[AktiviX] esf and imc-uk

[mp]

hi all,

an interesting perspective from an indymedia list.............

it is about Indymedia involvement and ideas for an Independent Media Centre
(IMC) during the European Social Forum....

...................... another aktivix?

;)

----- Original Message -----
From: "yossarian" <yossarian1936 at speedymail.org>
To: <Imc-uk-process at lists.indymedia.org>
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2003 10:18 PM
Subject: [Imc-uk-process] esf and imc-uk


the suggestion that we do both the corporate media
> center and the imc media center could have a lot of benefits for us and
> others, while exposing us to very little risk of recuperation, if it was
> approached correctly.    We could use recycled computers as terminals,
> bringing us into contact with people who are doing computer-recycling
> projects in the UK and in Europe.  We could use Free Software, and try to
> use that approach to build bridges with radical geek organizations, who
> share some of our concerns about communications rights.  This would
> expose the mainstream media to Free Software, strengthening that movement
> and providing an awareness to hundreds of journalists that voluntary
> organizations like the Debian project have built an operating system that
> is a real alternative / threat to the corporate OS's.  The proximity of
> an active independent media centre would also have a positive effect on
> corporate media coverage, as they start to realize that we exist, that
> people are participating in our vision of the media, and that many people
> are listening to us all over the world.  It is even possible that some
> otherwise worthless, cynical, alcoholic sell-out of a corporate
> journalist might temporarily recover some glimmer of youthful optimism
> and write something good.
>
> To avoid being used, we could set up the media centres as paid
> professionals, but pitch it to the main ESF structure that we could do it
> better, cheaper, and in a political manner that is much more consonant
> with the stated goals of the Social Forum process than any other
> organization.  A pitch like this would give the "democratise-the-esf"
> crew a political issue to bite into, one they could win on its merits,
> thus advancing the anti-authoritarian agenda more generally.
>
> I am not saying we should or shouldn't do this, I am simply speculating
> about the worth of taking on specific projects.  There are probably other
> things we could do, this is just one.  I think that in the above example
> there is very little room for us to be "used", "recuperated", etc., in
> fact I think that the reverse is probably more the case.  I also think
> that the support of much of the membership of the authoritarian leftist
> parties is actually quite soft, and that many of the more intelligent /
> well-meaning people among them are wide open to our ideas (if presented
> well).  In fact, I think that people who worry about us being recuperated
> by the Leninists and NGOs may be looking at this issue from only one
> side:  perhaps we should also think about how WE can recuperate THEM to
> our ideas (here I am talking not of the leadership or the paper-selling
> robots, but of the many members of the rank-and-file of these
> organizations who simply don't know that there are alternatives).
>
> That's enough for now, still thinking about all of this,
>
> Yossarian
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ******
>
> "This intercontinental network of resistance, recognizing differences and
> acknowledging similarities, will strive to find itself in other
> resistances around the world. This intercontinental network of resistance
> will be the medium in which distinct resistances may support one another.
> This intercontinental network of resistance is not an organizing
> structure; it has no central head or decision maker; it has no central
> command or hierarchies. We are the network, all of us who resist."
>
> --Second Declaration of La Realidad for Humanity and Against
> Neoliberalism
>
> Looking forward to 10 more years of Zapatismo...
> http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/EzL10
>
> --
> http://www.fastmail.fm - mmm... Fastmail...
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