"Disputatio" on the Use of Ontologies in Multimedia

Although it figures in the conference program as a panel this session is not quite one. We call this session a disputatio and, since the format might be unfamiliar to many of the participants to the session, we thought it a good idea, before going on to technical matters, to devote a few words to the format that we have envisioned for the session, and on why we thought that it was necessary. The traditional panel format is often guilty—by association, at least—of stifling confrontation and, to the extend that it depends on confrontation, not to foster innovation. The way things often work out, a group of quite distinguished people start to talk, often paying more attention to presenting their own work than at insinuating controversial ideas. The speeches are often delivered in an expository, authoritative style, one that doesn’t quite invite rebuttals and controversy. In the panels in which the authors have participated, either as panelists or as audience, it was rarely the case that a lively debate was ignited on fundamental issues. There have been, of course, spectacular exceptions, and many of us can probably think of one or two memorable panels, in which new, stimulating positions were discussed, and from which new ideas emerged. These, however, tend, in the experience of the authors, to be the exception rather than the rule. Thus, rarely is the audience confronted with minority or impopular positions and, more important, panels do not pro-