Simona Levi
Main focus: Activist, art, tecnopolitics
Twitter handle: @X_net_
Website/blog: https://xnet-x.net/en/
Languages: Italian, Spanish, English, French
City: Barcelona
Country: Spain
Topics: citizen leaks, technopolitics, corruption, democracy, internet, free culture, copyright & trademark law, social movements
Theater director, multidisciplinary artist and activist.
Simona is an activist in European social movements dealing with free circulation of knowledge, culture and information, the Internet defence and the fight against corruption and has actively taken part in movements for the right to housing and the use of public spaces. In the last few years she has focused on the topics of free culture, digital democracy and the strategic use of digital tools for organization, communication and collective action and democratic renovation. She organizes platforms to uncover corruption and political responsibility in economic injustices in Spain and Europe.
Active participant in the Spanish 15M (Indignados) movement in Barcelona, she is co-author of several books, among them “Technopolitics, Internet and R-evolutions” – About the centrality of digital networks in #15Mand has also coordinated “Free digital culture – Basic notions to defend what belongs to everyone”, both published in 2012 by Icaria.
Founder of XNET; a group of activists working since 2008 in fields related to: online democracy (participation mechanisms and citizen control of power and institutions); the advocacy of a neutral and free Internet; the free circulation of culture, knowledge and information and the defence of citizen journalism for the right to know, inform and be informed; the technical, communications and legal fight against corruption; and technopolitics, understood as the practice of networking and taking action for empowerment, justice and social transformation.
Originally, this project was born in 2008 in Barcelona under the name EXGAE, focusing on free culture and the defence of citizens against abuses from copyright monopolies; work which continues to this day, getting actively involved in analysing and struggling against secret free trade negotiations, and defending the use of the Internet as a tool to improve the quality of democracy and against civil rights cutbacks from the powers that be and the enemy governments of the Internet in a Post-Snowden world.
Programmatic documents:
- Working Notes for a r-Evolution (2011) by Simona Levi - Our historic and strategic contribution to 15M’s construction along with thousands of other people. http://conservas.tk/english/working-notes-for-a-revolution/
- Notes for a r-Evolution 2 (version 2.0): Stage two: Vices vs. New Tactical Virtues (2012) by Simona Levi - 15M as a validation of the innovations we propose. http://conservas.tk/english/tactics/
Examples of previous talks / appearances:
The FCForum is an international space for the development of proposals coming from civil society, focusing on culture and philosophy adapted to the digital and sharing age as well as on the use of the Internet as a tool for justice and democracy. It brings together organisations and experts from the fields of culture, free knowledge and the Internet to create an overall strategic framework and an international coordination structure. This year’s edition held meetings open to the public to learn about the Snowden scenario and workshops to learn skills and tools.
Simona's intervention on Transparency & Privacy: citizen tools vs political parties' propaganda.
About the Spanish 15M/Indigandos social movement and new political proposals.
The networked society against corruption systems.
Online networked organisation to win (on or off the Internet)