Oceania Indymedia Conference : Melbourne Indymedia

Oceania Indymedia Conference
Melbourne July 15th - 18th

The Oceania Indymedia conference will be a gathering of members of Indymedia collectives from Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, Aotearoa, Manila, Adelaide, Sydney, Quezon City, and Darwin. It will be a space for collectives to meet and work and an interface between Indymedia collectives and those who use the network.

We will be holding a series of public events over the four days.

Thursday July 15
Five years since the original software that came to power the Independent Media Centre was written by Sydney's Catalyst collective, Indymedia has changed and grown dramatically. Today more than 150 Indymedia collectives exist across the globe. What were the original ideas of Indymedia and have they stood up to reality? Are they still relevant today? What are the challenges in creating a truly democratic and participatory media and which way should Indymedia go in the future?
7pm, Irene Warehouse, 5 Pitt St, Brunswick.

Friday July 16
Melbourne Indymedia presents:
ruff/cut: never before screened footage of the forthcoming film by Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis.
In the wake of Argentina’s spectacular economic collapse in 2001, Latin America’s most prosperous middle class finds itself in a ghost town of abandoned factories and mass unemployment. In suburban Buenos Aires, thirty unemployed auto-parts workers walk into their idle factory, roll out sleeping mats and refuse to leave. All they want is to re-start the silent machines. But this simple act — the take — has the power to turn the globalization debate on its head. http://www.nfb.ca/thetake/
7pm, Trades Hall, corner of Victoria parade and Lygon st. $10/$7

Saturday July 17
Transmission
http://antimedia.net/transmission/
A one day gathering of local, community, independent and alternative media makers, Transmission aims to be a space for discussion, skill sharing and debate about communications and social change. Bringing together radio producers, video makers, writers, editors, web programmers and designers, Transmission will explore possibilities for collaboration and exchange and the creation of the media commons. Looking at new distribution and syndication strategies, content sharing via peer2peer networks, old and new media collaborations, online video and audio, creative commons Transmission will be a space for media makers to share their tactics, gripes and successes.
10.30am-8.30pm, Irene Warehouse, 5 Pitt st, Brunswick.

Saturday Night
Benefit Gig: Old Colonial Hotel, 127 Brunswick St Fitzroy
Start 9pm with Go Genre Everything and Epsilon Party, DJs and more.

Sunday: Workshops
Hands on workshops in online video, net activism, net security, free software, tech skills and more.
11am - 6pm: Irene Warehouse

Email imc-oceania@lists.cat.org.au to get more information, propose a workshop or if you're interested in coming.

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Transmission
http://antimedia.net/transmission/
Saturday July 17th, Irene Warehouse, 5 Pitt st, Brunswick.

A one day gathering of local, community, independent and alternative media
makers, Transmission aims to be a space for discussion, skill sharing and debate about communications and social change. Bringing together radio producers, video makers, writers, editors, web programmers and designers, Transmission will explore possibilities for collaboration and exchange and the creation of the media commons. Looking at new distribution and syndication strategies, content sharing via peer2peer networks, old and new media collaborations, online video and audio, creative commons Transmission will be a space for media makers to share their tactics, gripes and successes.Times New Roman

10.30 am
BEGINS
Tea and coffee

11.00 am
OPENING SESSION: 2 Minutes of Infamy
Two minutes on the soapbox to introduce yourself and the media you create.

12.00 midday
FORUM: System Interrupt
Why do we work as media makers? At some level, the answer has to be 'to change the way things are' - to disrupt the status quo in anything from a minor to a major way. Within the framework of social change, what is the role of the journalist, the media maker, and of the witness? When the notion of ‘truth telling’ has been hijacked by reality TV, what tactics are there left for independent media makers to employ? How do we create media that actually initiates or furthers social change?

1.30-2.30 pm
LUNCH

2.30-3.30 pm
DISCUSSION: Stitch n Bitch
How many times as an independent media maker have you wished for a larger support network to share tactics and bitch sessions with? Well here is the knitting circle you’ve been dreaming of. In this session we will break into facilitated discussion groups to discuss the burning issues within each medium. How do you fill those embarrassing silences in live-to-air interviews? How much can you really ask of your contributors when you have no money to pay them? And: Should the comma be in or outside the quote mark?! Bring your gripes and challenges, share your tactics and successes.

3.30-4.00 pm
BREAK

4.00-6.00 PM
FORUM: Avenues for syndication and distribution
Audiences are becoming increasingly fragmented, and both the methods and technologies of ‘getting the information out there’ have multiplied and diverged. What forms of collaborative story-telling are possible in this new landscape? How can new distribution techniques complement old ones? And what effect does the increased ease of sharing content have on authorship and ownership? Including: peer to peer networks, rss syndication, Creative Commons project and more.

6.30 pm
DINNER, DRINKS AND SCREENINGS
Video news from around the region, plus media from the handbags of conference attendees.

For Video Makers
The video stream will be about facilitating and invigorating networks of video-makers within the region to encourage better content-sharing and a community of thought on alt-video production, with perspectives from independent producers and community and activist media collectives.

On Saturday we will discuss the philosophies underlying video as a tool for social change, relationships with social-movements and campaigns, and the political nature of our own organisational models and how this can determine the media we make.

We will address how increased bandwidth and faster computers are making high quality online video more of a reality everyday. What are the options for video producers to distribute their work online? How can old media / new media collaborations utilise syndication technologies to reach wider audiences? Micro_transmitters, community screenings, festivals, compilations such as Oceania Indymedia Newsreel and Global Insights and a regional online video makers network. What are the possibilities for new media making techniques based on these technologies? The Creative Commons.
http://oceania.indymedia.org/newsreal.php

On Sunday there will be a less-structured get together of video-makers and Indymedia techies to discuss the practicalities of building a regional video network. There will also be the opportunity to exchange content at the media swap-table, plus take part in a practical workshop in compressing and uploading your video to the web.Times New Roman

Calling all radical radiosters
What possibilities are open by new technologies for radio distribution? How can you take advantage of them? Sharing content online is becoming easier by the day. How can we use this to create collaborative networks for audio production? A regional streaming channel? Peer to peer networks? Local radio distributed and compiled to create regional programming. Micro radio? Getting your stuff out there.

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Workshops at SoS

By Any Media Necessary?: ELT3
In working for social change is any media good media? Can corporate and government media be used as tools for social change? What are the relationships between how we communicate and the kind of society we want to create? Can media be action and not just information? How can activists intervene in the mediasphere or create their own spaces?

And_ – Melbourne Indymedia

Marni Cordell - Co-Editor of Spinach7, independent culture and politics magazine

Danny Buttler - Herald Sun Environment Reporter

Juliete Fox - 3CR community Radio

Indymedia! Grassroots media makers against the Empire!:
Indymedia Space 1.5 hours;
Tuesday11:00
An introduction and discussion about the history, origins, uses and analysis of Indymedia. We hope that this will provide a forum for members of indymedia collectives from NZ, Australia, UK and the Phillipines to help introduce new people to the concept of open-publishing and to experience some of the different ways that this can be implemented.

Web Security: Indymedia Space 1 hour, Garcon du Monde (Indymedia) and Andy Nicholson (Cat@lyst, Sydney)
Tuesday 4pm
An introductory session on basic security on the world wide web. What is a secure website? What is secure email? Is my email secure? Should I worry about security? How can I use security? This workshop will help to provide an introduction to security for non-technical people.