The emergence of Community Networks (CNs) and DIT (Do-It-Together) minimal computing ecosystems has resulted in technological solutions that enhance community connectivity and digital inclusion. The case is made for the cultural uses of local network infrastructures that combine wireless technology, low-cost hardware, and free/libre/open source software (FLOSS) applications. Based on these features, the toolkit MAZI (“together” in Greek) has been deployed for creating pop-up local wi-fi zones independent from the internet, that enable digital interactions of communities within a low physical proximity coverage range. In this context, the focus is to explore the cultural-technological intersectionality of local community networks and its affordances as useful infrastructures for alternative curatorial practices, humanities research and participative processes.
The applied cases presented here include the use of the toolkit MAZI for:
i. Media exchange, audience communication and voting in a cross-cultural Balkan event
ii. Collaborative commenting and anonymous participation in community-based fieldwork research
iii. Digital exhibition hosting and community-based curation with added content
The above cases are examples of physical proximity community networking platforms that have adjusted and utilized the open-source applications of the MAZI toolkit (NextCloud, Etherpad, LimeSurvey and WordPress) in different cultural settings, mounting the toolkit on a low-sized hardware with minimal computing capabilities (Raspberry Pi).
The objectives of ICT-enabled local networking as a research, curatorial and communication tool within the scope of humanities, digital scholarship and the GLAM sector, can be directed to foster new participatory curatorial forms, the digital documentation of transient -off the internet- community knowledge sharing and inspiring alternative experiences of the locality and commonality.