Independent Media Centre
World Social Forum, Nairobi 2007
UPTADE FROM NAIROBI
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This is an invitation to all who wish to participate in this Independent Media Centre, whether by fundraising or providing other support, or by joining us is in Kenya during the WSF, to send an email with your name or group's name to 'imc-africa at lists.indymedia.org'.
We are attempting to raise funds to support independent media activists who want 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 write to the imc-africa list.
Table of Contents
The Convergence Indymedia Centre
This Convergence is a great opportunity to boost indymedia growth in Africa. Organisers in Kenya, throughout Africa and around the world are working together (principally on-line) to run an independent media centre in Nairobi during the World Social Forum in January.
This media centre will provide independent text, audio and video coverage of the World Social Forum, both on-line and on a local low-power radio station.
The IMC will also be the site for training and hands-on media-making [workshops] during the WSF. All the equipment acquired for this IMC will remain in Kenya for use by the Kenya IMC and other Kenyan independent media projects.
This organising effort will consolidate the work of building indymedia across Africa begun at the first alternative/indymedia regional conference (Dakar, March 2004) and the indymedia centre at the polycentric World Social Forum in Bamako (January 2006).
The Independent Media Centre will be open from January 13 to 25. (The WSF itself takes place from January 20-25.)
Calendar of activity
Jan/01-07 meetings with local groups
arrival of activists from outside Kenya
first workshops formal consensus and horizontal organizing
Jan/08-12 shopping for radio station parts and construction of the radio station
Jan/13-25 Convergence IMC open
Jan/20-25 World Social Forum 2007
Jan/25 relocation of transmitter to Kisumu
Location
The WSF convergence media centre will be located in a guesthouse on Whatsit road, a 15-minute drive from the main WSF venue at Wheresit. There is space for workshops and housing for [how many] people and workshops. The guest house also has broadband internet. See here for equipment - desired and secured - at the media centre.
Low power FM radio station
Because of the central role of radio in Africa's media landscape, the core of the WSF Convergence IMC will be a Low Powered FM radio station.
Radio Workshops - Work in progress: these are possible workshops for the radio project. Suggestions and discussion requested for other radio workshops!
Equipment list for Low Power FM radio station
Budget for Radio station - Funds and Expenses - This is still in progress. It has been updated with current expenses only - what has been paid out so far. It does not include future expenses.
Discussion & planning for LPFM (and other things)
See minutes from the 13 december meeting
Other workshops
Activists from around the world will offer diverse workshops, including sessions on formal consensus, screenprinting, creating podcasts and streaming audio on the internet. There will also be a series of discussions on effective indymedia practice in Africa.
Global Listening Nodes
This is a proposal to Syndicate content from different nodes in social centers and other alternative media outlets during the WSF and combine it with content from Nairobi also. A kind of global collaboration on both virtual and physical.
Basically getting more social centres and other spaces to open up during WSF as local nodes around planet for people to go to to firstly listen to stuff live from kenya, but also maybe where they could have 2 way systems: being able to participate in forum without physically being there.
La Quimera in Barcelona confirmed that it would participate. Other groups, physical places and radio stations in Genova (Italy), Dublin, Ireland (Republic of / Eire), Bilbao, Euskal Errehia (Basque country / Spain), Philidelphia (US), Marseilles, (France) have been in contact and expressed wishs to support project.
How collaboration might happen
1 - Terrestrial and web radio stations can tune their stations into the radio streams from Nairobi. Hopefully there will be many streams coming out of Nairobi during the WSF.
2 - Physical spaces outside Nairobi can open for duration of WSF, or part of, with radio speakers playing the audio live from Nairobi, and video stream if it happens. These physical spaces can have information, exhibition, films etc about the social forum project... possibly also computers tuned into IMC-Kenya for the duration of the forum, in the hope that the IMC-Kenya site becomes an active resourse during the wsf and beyond... local forums or discussions can happen in these spaces about some of the issues raised within the WSF or about the nature of the WSF itself, where it is now, where its going etc......
3 - while the WSF is on, perhaps there is possibility of those outside Nairobi at home in their own spaces trying to experiment with the limits of how we can communicate as a global network while WSF is on.
Listening Nodes update
Nairobi, Kenya
a convergence space set up by IMC volunteers, also Africas largest slum Kibera
Barcelona, Catalunya (Spain)
Confirmation of the first :: listening node:: a lovely intimate hacklab/ workshop social centre space whose door opens onto a busy pedestrian barrio of gracia here in barcelona: lLa quimera. So first step finally established (im working out of it now as i type), really nice collective and the barrio has a long tradition of political activity.
Radio will be streamed at r23. The two streams from Nairobi and Dublin will be picked from barcelona and restreamed to r23 already mixed. r23 is a net radio born in barcelona that now is international. Gives the oportunity to give server support for free streaming trhough a stream free servers ring giss. It is also hoped that audio can be on the programation of Barcelona´s best known activist radio channel Radio Bronka (both terrestrial and net radio).
The opening night of the WSF also coincides with the 6th birthday of IMC-barcelona.
Flyer to be distributed in Barcelona and in the imc-barcelona party (made with gimp : free software)
Dublin, Ireland (Republic of / Eire)
Seomra spraoi, the name for the dublin social centre collective, had a temporary space in 2005 which was used as an example of a "global listening node", since then they have moved to a new space and are currently doing work to have a net connection, it is not sure whether this is with or without Indymedia ireland support.
There are computers in this space and it is unsure as to whether workshops are being done on them. revolt video collective are also using the space and possibly contributed the computers and have been putting on screenings, possibly they have given workshops. Revolt helped facilitate the last "global listening node" experiment with equipment, people, tek support and a film was made about this (streaming from the gaff), it is hoped that if the net connection in installed intime that revolt will support again, they have said on a number of occasions they would support. Indymedia ireland were asked for support, unclear still as to what support there is for project. in contact via phone and email with seomra spraoi and revolt.
NEAR FM (north east access radio) have been contacted about tuning their station into some of the streams from kenya, they also broadcast over the net. They also have some shows that might be interested in playing parts from WSF, especially "majority world" which has covered many previous stories. trying to establish contact via phone.
Genova, Italy
CSO Buridda were approached 2 months ago at their assembly about participation, they gave commitment to do what they could do then. They have net connections and computers and are in a position to do so. People not connected with burrida but connected with the kibera support group are in discussions with buridda at present about collaboration. 1 month ago Indymedia Italia shut itself down for reflection time.
Bilbao, Euskal Errehia (Basque country / Spain)
Irratia Irola (irola radio) were approached to see would they braodcast streams, their station is both terrestrial to bilbao and on net. This radio station is part of gestatxa Irala (irala social centre) and they would be able to participate in live shows from the space. in contact via phone and email with the group. No contact with Basque indymedia yet.
Philidelphia node
Radio Volta in Philadelphia has expressed interest in participating in some way, and is connected to a physical space called the LAVA space. They are also connected with the local imc: PhillyIMC
Marseilles, France
IMC-Marseille feature world social Forum in Nairobi and our request for assistance to them. Here is their initital post from the IMC-Kenya site:
"During the wsf 2007 a group of activist in Marseille want to diffuse information and create link with the participants principally by internet. This project want to create a local dynamic in Marseille and participate to the global dynamic in Nairobi. We can diffuse our sound hiphop against capitalism, and diffuse the sound of artist in Nairobi. We search more contact in Nairobi or people who'll go to Nairobi for make informations, images, and radios...and coordinate the workshop and other project.
We centralise information by Indymedia website's...We use the CMI in Marseille"
They are connected to the physical space : Accueil Espace Coopératif - local co-operative space?
International Radio Show
When - Wednesday 24th of January, 8pm european time (7pm GMT, 10pm Kenya)
Topic - Housing
Nodes - Barcelona, Dublin, Narobi
As part of the Indymedia radio support for WSF, We are working on an ambitious but feasible project to support the Global Listening Nodes project: a 3 or more way, 2 hour radio show. We are working with some great people here in Barcelona´s R23.cc network.
Show structure
show length : 2 hours
- part 1 - 15 mins music
- part 2 - 20 mins from each node (1 hour total)
- part 3 - 30 mins for open discussion between node
- part 4 - 15 mins music
Note part 2 - each node will have 3 speakers as a max, each speaker will have 6 mins to outline their story or experience, node facilitator will ensure time is kept. A tek assistant will be in contact with other nodes.
part 3 - possibly questions might come from the audience....(will be back about this)
we will have an IRC channel set up for tek communication between the nodes
sketch of the radio proposal structure
Theme and speakers
Topic - Housing
- 3 invited guests
- Facilitator, to steer the discussion, keep control and ensure time is kept, asks some questions to the guests
- tek person, connected to computer and the IRC channel
- audience, where appropriate
Dublin
Barcelona
Naorobi
- Pastor Nick Macharia to speak on behalf of the Kibera community.
- Someone from 1
- Someone from 2
Show Technical support
Technical support for node
- a person that only is incharge of controling audio on the computer and to be in contact on the irc.indymedia.org #gln_housing.
- one microphone at least and one sound table.
- gnu-linux and icecast installed. if you need any help on that, contact me by email or in the irc.indymedia.org #globallisteningnodes
- betatesting on the computer on sunday (we talk about the time later).
- speakers to reproduce the radio program.
Note The show will go out live and will also be recorded for later editing (any troublesome noise etc ). It will be held in the Netjuke archive, whose thread can be added to with various links to other audio that is relevant to the show.
It is hoped that this experiment will create a new space for global civil society to work in and out of from, both during the WSF and beyond.
Organisers
- the IMC-Africa working group - an Indymedia list composed of African Indymedia activists and supporters from around the world.
- Prometheus Radio Project - 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)
- Faculty members from Maseno University in Kisumu, Kenya who are organising students and community members in Kisumu to operate a low-power FM station and do other media projects after the WSF is over.
Fundraising
Funding for the IMC space and travel for African activists has been secured from the Stiftung Umverteilen. We are still looking for money to pay for the radio and other equipment as well as – crucially – for tickets for activists coming from outside Africa. For details of funding applications, see here.
If you have ideas for sources of funds, please email 'imc-africa at lists.indymedia.org. If you would like to make a donation, please click here
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