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 …

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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