World Social Forum 2007, Nairobi-Kenya. Indymedia and social centres - widening the discussion

international | arts and media | news report

Tuesday September 12, 2006 17:54

by dunk

fuspey at yahoo dot co dot uk

Genova

Early next year the World Social Forum will happen in Nairobi-Kenya and a call out has gone out for indymedia support for the project. Along with the setting up of a "convergence-based" IMC for the event, some activists are organising to try to set up listening stations in social centres around Europe whereby more people can at least listen to things as they happen from Kenya. But experiments in participating in the WSF without physically being there are also being explored in an attempt to push the boundaries of how this world works today.

Communication is the key to a better world

The call out has gone out for indymedia support for the WSF 2007 project to:
"set up a "convergence-based" IMC that will provide text-based, audio, and (potentially) video coverage of the World Social Forum, both on-line and through a local low-power radio station, enabling independent media coverage of the WSF during the forum itself as well as access through the world wide web to the WSF by an international audience. The IMC plans to be open from January 13 to January 25. The WSF itself takes place from January 20-25. "

With the creation of a strong radio network coalition for the WSF it is possible for a wider section of global civil society to tune in and listen live to the large amount of discussions, seminars and workshops as they happen in Kenya, as successfully happened during the G8 in Scotland 2005 with the radical radio coalition. ( http://www.g8radio.net/ ) But things can be taken to the next level, whereby those listening could participate in the Kenyan based discussions without physically being there. This would be possible by a network of social centres and/or local community centres around the planet organising to open up for the duration of the WSF and to have the tek stuff sorted so that people could use them as local nodes to call into to firstly listen to the different discussions live in real time from Kenya (ie - issues of Debt and the WTO, global resistance to all wars, access to the land and building sustainable communities, the use of direct action as a tool for change) but hopefully also to be able to participate in those discussions via the streaming technology that is available to us at present but that we are not availing of to the maximum; P2P streaming systems, skype, webcams.... A system of experimentation and simple trial and error could be used to tease out problems and make for improved efficiency.

Presently some people are working to understand further and to strenghten the European social centre and autonomous community network with the idea of trying to develop this idea of support nodal points for the upcoming WSF, this is still being worked on at:
Cities, radical urbanism, sqatting, social centres (http://radio.indymedia.org/news/2006/09/11489.php ) and a recent discussion happened at the Infospai social centre, Gracia, Barcelona which explored this idea (listen to audio file: http://radio.indymedia.org/uploads/imgp3744.wav )

Examples of this type of streaming communication system are last years streaming of the "future of digitial media" forum in Dublin last year ( http://easa.antville.org/stories/1246475/ )
and this weekends planned streaming of the Northwest Community Radio Summit in Seattle. ( http://reclaimthemedia.org/communityradio/nwcrn )

While the still reletively new process of social forum has the potential to radically change the world, it already has it faults as was documented by one of imc-ie at the Social Fora in London 2004 ( http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=67091 and http://www.indymedia.ie/article/66514 )

here are the call outs for the following:

1- Indymedia Center at the World Social Forum(January 20-25, 2007 in Nairobi-Kenya)

2- Northwest Community Radio Summit, Seattle Sept 15-17 2006 (streamed event this saturday)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

1- Indymedia Center at the World Social Forum(January 2007 in Nairobi-Kenya)

CALL: Indymedia Center at the World Social Forum(January 2007 in Nairobi-Kenya)

Independent media activists from Africa and around the world are inviting YOU to participate in an independent media center (IMC) during the upcoming World Social Forum(WSF) in late January, 2007, in Nairobi, Kenya. This "convergence-based" IMC will provide an example of effective independent media center and empower WSF attendees from around the world, especially those in Africa, to start or enhance their own local IMCs.

VISION:
Organizers in Kenya, throughout Africa and around the world will work together, both on-line and in face-to-face meetings, to build a temporary independent media center in Nairobi, Kenya, to provide communication during the January '07 World Social Forum. This "convergence-based" IMC will provide text-based, audio, and (potentially) video coverage of the World Social Forum, both on-line and through a local low-power radio station, enabling independent media coverage of the WSF during the forum itself as well as access through the world wide web to the WSF by an international audience. The IMC will also be a hub for trainings and hands-on media-making workshops throughout the World Social Forum. Thousands of organizers will be coming to the World Social Forum from around the globe, especially from Africa; this IMC will empower activists (especially those in Africa) to create effective independent media institutions in their countries. Also, all the equipment purchased for this IMC will remain in Kenya for useby the Kenya IMC and other Kenyan independent media projects. The IMC plans to be open from January 13 to January 25. The WSF itself takes place from January 20-25.

KEY ORGANIZERS/SUPPORTERS:

-- the Kenya-IMC, still pending approval as a formal part of the Indymedia network, has been in existence since 2004, after sending two representatives to the African Indymedia conference in Dakar, Senegal.

-- the IMC-Africa working group, an Indymedia list composed of African Indymedia activists and supporters from around the world.
(http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-africa/)

-- Prometheus Radio Project (http://www.prometheusradio.org), an organization that supports and builds low-power-radio stations around the world, and will provide technical advice and assistance for the low power radio station that will be operated from the ?Convergence IMC Center? to be built in Nairobi for the duration of the WSF (with equipment to remain in Kenya for use by future low power radio initiatives)

--Some students and faculty members from Maseno University in Kenya , who will participate in ongoing independent media projects after the WSF is over.

INVITATION-
This is an invitation for ALL who wish to participate in this IMC, whether by coming to Kenya, for the WSF, fundraising or providing any other support from abroad to express your interest by sending an email with their name or group?s name to 'imc-africa@lists.indymedia.org'.

We will be attempting to raise travel funds for independent media activists who wish to come to Kenya to participate in the IMC. Preference will be given to activists from Africa, but we encourage all who are interested
in coming to let the imc-africa list know **as soon as possible**. We would like to effectively come up with a budget by OCTOBER 1. 2006. Don't hesitate to send any ideas you may have for the Nairobi IMC to the IMC-Africa list. We'll see you in Nairobi!"

wiki:
http://wiki.radiolivre.org/Main/WorldSocialForum2007

General WSF:
http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/main.php?id_menu=1...age=4
Nairobi WSF site:
http://wsf2007.org/frontpage/view?set_language=en

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

2- Northwest Community Radio Summit, Seattle Sept 15-17 2006 (streamed event on saturday)

www.reclaimthemedia.org
A pdf schedule is here:
www.reclaimthemedia.org/files/nwcrn-workshopgrid.pdf

via email:

Hello fellow radioheads!

Live webcast, Saturday, September 16th, 2006 from 6-9pm (PST)

Line-up (Times are approximate between 7 and 9pm)
6pm – Community Radio sound collage
7pm – PCUN, the newest LPFM talks about their station and Pete Tridish
of the Prometheus Radio Project talks about the Barn Raising that they
held with them in Woodburn Oregon this summer
7:30pm – Karen Toering of Reclaim the Media presents on the work that
they are doing
7:35pm – KYRS speaks about their Community Radio station
7:40pm – David Goodman Speaks
7:45-9pm – Amy Goodman speaks about her new book, “Static”, written
with
her brother, David Goodman .

This live webcast from Town Hall in Seattle Washington is part of the
Northwest Community Radio Network Summit. Please support this effort by
re-broadcasting this event and linking to the network website
.

Streams will be available to connect to starting at 5pm (music until
6pm
PST):
16kbps mp3 - http://radio.indymedia.org:8000/event.mp3
64kbps mp3 - http://radio.indymedia.org:8000/event_hi.mp3
Ogg Vorbis - http://radio.indymedia.org:8000/event.ogg

Please let us know if you are re-broadcasting and we will mention you
in
the on stage introductions.

Full Spanish translations will be made available after the event.

For more information, contact amoshaun@spamcop.net