[Imc-africa] irex foundation?

[Jay]

Hi imc-africa,

The IREX Foundation (http://www.irex.org/programs/afsg/index.asp) offers 
"small" grants, $10,000 or less, to independent media projects around the 
world, including Africa.  I'm ready to send along the below query letter to 
see if they'd be interested in learning more about and possibly supporting 
some of the WSF/Nairobi-IMC.

Before I do, I want people on this list to check through the query letter 
to make sure it all sounds right.  Also, I want people to look through the 
IREX site and see if we feel comfortable applying for money from them.  I 
think we all understand that most foundations fund a variety of projects, 
and that if we can get them to support any of this project with no strings 
attached we will be pretty lucky.  On the other hand, I know many people in 
the Indymedia network are very passionate about not taking money from 
sources that also support USAID and/or US State Department projects, which 
IREX seems to do, at least in small amounts.

Before sending the letter I just want to make sure we're in agreement that 
we want to try our luck there.

So, thoughts?
Jay

To whom it may concern at the IREX Foundation,

My name is Jay Sand and I am a Philadelphia-based journalist and 
organizer.  I am writing to IREX to see if you may be interested in 
learning more about an upcoming independent media initiative in Africa to 
consider funding as part of your IREX Small Grants Fund -- Africa.

For the last several months, independent media makers and Indymedia 
(http://www.indymedia.org) organizers in Kenya, throughout Africa and 
around the world have been working together, both on-line and in 
face-to-face meetings, on a project to build a temporary independent media 
center (IMC) in Nairobi, Kenya, during the January '07 World Social 
Forum.  Indymedia is a global network of over 150 local autonomous 
independent media centers, empowering people to make their own media and 
promoting media democracy.  The World Social Forum is a yearly convergence 
of tens of thousans of social justice and civil society activists; this is 
the first time the inernational forum will meet in Africa.

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 the participants to 
create independent media coverage of the WSF during the 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 use by other Kenyan independent media projects.

FINANCIAL NEEDS:
We are trying to raise $5000 to pay for all the necessary equipment and 
infrastructure ($3000 for radio station eqiupment and $2000 for other 
infrastructure) and $5000 for travel expenses for the coordinators and 
workshop leaders.  We can make a detailed budget available on your 
request.  All equipment bought will continue to be available to the Kenya 
IMC and independent media projects throughout the country after the WSF.

KEY ORGANIZERS/SUPPORTERS:
-- Prometheus Radio Project (http://www.prometheusradio.org), an 
organization that supports and builds low-power-radio stations around the 
world, will provide technical advice and assistance for a low power radio 
station 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)

-- the Kenya-IMC has been in existance since 2004 after sending several 
representatives to the African Indymedia conference in Dakar, Senegal.

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

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

The Nairobi IMC will feature many independent media making workshops and 
skill-shares, including trainings in formal consensus and sessions, led by 
African independent media makers, on how to build independent media 
institutions in Africa.  Technicians from the Prometheus Radio Project plan 
to be present to show participants how to build a low power radio stations, 
and will work after the World Social Forum with students from Maseno 
University on a long-term radio station based on their campus.

CONTACT:
For more information about this proposal, please contact Jay Sand, 
jay at fundamentalchange.net, 215-386-8835.

We thank you in advance for your consideration,
Jay