[Imc-africa] Proposed network call

[Jay]

Sphinx and everyone,

Thanks Sphinx for working on this, especially through your 
migraine.  (ouch)  It looks really great!  I have a few comments and 
suggestions below, which you can choose to take or discard.

At 9/6/2006, you wrote:
>Hi all! I'm sorry for being late again. I came down with a migrane.
>This is a draft text to be sent to various nework list by Saturday 
>September 9.
>2007(in 3 days) as our call for the Nairobi event.
>1-please indicate all the proposed corrections or additions you think need be
>made.
>2-We need someone to help with translation into French.
>3-Fabian I think the points you raised in your last mail are very 
>important but
>I hope you do not mind that I could not work them into this proposal since 
>some
>of them seemed to me to be network-wide question e.g indy WSF relations.
>Sphinx
>
>---------------
>
>CALL: January 2007  World Social Forum(WSF) Indymedia Center (Nairobi-Kenya).
>Following discussions that have been going on in the imc-africa mailing 
>list and
>other fora since November 2005, a ?Convergence IMC? for the coming World
>Social Forum (WSF) in Nairobi-Kenya will run from January 13 to January 25 .
>2007 when the forums ends.

I think this is a bit hard to understand.  I'd say something more direct as 
an introduction, letting the body of the e-mail tell the 
details.  Something like (but you can make it better):

CALL:
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 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.

Maybe add:
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 use
>by the Kenya IMC and other Kenyan independent media
>projects.

Suggested addition:
The IMC plans to be open from January 13 to January 25.  The WSF itself 
takes place from January 20-25.
(are these the right dates?)


>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-TIMELINE
>This is an invitation for ALL who wish to participate in this ?IMC Convergence
>Center? to register by sending an email with their name or group?s name to
>imc-africa at lists.indymedia.org

Maybe instead of "register," which sounds a bit official and may dissuade 
people from letting us know they're thinking of coming, we should say:

"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 at 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 SEPTEMBER 18. 2006."

I hope I'm not misunderstanding things here.  We're asking people to let us 
know if they're interested in coming so we can start applying for travel 
grants, right?

I'm afraid September 18 may be a bit soon, though if that's when we need to 
get things together then that's what we have to do.  If we have a bit more 
time, I'd suggest we set the deadline for October 1.

>On the other hand we?ll greatly appreciate any support for this event both
>material and non-materials. As such we?ll be very grateful if activists with
>experience in organizing such type of events do share their experience with us
>at the imc-africa list
>(imc-africa at lists.indymedia.org) .
>
>Here is the wiki we are using :
>http://wiki.radiolivre.org/Main/WorldSocialForum2007

Maybe we should end with something like, "Don't hestitate to send any ideas 
you may have for the Nairobi IMC to the IMC-Africa list.  We'll see you in 
Nairobi!"

I think this is a good start.  Getting this around the network will let 
people know there's an IMC in the works in Nairobi and inspire people to 
start thinking about coming.  Hopefully we'll pin down a number of African 
delegates and start being able to raise money.

As for the general budget, that's to discuss in another e-mail, but we 
still need to pin down potential costs of space rental, internet, phone 
service, etc, and Petri from Prometheus still has to get us that itemized 
radio parts budget.  In any case, we should start to send out a targeted 
fundraising appeal really soon.  I think saying we need to raise 
approximately $5000 to support the technical infrastructure of the IMC 
(minus travel/lodging) is a round enough number that people can start 
working toward it.

Thanks, Sphinx!
Jay

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