----- Original Message ----
From: "Rodriguez, Clemencia" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tuesday, 22 April, 2008 1:53:24 PM
Subject: ACADEMIC ORGS DO NOT CHANGE

Way to go Gabi!

Although I have to say, in my own experience I was never able to move academic organizations from their usual mode of operation, not even an inch ... and over the years they have become worse and worse: very expensive hotels (when the conference is in the global south, organizers make sure the conference hotel is the farthest from local communities, well enclosed, hidden away--I will never forget the Princess Palace, site of the ICA conference in Acapulco, and where actually John Downing introduced me to Nick Couldry and the first conversations about OURMedia took place; it took us 45 minutes to get to the city and the taxi was close to US$50); exorbitant fees; no access to technology; English-only; etc. This is precisely why we created OURMedia.

The conference program is shaping very well. This year the proposals are particularly fascinating. While revising the proposals I kept thinking "I can't miss this one" and then I would think the same about the next one and the next one. I  am sorry you will not be with us because when you see the program, I am sure you and most other OM members will be very tempted to make a last minute reservation to Accra. As soon as the program is ready we will keep you posted.

Abrazos, clemencia






Clemencia Rodriguez
Associate Professor
Department of Communication
The University of Oklahoma
610 Elm Ave, Norman OK 73019 USA
405 325 1570
[log in to unmask]
________________________________________
From: This listserv will be used to facilitate communication among alternative media academics [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of G G [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2008 8:50 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: OURMedia 7, Accra, 11-15 Aug 2008 - REMINDER TO SEND PROPOSALS

Dear Wilna-

Thank you for your hard work for OM! I will not be able to join this year, I
am very sorry to say!

Just wanted to let you know I held up ourmedia conference organizing as an
example of 'what can be done' in a message to IAMCR, an academic
organization I'm involved with (and who are doing a particularily poor job
this year at organizing their own conference)!
http://iamcr.org/pipermail/announcements_iamcr.org/2008-April/000803.html

I hope you can give us an update soon on this list about the organizing
progress. As I will not be able to join this year, this list is especially
important for me! Looking forward to it.

Best,

G


On 2/18/08 6:09 PM, "Wilna Quarmyne" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Greetings, All, once more from the OM7 Ghana Co-ordinating Committee.
>
> The OM7 e-mail address - [log in to unmask] - received a quick
> response to our last e-mail, indicating that it would be useful to re-send the
> CfP, which includes the proposal form.
>
> Here it is - both as an attachment and a paste-on.
>
> We shall send the Spanish, French and Portuguese versions in separate
> transmissions.
>
> PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY.
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>
> OURMedia 7: Identity, Inclusion, Innovation ­
> Alternative Communication in a Globalized World
> 11-15 August 2008, Accra, Ghana
>
> CALL FOR PROPOSALS
>
>
> OURMedia 7: Identity, Inclusion, Innovation ­
> Alternative Communication in a Globalized World
> will be held in Accra, the capital of Ghana, from 11-15 August 2008.
>
>
>
> What OURMedia is about
>
> Founded in 2001, OURMedia/NUESTROSMedios is a global network with the goal of
> facilitating a long-term dialogue between academics, activists, practitioners
> and policy experts around citizens' media initiatives.  [www. ourmedia…..]
>
> OURMedia is about building an alternative world, rooted in local knowledge,
> anchored in strong identities but also connected to global networks, open to
> ‘otherness’, diversity and inclusion.
>
> Alternative communication for an alternative world
>
> OURMedia 7 is built on the assumption that alternative communication ­ a
> diversity of actors, voices, themes and discourses - needs to flourish and
> take hold to create alternative worlds.  It sees equity, community and
> cultural identity as the hallmarks of an alternative world.
>
> Our Media 7 - In Africa, and in the world
>
> OURMedia is coming to Africa for the first time through OM7.  The previous six
> conferences (OM1-OM6) were held in Washington, D.C., USA; Barcelona, Spain;
> Barranquilla, Colombia; Porto Alegre, Brazil; Bangalore, India; and Sydney,
> Australia.
>
> Like the other conferences, OM7 will be shaped by the living experience of its
> host country and region.  For Ghana and much of Africa, that experience has
> tended to be portrayed by the world media in terms of deprivation and
> destruction, or as curiosities.  Yet, this vast, diverse and vibrant continent
> nourishes many of the values, traditions and practices that can enrich
> communication in an alternative world.
>
> Like previous  OURMedia conferences, OM7 is an opportunity to dialogue and
> strengthen initiatives around common causes with the rest of the world.  In
> the case of OM7, the conference is also an invitation to better understand the
> complex and dynamic reality of Africa that informs and potentially deepens
> such dialogue and initiatives.
>
>
> AKWAABA (Welcome), OURMedia,
> to Ghana and through Ghana, to Africa and the world!!!
>
>
>
>
> The 3 Sub-themes of OURMedia 7
>
> OM7 has selected three sub-themes ­ Identity, Inclusion and Innovation - that
> are key dimensions of alternative communication in, for and towards an
> alternative world. These may be regarded as different faces of marginalization
> in a world where expression is becoming increasingly uniform, majorities are
> being excluded (and even exploited), and certain kinds of knowledge and
> experience are presented as having more value than others. At the same time,
> the assertion of identity, inclusion and innovation are the very sources of
> strength to overcome homogenization, exclusion and relegation.
>
> Identity If identity is rooted in culture, the confluence of shared
> understanding, practice and communication, how can and does cultural diversity
> ­ and a multiplicity of media - contribute to an alternative world? This
> sub-theme speaks to the multiplicity of world-views - imaginaries - waiting to
> be spoken out loud.  In Africa in particular, but also worldwide, the
> knowledge and experience embedded in oral tradition and held by indigenous
> peoples remain powerful yet relatively unexplored and underutilized in global
> and national mainstream media. Whether in the global North or South,
> displacements of various kinds have left many grappling with, and grasping
> for, their sense of themselves and their values.
>
> Inclusion How can and does communication contribute to the development of an
> alternative world that is inclusive, provides "platforms of equality" and
> connects and bridges different cultural and communication societies.  In
> today's world, exclusion rather than inclusion is often the dominant
> experience.  There are many faces to exclusion.  Some of the most familiar are
> given generic names - poverty, gender, youth, indigenous people, minorities.
> Whatever the form it may take or the level at which it occurs, exclusion
> always reflects an imbalance in relationships.  The imbalance is often
> maintained with force, whether overt (ranging from legislation to physical
> violence or armed conflict) or less immediately palpable (including, for
> example, traditional attitudes and beliefs). Not incidentally, fundamental to
> exclusion are the strictures on the Right to Communicate itself ­ ranging from
> forms of expression to the content of discourse to access to the organization
> of technological media. Thus, people creating their own media is core to
> inclusion.  Often, the process requires the development of vibrant,
> rights-aware communities and people-centred policies and regulation.
>
> Innovation How can and does communication enable innovation and the renewal of
> the diversity of human experience that is vital to an alternative world?
> Innovation happens everyday everywhere, as people try to make sense of and
> relate to their world.  Whether identified with day-to-day or modern
> technology, the creative impulse is key in transforming the processes and
> institutions needed to create an alternative world.  Transformation can only
> happen if communication itself - those who speak or otherwise express, those
> who process and the ways and platforms in which this happens - is transformed.
> For example, where do the new communication technologies and practices lie:
> will they simply be about new-ness or will they be innovative in a social
> sense, both promoting and embodying genuine transformation?
>
>
> Exploring alternative dimensions and challenging dominant patterns
>
> Against the backdrop of the three sub-themes of Identity, Inclusion and
> Innovation, OM7 will seek to articulate dimensions of alternative
> communication that privilege diversity and equity, while challenging and
> critiquing dominant communication patterns based on hegemonies and
> hierarchies.  Below are some dimensions of alternative communication and
> dominant patterns of communication.  Of particular interest to OM7 are the
> relationships ­ or more precisely, the imbalances in the relationships ­
> between them.  OM7 also recognizes that the seeds of one are often in the
> other.  For example, communication may be alternative in form but hegemonic in
> content.  On the other hand, apparently oppressive systems of communication
> may be subverted by creative interventions.
>
> Dimensions of alternative communication ^      oral, aural, pictorial, visual
> and other symbolic communication (e.g. the language of symbols) ­ traditional
> and contemporary ^      diversity of languages and other forms of expression
> ^      experience-based knowledge-generation and technologies ^
> marginalized voices, people-centred discourse and social relationships in
> negotiation ^      communal values, resources, systems and media of
> communication and interaction ^      ascendance of civil society and social
> networks and movements of communication and engagement Current dominant
> patterns of communication Þ        primacy accorded to the written word and a
> few languages Þ        corporate systems of production and transmission  Þ
> technology bias in development and application of new information and
> communication technologies Þ        media-centric conventions, representation
> and ethics Þ        commodification, appropriation and corporate ownership of
> communication and other key resources Þ        dominant policy discourses and
> institutions that embed hierarchical communication
>
> 6 Emerging Focal Areas
>
> Based on the sub-themes, OM7 proposes to develop six focal areas:
> ^              oral and symbolic communication
> ^              diversity of expression
> ^              knowledge-generation-and-transmission
> ^              marginalized voices, groups and cultures
> ^              communal systems of communication
> ^              social communication networks.
>
> Globally critical challenges
>
> Given the urgency, pervasiveness and persistence of the challenges they pose,
> it is expected that OM7 will offer new perspectives and highlight effective
> experiences with respect to Communication in relation to Development,
> Education, Human Rights, and Peace-building and Conflict-resolution.  Many of
> these perspectives and experiences are expected to be in the Focal Areas.
>
>
>
>
> Continuing the OURMedia thread
>
> Through its sub-themes, by exploring the relationship between the dimensions
> of alternative communication and dominant patterns of communication, and by
> sharpening its focal areas, OM7 will build on the wealth of experience shared
> and knowledge generated in previous OURMedia conferences.  In particular, the
> Call for Proposals wishes to recall the topics addressed in OM6 under the
> following headings:    Community Media Research; Participation and Social
> Change,
> Community Media and Policy; Media Activism, Civil Society and Social
> Movements;
> Local Culture and Media Diversity; New Technologies and Media Convergence;
> Community and Public Access Broadcasting; Indigenous Media; and Young People
> and Grass-Roots Communication.  [For a full list of the topics, see the
> OURMedia website.]
>
> The design of OURMedia 7
>
> OM7 will have three main parts:  the "Conference proper", a Community Radio
> Symposium, and a Festival.
>
> The Conference will include plenary sessions featuring a keynote speaker and a
> keynote performance on each of the sub-themes - Identity, Inclusion,
> Innovation - followed by thematic panels and parallel sessions across various
> media and issues.
>
> Coinciding with the 10th year on-air of Radio Ada, a pioneer Community Radio
> station in Ghana, OM7 will integrate a Community Radio Symposium that will
> reflect on, critique and celebrate the role of Community Radio worldwide in
> relation to identity, inclusion and innovation.
>
> The Festival will feature exhibitions that express the OURMedia 7 themes
> through various media and experiences.  Open to the public, the Festival will
> be a means of connecting OURMedia 7 with the outside world and ensuring that
> it re-invigorates the theme and leaves an imprint among people outside of and
> beyond the Conference.
>
> The organizing committee
>
> The event in Ghana is being organized by the Ghana Coordinating Committee
> (GCC), a group that has gathered around OURMedia 7 and that brings together
> community radio practitioners, academicians, artists and civil society and
> media advocates.  These include, among others, the Ghana Community Radio
> Network (GCRN), the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), the School of
> Communication Studies and the Institute of African Studies at the University
> of Ghana, and Participatory Development Associates.  This core group is being
> expanded with other partners from the African region and elsewhere and works
> with the OURMedia 7 International Working Group.
>
> The GCC see themselves as facilitators and are desirous that the very process
> of organizing OURMedia 7 should, in keeping with the theme, be as inclusive as
> possible.
>
>
>
>
>
> Invitation to submit proposals
>
> OM7 invites proposals that develop the exposition of its sub-themes and
> emerging focal areas.
>
> As the proposal form below shows, presentations may take different forms.
>
> Proposals from groups combining different disciplines, experiences and
> creative expressions are encouraged.
>
> The richness and diversity of the proposals will give final shape to the OM7
> programme.
>
> Language of submission
>
> It is regretted that proposals will need to be submitted in English, French,
> Portuguese or Spanish.  Only translation between these four languages can be
> guaranteed at this stage.    (English and Spanish are the initial working
> languages of OURMedia.  French and Portuguese are, in addition to English, the
> two main working languages in sub-Saharan Africa.)
>
> However, the proposal form allows for the possibility that a presentation may
> be made in a language other than the four named.  Presentations in indigenous
> languages are also encouraged, but proponents are kindly asked to prepare to
> provide their own translations.
>
> Deadline for submission
>
> The deadline for submission is 29 February 2008.
>
> How to submit your proposal
>
> Proposals may be submitted in one of two ways:
>
> ·      Online, or
>
> ·      By post to: The Secretariat, OURMedia7, P O Box KA9492, Accra, Ghana.
>
> In either case, the proposal should have been received by the deadline.
>
> OURMedia 7 CONFERENCE
> 11-15 August 2008, Accra, Ghana,
> Theme: Identity, Inclusion, Innovation ­
> Alternative Communication in a Globalized World
>
> Name of individual/group/organization making proposal:
>
> What is the working title of your proposal?
>
> Which sub-theme/s will your presentation focus on?  Please tick as
> appropriate. /____/            Identity    /____/  Inclusion    /____/
> Innovation
>
> What is the nature of your presentation?  Please tick as appropriate. /____/
> Creative writing            /____/  Performance /____/  Research paper
> /____/  Theoretical paper /____/  Symbolic media (e.g., indigenous symbols)
> /____/ Visual or other media presentation (video, film, cartoons, street art,
> electronic art, etc)
>
> Where do you see your proposal featuring at OM7? /____/            Conference
> /____/  Community Radio Symposium /____/  Festival
>
> What format would you prefer to use for your presentation? /____/  Individual
> paper or performance /____/  Panel or cohort /____/  Workshop
>
> In which spoken language do you propose to make or explain your presentation?
> /____/  English    /____/  French    /____/  Portuguese    /____/  Spanish
> /____/  Other.  Please name:  _________________________________________ If
> Other, how will you provide for translation?
> ________________________________________________________________
>
> OURMedia 7, 11-15 Aug 2007, Accra, Ghana,  ­ Call for Proposals, p.2 Summary
> of proposal  Please summarize your proposal in no more than 250 words.  Some
> of the questions that you may wish to explore are offered below.  With
> reference to the sub-themes, relationships, emerging focal areas, globally
> critical challenges and issues that are of particular interest to OM7: ·
> what issues have you been grappling with? ·    what is the context
> (including, as may be relevant, social, political and economic) in which you
> have been carrying out your work? ·    what alternative communication
> responses have you been developing or proposing? ·    what new questions have
> arisen in the course of your work which you would wish to be part of the
> ongoing dialogue around building an alternative world?
>
> Name of individual, group or organization making proposal
> If proposal is being made by a group, name of contact person
> Street address (physical location)
> Post office mailing address
> E-mail
> Telephone
> Cellphone
> Fax
> Nationality of person/s proposed to make presentation at OM7 [important for
> visa purposes]
>
> Please tell us something about yourself/group/organization (maximum 100
> words):
>
> Date of submission:
>
> IMPORTANT: Please complete the Note on Funding below.
>
>
>
>
> NOTE ON FUNDING  OURMedia will secure some funding to help defray the expenses
> of participants who could not otherwise attend OM7.  We encourage all
> participants to try to raise at least part of the funds, but if you will
> definitely not be able to attend OM7 unless OURMedia provides funding, please
> let us know.  Apart from travel expenses, which will of course differ
> according to the point of origin, we estimate that participation at OM7 will
> cost: ·  A minimum of USD 300 for registration (including lunch and morning
> and afternoon refreshments) · Lodging, breakfast and dinner at an average of
> USD 150 per day.  I can raise my own funding to cover my entire participation
> in OM7. /____/            Yes            /____/  No If you ticked "No",
> please continue. I can raise my: Registration cost /____/            Yes
> /____/  No Airfare or other transportation cost /____/            Yes
> /____/  No Lodging, breakfast and dinner cost /____/            Yes
> /____/  No
>
>
>
>
>
>
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