[Imc-africa] an imc at the WSF in Nairobi, January 2007?

[Jay]

SUMMARY:
There is an idea to put together a "convergence-based" IMC during the 
upcoming World Social Forum in Nairobi (January 2007), that would also help 
provide training and infrastructure for other Kenyan and African IMCs in 
the longer-term.  What do you think?

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Hi imc-africa,

Greetings from the U.S.  I know there has been some chatter on this list 
and elsewhere about the World Social Forum taking place in Kenya at the end 
of January 2007.   Even though I likely won't be able to get there, I'm 
really excited that the WSF is coming to Naorobi!

I want to let you know about a talk that happened here in the U.S. a bit 
more than a week ago.  It was a conference call arranged by the Prometheus 
Radio Project (http://www.prometheusradio.org), which supports and builds 
low power radio stations in the U.S. and worldwide.  Prometheus recently 
helped build a radio station in Tanzania and has been communicating with 
people about building one with students at Maseno University 
(http://www.maseno.ac.ke/) which is in Western Kenya, about 400 km from 
Nairobi.

Prometheus is based in Philadelphia (where I live), and I've been talking 
with the orgainzers for a while about connecting their Africa organizing 
with imc-africa.  On August 3 Prometheus arranged a conference call with 
some of their organizers, as well as me, Sphinx and Chris from Antioch 
College in the U.S. who has connections with the Communications department 
at Maseno.

We came up with the following idea:
We would work together, with activists from imc-africa as well as indymedia 
activists around the world, to put together a functioning 
"convergence-based" IMC that would operate during the WSF in Kenya.  This 
IMC would include computers with video and audio capability hooked up to 
the internet, enabling people from around the world to see up-to-the-minute 
coverage of the WSF, as well as a low-power radio station that would be 
able to broadcast over the air.  The IMC would provide a living model of 
how an IMC could work in Africa, and it would hold trainings and 
information sessions there about how to build indepenedent media 
institutions, especially around Africa.

The IMC would also be a training-ground for students at Maseno who want to 
be involved in their long-term radio project.  After the WSF ends, the 
equipment bought for it will go both to the Maseno group and to IMC-Kenya.

Prometheus wouldn't be able to put any funds toward the project, but would 
be able to give techincal advice and possibly send an organizer to Kenya to 
help set up the radio station and conduct trainings.  We would raise the 
necessary money (about $5000 to cover the whole techincal infrastructure, 
including the radio transmitter) through the IMC network.

So, what do you think?  So far Sphinx has e-mailed with Oloo from Kenya 
about the idea (he's one of the local organizers of the WSF), and is going 
to be in touch with John, Grace and others from IMC-Kenya to find out what 
they think.

Are any of you from imc-africa planning to come to the WSF?  Do you want to 
be involved in making this possible?
It could be an interesting experiment, a temporary IMC built together by 
African IMC organizers and visiting internationals, that could provide a 
small boost to IMC Kenya and IMC organizing around the continent.

With some hope for things to come,
Jay