Session 3: 2-3:30pm
Schedule may be subject to change
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Art & Activism: the NYC Ghost Bike project - Part One (Part Two in Session 4)- Visual Resistance Art & Activism for low-budget activists
Visual Resistance will present simple techniques and strategies that low-budget (or no-budget) activists can use to get their message out to the world. In this interactive, discussion-based workshop, we'll look at the role of art in activism through the lens of the Ghost Bike Project, a street memorial campaign for bicyclists killed by cars in New York City. Later on, we'll demonstrate DIY printmaking techniques like stencils, silkscreen, and block printing, and discuss printing and fundraising strategies for large sticker and poster campaigns. This workshop will be continued in the next session.
CKUT Radio (Montreal): Grassroots Media as the Voice of Migrants
Representatives from CKUT Radio
Grassroots media, and in particular community radio, have had a long history of being the voice of those who are most marginalized. In Montreal, and many other places, the migrant justice struggle has been able to find a voice through community radio, and in ways that have been able to bring the media to those directly affected. This workshop will look at the ways we have been able to create community radio as a tool for the immigrant justice struggle, not only in Montreal but across North America.
Combating the Stereotypes and Misperceptions of Black Women in the Media
Shantay Armstrong, Movement in Motion and Courtney Young, Chica Luna Productions
Through film, discussion, and debate we will explore four major historical images of Black women in the media: the Mammy, the Jezebel, the Sapphire and the Tragic Mulatta as well as other new stereotypes; the Welfare Queen and the Matriarch. In this workshop we will answer the following questions in this order: What are these images and where do they come from? What do they mean to us? Are they positive or negative? How do these images tell young Black girls how to behave and interact in society? What do we want to do about our perceptions of Black women? What steps have already been taken to improve the health of Black women?
DIY Animation Crash Course
Verena Faden and Andrew Lynn, MNN Youth Channel
Using stop-motion animation is one more way to uniquely stylize your video work... and it's FUN! In this hi-paced workshop, join Youth Channel and the DIY Animation Workshop for an introduction to lo-tech stop-motion techniques. Small groups will work in teams to create separate parts to one animated story. We will develop a character together, and create short animations from different experiences in his/her life. There will be roles for everyone. In the process, participants will learn what it takes to make a short video - frame-by-frame. We've got lots of little tricks, ideas, and free software tips to get people on their way to making their own animations at home. The finished project will be posted on the YC and DIY Animation videoblogs immediately after the conference.
Hip-Hop Sustains
Vanessa Nisperos, The 5th Element; Orlando Green, National Hip-Hop Political Convention; Terry Marshall, Hip Hop Media Lab; and Chong Kim, Soul Survivors.
Hip-Hop Sustains—Evolutionary Culture for a Sustainable Future, a new campaign initiated by Soul Survivors is an urgent response to a post-9/11 and post-Hurricane Katrina world. Our presentation will educate and engage participants in discussion around why a multi-disciplinary coalition approach is needed to achieve the trategic goals of ending poverty and environmental degradation.
Node 101: Learn How To Make a Video Blog
Ivettza Sanchez, ManhattanNeighborhood Network; Brittany Shoot, Kaja Tretjak and Sam Carter,HollabackNYC
In this workshop, we plan to talk briefly about how video blogging is changing the way media is made and distributed. Needing only a computer, a digital camera, and editing software (such as imovie, or windows media maker), many people are no longer satisfied being passive watchers, instead people are now making their voices heard being active participants. We will spend the majority of the time explaining how to compress a video and having the participants take turns uploading videos to the GMC video blog. There will also be a discussion about Holla Back NYC a web-based project dedicated to combating street harassment and empowering those who have experienced it.
Prometheus Radio Project and the Global Community Radio Movement
Siyade Gemechisa, Megan Sheehan and Andy Gunn, Prometheus Radio Project
While community radio is a growing movement in the United States, providing listeners with an alternative to the monopolized and corporately owned media, international community radio is also making great strides in connecting community struggles and radio. Internationally, community radio plays a much larger and central role in the way citizens acquire the information that shapes the political and cultural climates in their regions. In the past years, we at Prometheus Radio Project have been receiving increasingly larger amounts of requests for international support. We hear from communities, radio stations, and volunteers who seek advice, technical assistance or are looking for opportunities to get involved with the radio movement. During this workshop we hope to show participants the type of work that Prometheus does internationally by providing stories and a multimedia presentation of these projects, as well as a hands on experience building a one-watt transmitter.
Software Freedom and the Organic Internet
Alfredo Lopez, May First/People Link; Laura Quilter, Brennan Center Democracy Program; and Daniel Kahn Gillmor
Proprietary software like Final Cut Pro, Photoshop and Internet Explorer are staples of the alternative media movement. How do these tools, particularly when used to build an alternative media environment over the Internet, limit our freedom and ability to grow? What steps, from tools to content, can we take to secure a truly independent media sector and to continue to expand and empower the Internet as a medium for disseminating our message? Come discuss the political implications of using free software to build a movement with May First/People Link, Openflows and friends.
Styles of Expression: Tellin' Your Story
Kenday McLeod, Davis Santana, Anayansi Diaz-Cortes, Kiri Davis, Patricia Torres and Diana Lee, Arts Engine
This workshop will explore the different ways in which young people are expressing themselves: from slam poetry to script, from documentary to video diaries, young media artists/activists are finding different ways to bring their voices to the larger audience, breaking boundaries and sharing perspectives. Participants will learn the challenges and approaches to expressing their views through different mediums and platforms. They will have the opportunity to create their own slam poetry, write a short script, do a small video diary and learn about ways that their works can be seen by a larger audience and used as tools for social change.
The Impact of Mainstream Media Ownership on the Ethnic Press in New York
Juana Ponce de Leon, IPA-NY; Antoine Faisal, Aramica; Nathaniel Popper, The Forward; Anthony D. Advincula, IPA-NY; and Rong Xiaoqing, Sing Tao.
In September 2006, Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corporation, bought out Courier Life Publications, a group of black and Caribbean newspapers in the city, including Caribbean Life, Brooklyn-Courier, Brooklyn Heights, Flatbush Life and Fort Green Courier. Two months later, an inside source said that a representative of Mr. Murdoch came to the office of Manhattan Borough community publications in the city. We can only wonder what impact Murdoch will have on the editorial content of the ethnic and immigrant communities. Chinese, Russian, Filipino, Black and Spanish-language newspapers tell their stories from their point of view. In fact, they don't care if English speakers cannot read their papers. If Murdoch's buy spells the beginning of a trend, what effect will this consolidation of ownership have in shaping public opinion among immigrant and low-income communities? Are the media avenues that immigrants use to air their views to policy-makers in danger? What measures can be taken to ensure that that this media sector continue to thrive? Hear representatives of the ethnic press take on these issues.
Uplifting Community Voices…Responding to Audience Demand: An International Perspective on Violence & Communication
João Silva Brandão Jr., Projecto Lingua Solta; Jamshid Matin, Ariana Television Network; Issa Nyaphaga, Le Messager Popoli; and Todd Lester, freeDimensional/Reporters Without Borders
The attempted control of information manifests itself in different forms ranging from censorship and economic marginalization to death threats, abduction and torture against journalists, artists and activists. What is the true impact of these calculated attacks on members of the press and culture workers? During this session you will hear from an Afghani journalist seeking exile in the United States and culture workers from Cameroon and Brazil who have also been affected by extreme violence.
We are all in Darfur—and Nairobi, Abidjan, Johannesburg, Lagos,Kampala: the African perspective
Chaka Ngwenya, SARFMradio.com; Milton Allimadi, The Black Star News; Zita Allen, International Labor Communication Assocation; Omoyele Sowore, Sahara Reporters’ and Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
African media activists will discuss how they bring news to a wider U.S. audience via websites, internet radio, magazines, and locally-based newspapers.