ImcUsMeeting2007June30

Table of content :

Indymedia Meet-Up @ the United Status Social Forum

Saturday June 30, 2007 5:00pm-8:30pm Atlanta, Georgia

In the house:

Michael, Micah and Drew - Asheville IMC

Sakura - Fault Lines and Indybay

Sofia \x96 Boston IMC

Carol and Mahsa \x96 Atlanta IMC

Stephanie \x96 Indypendent

Griffin- Indykids

Matt \x96 New Orleans IMC

Sphinx \x96 Minneapolis and Ambazonia IMC

Danielle- Urbana Champaign IMC

Chris- Tennessee IMC

Onto- San Diego and NYC IMC

Chickpea, Nick, John, Rob, and Gislaine \x96 Houston IMC

Agenda:

1. Indymedia US Newspaper and Distribution

2. How to help collectives facing tech problems

3. Sharing projects different IMCs are doing

4. Question & Answers

5. RNC/Minneapolis organizing

6. Discussion on Principles of Unity

1. Indymedia US Newspaper Distribution:

- Copies of a special Indymedia US newspaper featuring a collection of recent stories published on IMCs across the US were distributed and available at the Indymedia table throughout the forum

- Extra copies were available for indymedia people to take to their hometowns

- Thanks to Sakura, Sofia, Amy and everyone else who worked on getting the paper out!

2. Helping collectives facing tech problems:

- After over a year, Atlanta IMC has not been able to get its site back up and has not been able to get tech support from other IMCs/techies. They emailed tech list and were never able to connect with the right person. They are currently looking for a new server and have also lost a year of their archives.

- Tennessee IMC faced tech problems due to spamming on DADA and contacted tech listservs but was also not able to get help

- Since tech listserv seems to not be very active, those seeking tech help should go to IRC Chat at chat.indymedia.org, contact local tech and/or specific code-base listservs.

- Atlanta IMC suggests that there be a list of people who have server space to offer. Asheville IMC said that there is a wikipage with this information (does anyone have URL?)

- Brazil and the San Francisco Community Colocation Project (sfccp.net) have server space to offer

- Nick from Houston IMC suggests that people join the IMC process, communication, editorial and IMC-US listservs

3. Story sharing about different projects IMCs are taking up:

New Orleans- there\x92s currently not many people, so they have started a blogger outreach campaign to set up links on the site to different blog sites and to have the better blogs repost articles

Ambazonia - Sphinx has just finished up a movie about the student movement in Ambazonia and is organizing screenings

Minneapolis - needs help! There\x92s a small group of folks struggling to get it back up

Tennessee- recently did a project with Nashville homeless, coverage on the Stop the Bombs campaign in Oakridge, and a video documenting radical organizing in Nashville

Atlanta\x96 is still working hard on the TV show which runs on Free Speech TV and a local college station (DVD copies of the TV show are available for purchase)

Houston \x96 recently served as guest editor of the Houston Peace News, runs a weekly radio show, monthly film screenings, a spanish language newspaper el independiente, and is making stronger connections to latin@ community

Indybay/Fault Lines- recently ran into some financial issues but made it through, is currently coming out quarterly but hopes to publish more regularly soon. Enemy combatant radio is going strong!

Urbana Champaign \x96 is working on the Books for Prisoners Conference coming up in late Oct-Nov (has had huge success gathering books!), running radio show, working on getting a stand alone community TV station, working on Kenya alliance, is providing coverage of successful criminal justice campaigns in the city, and is helping to promote spin off groups

Boston- there\x92s a new generation of people working on Boston IMC, website is not fully functional right now but they\x92re working on it and might move to new code base, still maintaining radio and video projects and collaboration with the Underground

Asheville- joined the IMC network 3 weeks ago! Created an outreach zine/IMC user manual, are going to meetings of organizations/groups in Asheville to outreach and explain the website, and are distributing a print bi-monthly event calendar San Diego \x96 is being revamped, currently suffering from an overwhelming stream of posts from the Minutemen, and maintaining Spanish language translation

NYC \x96 working groups are pretty autonomous, and IMC seems to not be fully integrated into local social movements. Indypendent continues to be a great newspaper

4. Questions & Answers:

- Asheville IMC needs to be added on the cities list of IMCs

- Carol from Atlanta IMC notes that there is a big tech problem, suggests the need to train techs and perhaps have regional IMC gatherings

- Discussion on how techlists/IRC chat just isn\x92t very accessible for those who are not tech savvy

- There is currently no restart or regrouping workgroup/listserv and no site raising support for the different software

- Urbana IMC: suggested checking out Nonprofit Technology Network

- Discussed having a tech retreat and skillshare conference: recognizing that techs are burn out, that there is a crucial need to have more people with tech skills, to democratize tech access, and to break down gender/racial issues around tech, we are putting out a proposal to indymedia US to have a tech retreat/skillshare conference.

- The retreat will work to train new techs and give current techs some much deserved relaxation, kudos and cookies.

- Brazil\x92s project to increase the number of female techs will be looked at as a model for dealing with gender issues.

- Worked on proposal which will go out to Indymedia US in the next few days

5. Indymedia and the Republican National Convention

- Sphinx : the RNC will be in St Paul next year, Minneapolis IMC collective is currently not functioning, but IMC needs to play a role. In Europe, IMC is always present. What role is IMC going to play in Minneapolis?

- suggestions that if Minneapolis doesn\x92t come back up in time for IMC, the site could be redirected to Indymedia US or Indymedia US could have a topic page specifically for the RNC

- There will be a planning meeting this September in Minneapolis for RNC actions, can anyone from IMC attend?

6. Principles of Unity

- have never been ratified

- Chris: Tennessee IMC was accused of censorship, just wanted to clarify that Tennessee was not never aware of principles of unity

- Though they have not been ratified, every new IMC is asked to agree to the principles of unity upon gaining membership

- Priniciples of unity can be found on the imc wiki page (http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/AboutUs

Meeting ended with a reading of the draft proposal for the Tech retreat/skillshare which will be out to the Indymedia US list within the next few days