Dear Clemencia and all, While each proposal sounds very attractive, I just wanted to point out that conferences/meetings in the U.S. effectively exclude many potential participants, particularly Arabs and Muslims, due to visa issues. Regards, Kristin Kristin Shamas PhD candidate Department of Communication University of Oklahoma ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rodriguez, Clemencia" <[log in to unmask]> Date: Tuesday, May 8, 2007 10:38 pm Subject: OURMedia 7 - NuestrosMedios 7 To: [log in to unmask] > Espannol abajo. > > English: At present we have three very attractive proposals for > OURMedia 7. First, a proposal from Rafael Obregon to organize OM7 in > Athens, Ohio in the United States. Second, Wilna Quarmyne's proposal > to bring OM 7 to Ghana. And third, a proposal from Arne Hintz, > Stefania Milan, and Kate Coyer to hold OM7 in Budapest, Hungary. > (This order reflects simply the chronological order in which we > received the proposals: Athens before OM 6, Ghana during OM 6, and > Budapest right after OM6). > > > > Each of these proposals has very interesting features: Athens is the > home of one of the only graduate programs with a focus on > Communication and Development in the world; it is a small, very > friendly community nested in the Appalachia Mountains, a place > cherished by artists, social justice collectives, and counterculture > communes. Budapest would bring OM to Central/Eastern Europe, a region > with so much happening around democratic process, post-conflict > reconstruction, and multicultural co-existence. Ghana would allow us > to realize an old dream to bring OURMedia to Africa; also, it seems > that already several local organizations have expressed interest in > forming a local organizing committee. > > > > If anyone else has a proposal, please bring it forward here. Below is > Arne Hintz original message about the Budapest option (in English only > for now). Rafael Obregon will send a similar proposal by the end of > this week. Wilna has already told us a little about the Ghana option. > Let's all have a collective discussion about all the options that come > to the table. The forum is open ... > > > > *** > > > > Español: En este momento tenemos tres propuestas muy atractivas para > OURMedia/NuestrosMedios 7. Primero, una propuesta de Rafael Obregón > para realizar OM 7 en Athens, Ohio, en Estados Unidos. Segundo, la > propuesta de Wilna Quarmyne de llevar OM7 a Gana, en África. Y > tercero, la propuesta de Arne Hintz, Stefania Milan y Kate Coyer para > hacer OM7 en Budapest en Hungría. (Este orden refleja unicamente el > orden cronologico en que llegaron las propuestas: Athens antes de OM6, > Gana durante OM 6 y Budapest poco despues de OM6). > > > > Cada una de estas propuestas tiene aspectos muy atractivos: Athens es > la sede de uno de los únicos programas de postgrado del mundo con > especialización en Comunicación para el Desarrollo; es una comunidad > pequeña y muy amigable, escondida en las montañas, un lugar de comunas > de los años 60, artistas, y colectivos populares de lucha social (un > Estados Unidos que poco se conoce). Budapest abriría la posibilidad de > llevar a OURMedia a Europa Central/Este, una región donde tanto está > ocurriendo en torno a procesos democráticos, reconstrucción de tejidos > sociales después de tanto conflicto e intentos de co-existencia en la > multiculturalidad. Gana nos daría la posibilidad de realizar un viejo > sueño, de llevar OM a África; así mismo, parece existir ya bastante > entusiasmo por parte de varias organizaciones locales para > comprometerse a organizar OM 7. > > > > Si alguien más tiene una propuesta, este el momento de traerla a la > mesa. Abajo está la propuesta inicial de Arne Hintz acerca de la > opción de OM 7 en Budapest (por ahora solo en ingles; ya pronto el > Grupo de Trabajo de OM 7 enviará la traducción). Rafael Obregón se > comprometió a enviar una propuesta sobre la opción de Athens esta > semana. Wilna ya ha compartido algo sobre la opción de Gana. La idea > es abrir ahora la discusión colectiva sobre todas las propuestas que > lleguen a la mesa. El foro está abierto ... > > > > Message from Arne Hintz, Stefania Milan and Kate Coyer: > > > > Dear Clemencia, dear Juan, dear OURMedia working group, > > we would like to submit to a proposal for the next OURMedia conference. > We, that is Stefania Milan, member of the OURMedia organising committee > and PhD student at the European University Institute in Florence; Kate > Coyer, OURMedia member since Baranquilla and Post-Doctoral Research > Fellow at the Central European University, Budapest; and Arne Hintz, > OURMedia member since Porto Alegre and Project Manager at the Central > European University. > > The proposed location is the Central European University (CEU). There > is a lot of interest here in issues that OURMedia is concerned with, the > CEU has already organised conferences on related issues, and we believe > that it would be a good idea to have OURMedia come to the > Central/Eastern European region (see below, in more detail). > > The main host at the CEU would be the Center for Media and > Communication Studies (CMCS). The CMCS has a research and teaching > profile which encompasses media law and policy, media pluralism, freedom > of expression and hate speech, internet usage by citizens and civil > society, media reform in Central/Eastern Europe, and, particularly, > community and activist media. In October 2005, it organised the major > conference "RE:activism" which dealt with media activism and related > issues such as blogs, intellectual property rights, free software, etc. > > This coming month, it will host a workshop on Community Broadcasting > Policy in Europe, mainly organised by Kate Coyer, which will bring > together 30 emerging and high profile community media academics and > which will coincide with meetings by the civil society networks AMARC > Europe and Community Media Forum Europe which will meet during the days > before the workshop and act as co-sponsors of the workshop. Kate, Arne, > and other people at the CMCS are currently planning further workshops > and follow-up activities, for example on spectrum policy and challenges > for community media. > > In December 2005, Stefania organised a one-day event on community > media, to coincide with the previous OURMedia conference in India, at > the Stanhope Centre in London which is closely related with the CEU. > Stefania would also be part of a potential OURMedia organising team at > CMCS. > > So, an OURMedia conference in Budapest would be part of a broader range > of existing activities, and there is experience and expertise to stem > such a challenging project. Both Viktor Bohm (CEU Vice Chief-Operating > Officer) and Monroe Price (Chair of CMCS, based at the Annenberg School > of Communications) support the idea and have said they would offer the > widest-possible support. The CMCS/CEU has long-established partnerships > with academic institutions in the region, as well as in the UK and in > the US, and it has access to the necessary funding channels. > > Budapest is situated in a region that has seen deep political changes, > with the transition to Western social and economic models; wars; and > ongoing authoritarianism. Former Yugoslavia is just around the corner, > as are the Ukraine and Belarus. At the same time, there is a vibrant > community/alternative media scene, artistic networks are experimenting > with new forms of communication, and Budapest is certainly a hub of this > activity. Emerging European community media networks such as the > Community Media Forum Europe and the re-established AMARC Europe are > developing connections with media groups in the region and have an > increasingly strong base here. > > A disclaimer, however: As much we think that holding OURMedia in the > Central/Eastern European region would be very interesting at this point > in time, we also like the idea of meeting in Ghana, and we would > certainly support Africa as an OURMedia location. Still, as long as > there is no definite and feasible proposal from Africa, we would like > to > propose Budapest as a possible alternative. > > It would be great to discuss the idea with the OURMedia organizing > committee. If there is interest within OURMedia, we would be happy to > develop a more extensive proposal. > > Regards, > Stefania Milan > Kate Coyer > Arne Hintz > > > > THANKS to all - GRACIAS a toda/os > > > > clemencia > > > Clemencia Rodriguez > Associate Professor > Department of Communication > University of Oklahoma > [log in to unmask] > 405 325 1570 > >