about   projects   papers   events   contact Convivium platform Related project: EUCOMMEET See also: documentation | projects | technology In the context of the EuComMeet project (2021-2024) NetHood developed with support from CICRCE an online deliberation platform integrating the well known F\LOSS platforms meet.jit.si and NextCloud and adding a variety of features like automatic moderation and translation modules. The resulting platform proved to be very successful and was given the name Convivium, in order to be further developed beyond the end of the EUCOMMEET project. In short, Convivium is a collection of software tools that: can be hosted in any data centre (e.g., GARR) or web hosting environment according to the real needs adhere to the EU legislation regarding privacy (GDPR) are continuously tested and updated by a huge community of developers offer a very high level of customization and design options, creating a collective learning environment for software developers, facilitators, and politicians. allow for easy integration with different implementations of the automatic moderation and translation functionality Key features of the Convivium platform include: Integration of the Nextcloud https://github.com/nextcloud/ and Jitsi https://github.com/jitsi namespaces Improvement of the Jitsi interface to facilitate deliberations, by visualizing the speaking time of all users both in each turn and in total. See code. Easy access to all shared files (eg. briefing materials) and chat history even after the call is ended. Asynchronous deliberations sessions (forum) is by design intertwined with synchronous deliberation sessions (videochat) A control room functionality were logs are sent about ongoing conversations, including the logs from abuse button, near every participant name, to signal inappropriate behaviour. A multiple-translation interface for the chatroom. Agendabot, a chatbot programmable by moderators to implement automatic/supervised moderation with three contemporary possible routines (three different files of instructions), according to three levels of deliberation: local, national, international. See code. If you want to use Convivium for the next deliberation process organized by your municipality, NGO, or other organization, here is a quick checklist: Hosting: Remember that Convivium is a platform that you own, which comes with responsibilities and certain costs, the most obvious one being the server where it will be hosted. This could be already there, and make sure you ask your organization. Did you know that GARR can host such services for public institutions tied to research, in Italy? Other NRENs (European National Research and Education Networks) could do the same in your EU country, see GÉANT, the collaboration of NRENs at https://geant.org . Otherwise, you will need to buy a virtual server whose cost is constantly decreasing. And if you don’t have already someone that knows how to do this, you would need some technical support for the installation and maintenance. Medium skills are required and maybe you can find a local expert? Still, as both Nextcloud and Jitsi are well-known services, you can find different commercial offers to be tailored on your needs. Specialized functionality: The automatic moderation tool needs to be adapted to the specific needs of your deliberation process. It was built as a prototype for the EUCOMMEET experiments and it doesn’t fit any context. The automatic translation is more straightforward as a service, but more expensive to run. Indeed the EUCOMMEET translation servers have been already suspended – but as we generalised the translation proxy tool, it can be bridged onto different services. Also, there are many alternatives (ranging from established ones like Google and Deepl to FLOSS solutions), whose plus and minuses need to be evaluated. Maintenance: FLOSS platforms need maintenance and care, but the outcome is rewarding, like when one chooses to create their own vegetable garden. Being hosted locally, platforms like Convivium allow the engagement of local experts whose role in the process can be beyond the purely technical work needed. NetHood can help you find a local team, or even commercial solutions within a list of recommended hosting-services and partners in our network (communities, coders, training, etc.), to support you through the whole process, depending on the budget you have, the scale of your needs, the type of project you’re running or you want to start. Live demo: https://cloud.nethood.org Further reading: Detailed documentation for users, facilitators, and developers Why F\LOSS?