::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 6th Conference: Sydney, April 9-13, 2007 http://www.ourmedia07.net/ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Dear OURMedia friends Your steering committee is busily gearing up for our 6th OURMedia/Nuestros Medios conference, which promises to be the most exciting yet. Hope you will join us for a week of presentations, dialogue, exchange (bring your media!), polymedia lab, film screenings, field trip, broadcasting, webworking, networking and good company, much of which will be webcast. Not least: a series of working group meetings on the future of the ourmedia network, in which we will hopefully come up with ideas for improving our infrastructure. ************************* HE FUTURE OF OURMEDIA/NUSTROS MEDIOS (OURfuture) - a series of working group meetings at the OURMedia 6 conference and online ************************* WANTED: Coordinators and participants for the following working groups to faciliate the discussion, and some questions to start the work. Even if you cannot come to Sydney, please feel free to join. Send a message to: k70 (AT) mac.com Possible Working Groups (WGs) include: - WG1: Governance and Financing - WG2: Communication & Tech Infrastructure - WG3: Next Conference ³Whatever we decide to do, it has to be feasible, not just wishful thinking.² Alfonso Gumucio Dagron OURMedia/NUESTROS Medios has evolved into a vast network, almost entirely fuelled by enthusiasm (and largely without structure, funding or paid staff). Over the last years, we have had a number of discussions, both on the mailing list and face-to-face about OURfuture, the future of our network. So far, a steering committee was set up (mostly by self-nomination) every time to organize a conference and to tend to the other needs: the website, the mailing list, financing, selecting the next conference site and organizing the next conference with a local organizing team. The steering committee has somehow managed many of these tasks, though usually out of sight of the rest of the network. Many issues remain only barely Œpatched¹ and some issues (such as another organization using the same name and similar URL) could not be dealt with at all. In these, a number of pressing issues, both in terms of day-to-day running and long-term vision have come up: 1) governance and/or organizing structure how much is necessary and feasible? 2) securing funding, 3) securing a stable communications infrastructure (including the website, e-mail lists, translation needs, designing new communication spaces such as blogs, a wiki or at least bulletin boards), 4) transparent selection and effective organization of next conference. Where should we take OURMedia? Re-structure it? Re-think it? Do you see OURMedia as a network with several functions and working groups (such as funding, governance, collaborations between academics and activists, archival site for alternative media materials, etc.) or only as an annual event (or bi-annual)? What would YOU be willing to do as a member? What would YOU like to do and be a part of? What would you like OURMedia to be? To further discuss and hopefully settle some of these issues, there will be working groups formed at the Sydney conference and online who will meet daily and present the outcomes of their discussion and research to the closing plenary and the OURmedia mailing list. Working groups will research the issues (e.g. how these issues have been dealt with, how far they have been discussed so far and who has offered to help, what solution options we have, etc.), pre-discuss them and compile the results into a document to be used in the final plenary session. Look forward to hearing from you! G