Dear Comrade



I have missed the Ourmedia 2009 conference and I would like to attend
this conference. I am requesting on behalf of Kasela Community Radio in
Enga Province of Papua New Guinea. Could you please assist me seek
sponsorship. I can not affort to meet the expenses from PNG and I need
your financial support.



I will appreciate your great assistance.



Thanks and advance



Stanley Kaka

Manager- KCR



Date: Thu, 27 May 2010 10:04:03 -0500
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: OurMedia 9 - NuestrosMedios 9 | Pakistan 2010 | Call for Proposals
To: [log in to unmask]

Dear colleagues, below and attached is the Call for Proposals (English only) for the OurMedia 9 conference to be held next 4-9 October in Jamshoro, Pakistan. 
Other language versions will be circulated as they come. 




Regards,
----------------------

Call for
Proposals 
OurMedia 9 | NuestrosMedios 9






Pakistan,
October 4-9 2010




The
next international conference OurMedia 9 | NuestrosMedios 9 will take place in
Jamshoro, Pakistan, from 4 to 9 October 2010, and will be hosted by the Center
for Rural Development Communication, at the University of Sindh. This
University is well known for its multicultural environment in a safe region
south of the country, not far from Karachi, a major city with international
airport. 


OurMedia | NuestrosMedios
is a global and multicultural network of scholars, artists media
practitioners and activists related to communication for social change. The first conference took place in Washington DC in 2001. Since
then, the network has expanded and strengthened over five continents, with annual events in
Barranquilla (Colombia), Porto Alegre (Brazil), Bangalore (India), Sydney
(Australia), Accra (Ghana) and Rio Negro (Colombia).





Among the objectives of OurMedia | NuestrosMedios
are: to support the strengthening of cultural identity, enhance participation
in policy making and processes of governance, make visible cultural and gender
diversity, promote arts for social change, as well as defend the right to
communicate of all peoples. 


The website http://www.ourmedianetwork.org/ displays
extensive information on previous conferences as well as on the network, and it
will shortly provide details about the next conference in Pakistan. 


The deadline for submission of abstracts (200
words) is June 30th 2010, and if accepted, the deadline to submit
papers (10 to 15 pages) and proposals for panels is August 30th. 






New Media and Emerging
Democracies 




In
accordance to the suggestion of our hosts at the University of Sindh, this
year’s main theme for papers, projects, shared experiences, exhibitions and
field visits will be: “New Media and Emerging Democracies.” 


Few
issues in contemporary world are so important and, at the same time, so
difficult to tackle, as democracy. Regardless of diverse approaches to
democracy in each region or context, it always means a certain lose of power
and control for those who detained hegemonic power. 


The
difficulty lies in the multiple meanings, representations and experiences that
the very notion of “democracy” has for peoples and societies, for different
cultures and periods of time. 


We
suggest a basic distinction between: 


a)    
Historical processes of “Democracies in
consolidation”, where national states are homogeneous and / or there is the
hegemony of dominant groups’
that have established, in time, an agenda that largely discusses and decides on
issues of participatory policy. In this context, pending issues of democracy
are related to identifying the necessities of segments of population that are
under represented, or whose interests are ignored. The role of new media is to
promote these issues and help identifying processes that will allow the
implementation of a true practice of democracy and citizen participation in
decision-making. 


b)   
“Emerging
democracies” in a multi-national state context, whether or not they are
recognized nations. Democracy has different tasks, goals and challenges in
societies where it is confronted with religious, ethnic, tribal and other
cultural divergences of significance, and where integration is difficult, much
in political terms as in daily life. In these cases, not only we find an
absence of public policies capable to meet people’s needs and desires, but
usually there is an under representation and ignorance of the needs of vast segments
of population, as well as of minorities. New Media have the responsibility of
opening a difficult road, based mostly on plural dialogue, and which is
non-centered and multi-vocal. A dialogue that will recognize all sorts of
appeals, points of view and convergences and that will promote a space for
voices that are rarely listened to and yet, are essential for the building of a
plural democracy. 


c)    
Democracy
requires identifying the necessities and voices of the disenfranchised. In this
sense, it is of great relevance to explore stories of children (girls and
boys), women, workers, peasants, indigenous, and other minority members. Also,
to analyze emerging ways of communication and relation that fight against
marginalization and ignorance and that contribute to knowledge and to identity
assertion. 


Another
theme for analysis and debate in OurMedia 9 | NuestrosMedios9 will be the
relevance of social and political processes related to the emergency of
citizen’s media or of new media. 


Taking
these ideas in consideration, we suggest some useful themes for a gradual
empowerment of different segments of population that have been, so far,
oppressed, marginalized or subordinated by reason of tradition, which some
societies consider natural practice. 


We
think of three scenarios for dissertations and collective debates. 


1.    
Industrial societies: What is
happening with new media in highly consolidated Western democracies? What are
the debates taking place within these contexts? What are the stakes and limits
of new media in societies under extreme cybernetic control? 


2.    
Democracies with opening spaces
and citizen access to media: How did they manage to have a growing presence in
the media? What are the social and economic processes related to their
presence? To what extent new media interact with preexisting dialogic media? 


3.           Emerging
democracies: What is the role of new media when access is restricted to a
minority of population? What role does it play in a context of emergency
democracy and political, religious and ideological confrontation? Can new media
make a contribution to intercultural dialogue? What are the links of process of
participatory communication with vast social movements? 


As in
previous conferences, OurMedia 9 | NuestrosMedios 9 will have plenary sessions in
the mornings, and panels, working groups and workshops in the afternoon. 


The
range of themes to discuss in panels and working teams is very wide.
These are some suggestions: 


-      
Participatory
citizenship in new media.

-      
Role
of new technologies in the building of citizenship

-      
Organized
grassroot movements and new media

-      
Technical
and social limits and advantages in new media

-      
New
media and the building of democracy

-      
Legal
frame, censorship or legitimacy of new media

-      
Global
and local: role of new media. 


Workshops
on actual experiences may address methodological aspects, which will allow for
transcending the stage of mere descriptions: 




-      
Methodologies
of communication and democracy building

-      
Experimenting
new media in contexts of confrontation

-      
Role
of training in the consolidation of new media 




On
the last day of the conference OurMedia 9 | NuestrosMedios 9, an open debate
will take place between all participants about the future of the network, the
future conferences and participants’ suggestions on future activities and
projects. 


Participation &
Logistics 


An
International Committee has been established to support the organization of
OurMedia 9 | NuestrosMedios 9, it includes colleagues that already participated
in previous conferences. There is also a Local Committee at the University of
Sindh that will be in charge of the main aspects for the event’s organization. 


Members
of both committees participate in seven sub-committees that are in charge of
the following areas: 1) Call for Proposals and Methodology; 2) Financing and
Grants; 3) Travel and Visas; 4) Press and Media; 5) Translation and
Interpreters; 6) Video Screening and Field Visit; and 7) Lodging and Food. 


Proposals
for panels, papers or workshops must be sent to: [log in to unmask] 





Those
interested in participating in OurMedia 9 / NuestrosMedios 9, may submit a
resume of their papers and / or panel proposals before July 1st.  A format for proposal submissions is
available on our website. 


All
information related to the conference will be posted in due time at http://www.ourmedianetwork.org/ 






(translated from
Spanish by Natalia Diaz) 





 		 	   		  
_________________________________________________________________
Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free.
https://signup.live.com/signup.aspx?id=60969