Workshop Results: Electronic Storylines "He who by reanimating the Old can gain knowledge of the New, is indeed fit to be called a teacher." (Confucius, Analects 2:11, 500 BC) The Challenge Is it possible to create new myths that affect our understanding of the human-earth relationship, using worldwide networks as tools? Ritual Enchantment on the Web... Myths can explain, justify and illuminate our life on earth. They present value systems, knowledge, feelings and rituals not by means of abstract concepts, but as a narrative portraying events and personages. The narrative may be spoken, acted out or written. Storytelling is a ritual, an enchantment evoked by those magical words: `Once upon a time...'. It takes us beyond time and space into another realm. The interaction of this 'other' realm with our own lives transcends our day-to-day events and activities and is also embodied in them. So can a story help reduce material consumption? The real context of any story is inside us, inside the listener and the teller. A good story told in the right space may resonate with some inner needs and lead people away from imbalance and excess consumption. Myth-making is obviously a deep and wide-ranging process that we don't control. Yet the stories flowing through a good channel might resonate deeply enough to contribute to a new mentality that influences our behaviour. A good space for storytelling should be somehow sacred. It should be entered through an appropriate gateway and exited in a way that promotes reflection. Maybe we can electronically create a ritual setting where stories can live on the Internet... The `Electronic Storylines' group is building a Website, a site for offering and receiving stories. It is designed it as a `sanctified' site with a convivial atmosphere, self-regulating and open for evolution. The storyteller's voice can be used and appropriate sounds and images can be added. As an ongoing process, the Website might stimulate efforts to make the Internet and multimedia authoring more accessible to more people and cultures. This might be a small step to help people connect with each other, with themselves and with the planet, which is our ultimate self. Participants Lily Diaz, Research Student, Media Lab, University for Art and Design, Helsinki, Finland Michael Douglas, Lecturer, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia Josephine Grieve, 4D Programme Manager, Netherlands Design Institute, The Netherlands Ross Harley, Multimedia Artist and Writer, Australia (moderator) Raghunath Joshi, Professor, Indian institute of Technology, India Bas de Leeuw, Head of Consumers Affairs, Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, Directorate-General for Environmental Management, The Netherlands Dorine Mignot, Curator Video and Multimedia, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, The Netherlands Koichi Mori + Stefan Suloway, Production Director, Soft Edge Inc., Japan Monique Mulder, Mattmo, 3D Concept and Design Multimedia Products, The Netherlands Djon Mundane, Curator and Writer of Australian Aboriginal Art, Australia Jogi Panghal, Designer and Writer, New Delhi, India Mark Pesce, Author, Researcher, Performer, Cyberspace theorist, USA Maarten Pieterson, Technical University of Eindhoven, The Netherlands David Rothenburg, Journalist and Editor, USA Alexandra Smith, Producer, Hup! Multimedia, UK Derrick de Kerckhove, Director of the McLuhan Programme, University of Toronto, Canada   MAPPING GLOBAL PROCESSES     URBAN FOOTPRINTS     DESIGNING DESIRES     TRAVELS TO THE EDGE     BEYOND BEING THERE     ELECTRIC STORYLINES     ETERNALLY YOURS     INFO-ECO WORK     VIRTUAL VS REAL COMMUNITIES     INFO-ECO SOCIAL CARE     INFO-ECO EDUCATION     HEALTH AND INEFFICIENCY

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