The Open Video Conference is an event about technology. But it’s also about how technology affects the world around us. This event convenes people from all over the web video space. Some attendees are developing essential technologies for video; others are ensuring universal access to high-speed broadband; still others are using video for social change. All are actively building the future of the medium.

It may seem strange to house such a diversity of perspectives under one roof. But open video is just as important for technology companies and entrepreneurs as it is for creators, educators, and human rights activists on the front lines of change.

Since 2009, the participants of the Open Video Conference have been threading a needle through a fairly big story. The first OVC took place at the precise time that images of Iranian election protests were reaching Western eyes through email, blogs, and platforms like YouTube. Today, cameraphone images from Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and elsewhere appear on screens around the world.

We’re still weaving this story. In just three short years, we’ve seen big shifts in network policy, broad transformations in public life, and constant changes in technology. The media is more read/writeable than ever before, but we’re far from the full potential of web video: a day when every person on the planet can express their world through moving images. Video will be most powerful as a medium when it’s as copy-pastable, accessible, and ubiquitous as text.

There’s much work to be done here on technological, legal, and practical fronts. A careful observer will find urgency even in quiet places like libraries—consider that in 2011, the Library of Congress still relies on RealVideo as its primary video technology (if this makes you shake your head, this is definitely the event for you).

This year’s event is designed to be more hands-on than years past. You’ll find few talks and panels. Instead, you’ll be meeting people, making things, and laying plans. There are over 30 working groups scheduled for you to explore and participate. And if you’re inspired at any time this weekend, you’ll find plenty of time and open space to start something big.

As you’re hacking, writing, filming, or meeting future collaborators this weekend, consider some of the emerging issues in web video. How will we retain control and sovereignty over our digital lives, when the devices we carry are increasingly restrictive of the apps and services we can access? How will we protect identity in a world of thorough surveillance and networked facial recognition? What are the new power dynamics in a world where anyone can make and share video?

These are just a few of the threads you’ll find in this expansive story. We hope that your experience at this year’s OVC will be productive, thought-provoking, and fun.

This is the foreword to the OVC 2011 Program written by conference directors Ben Moskowitz and Chris Wong – download a copy of the program here.

This weekend at OVC you’ll have the chance to meet up with plenty of entrepreneurs and startup developers in the video space. One pressing issue facing the future of video startups is the potential threat of the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA).

PIPA is designed to limit sites that are typically used only for infringing upon copyrighted works. However, a diverse array of tech entrepreneurs and human rights groups have critiqued the bill as too vague and thus potentially too far-reaching about what constitutes a site “dedicated to infringing activities.” This could lead to an unfair burden placed on businesses and sites that have many uses aside from “rogue” activity.

Web entrepreneurs are currently gathering signatures for a letter to Congress voicing their concerns. If you represent a video startup and are concerned about PIPA, consider adding your name to the letter.

This is just one of the ongoing debates that make our meeting this weekend so timely. We look forward to hearing our diverse group of participants weigh in on issues like these at OVC 2011.

We’re pleased to announce that Flumotion, a supporter of this year’s OVC, will be streaming the Open Video Conference. Our six keynotes will be streamed live via Flumotion’s Online Video and Radio Publishing Platform on open formats, with fallback to Flash, Windows Media, and Silverlight. The streams will also be available on iPhone, iPad, Android, and Windows Phone 7 devices. All these streams will be available on the front page of the OVC site as well as on Flumotion’s site.

We’re happy to have Flumotion among our supporters. As active supporter and early adopter of open technologies, the new Flumotion platform enables the creation of HTML5 video players or live as well as on demand streaming. “The annual Online Video Conference is the perfect occasion to showcase our new HTML5 developments as well as our continued support of open technologies”, explains OVC conference speaker and Flumotion Co-founder Thomas Vander Stichele.

The OVC starts this Saturday at 9:30 AM with a keynote from Jillian York. This keynote will be streamed by Flumotion along with the following OVC events:

Jonathan McIntosh of Rebellious Pixels (Saturday, 10:00)
Cindy Gallop: Make Love, Not Porn (Saturday, 5:45)
Keynote: Gigi Sohn (Sunday, 10:30)
Brewster Kahle and Tracey Jacquith present the 9/11 Archive at Archive.org (Sunday, 11:00)
Keynote: Marvin Ammori (Sunday, 5:00)<

We’d like to thank Flumotion for their support and for offering these streams for those that can’t make it out to the event. Be sure to use the hashtag #ovc11 to join in on the discussion on Twitter.