Hi Alfonso,
I was originally in favour of a governance structure but I tend to
agree with you now - that it won't necessarily improve on the current
model and might change the nature of the organisation substantially. I
look forward to more debate on the issue, however.

As far as funding goes, our strategy this year is to seek support from
universities and the community media sector. This is partly because
Australia is not usually eligible for aid money and we don't have a
strong philanthropic culture like america. But it is also because we
feel that universities should be supporting this kind of endeavour.
OurMedia has raised the profile of community media studies in the
academy with great collaborative outcomes, including publications - all
at the international level. Universities benefit financially from such
research outcomes and should encourage networks like OM. Of course, OM
has relevance and use beyond universities but if we can lever their
support to the advantage of practice/advocacy etc. then so much the
better. As our Education Minister said recently, 'knowledge transfer'
(taking ideas beyond the confines of the university) is becoming
increasingly important. (I am not sure that OM was what she had in mind,
being from a conservative government, but I'll run with it anyhow!).

That said, if we can get philanthropic or NGO support it will be most
welcome - it would assist us to bring practitioners from other countries
to the conference, which we may not be able to do otherwise.
I have been astounded at the interest that this conference has
attracted here in Australia. University departments have been
approaching us to find out how they can be involved. And the community
broadcasting sector is very interested, particularly as it faces so many
big issues around digitalisation right now.

I think that even those of us who did not make it to Bangalore learnt a
lot from the experience as the communication on the list during the
conference was very interesting. That is something we could extend for
OMVI - maybe podcast meetings/discussions and get a blog going during
the event?? I am not very skilled at that stuff but I am sure we can
find plenty of people to assist.

I am only going to be involved in the local committee this year as that
is where I will be most useful. But thanks for your participation on the
international committee - it is great to have your support and
expertise.

Ellie.

Dr Ellie Rennie
Research Fellow
Institute for Social Research
ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation
+61 3 9214 5303
0404 808 900

Education is only the beginning.
Let's get on with it.

Swinburne University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code: 00111D

NOTICE
This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended only for the use of the addressee. They may contain information that is privileged or protected by copyright. If you are not the intended recipient, any dissemination, distribution, printing, copying or use is strictly prohibited. The University does not warrant that this e-mail and any attachments are secure and there is also a risk that it may be corrupted in transmission. It is your responsibility to check any attachments for viruses or defects before opening them. If you have received this transmission in error, please contact us on +61 3 9214 8000 and delete it immediately from your system. We do not accept liability in connection with computer virus, data corruption, delay, interruption, unauthorised access or unauthorised amendment.

Please consider the environment before printing this email.