbon networking.

Mauve is a tech enthusiast with a passion for decentralization. They use the web and peer to peer protocols like Dat to create local first software to give people more control over their data and to make them less dependant on centralized services. They are active in open source organizing and enjoy reaching out to communities and bridging between them. Their passion project is Local First Cyberspace—a peer to peer augmented reality platform that uses the web.

Graphics & Typography

Logo by Marlo Yarlo.

ASCII drawings adapted from original work by Joan G. Stark (a.k.a. jgs, Spunk) and Adel Faure.

Headings: Hershey-Futural, a typeface designed by Dr. A.V. Hershey in the late 60s. Originally designed to be rendered using vectors on early cathode ray tube displays. SIL Open Font License.

ASCII drawings: jgs, designed by Adel Faure as a tribute to jgs. This font has been specifically designed to draw ASCII art. SIL Open Font License.

Indigenous Languages: BC Sans, a “living” typeface developed to support special characters and syllabics found in Indigenous Languages in British Columbia. More on BC Sans. SIL Open Font License.