[GRC] URGENT PLEASE READ: DRAFT PROPOSAL for UCIMC/GRC 2011

[Kristina Williams]

Here is the draft of the proposal. Read it and send any comments,
questions, typos you've got. This is going out to the GRC at 9pm EST
flat!

-K

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Hellooo Grassroots Radio Coalition!

I've met a few of you (digitally and in person) already, but for those
of you I haven't, I'm Kristina with WRFU and the Urbana-Champaign
Independent Media Center. We were mentioned (probably in passing) as a
potential for hosting the GRC a few weeks ago. Since then, volunteers
from WRFU, WEFT (another community radio station in the area), and IMC
volunteers have been working to make this a reality. A committee to
facilitate event planning has formed, with more volunteers showing
interest every day. Here's some of the more logistics-minded steps
we've taken:

The IMC as a venue has been secured for the first weekend of August,
but the second weekend is still an option if the dates don't work.
grassrootsradioconference.org has been registered. WRFU would be more
than happy to pass this along to other hosts.

TRAVEL
The urban area of Champaign-Urbana is about three miles wide, flat as
a pancake, and there's been some discussion of getting the Bike
Project to rent out bikes for the weekend. We are about 2.5 hours
south of Chicago, and about the same distance from Indianapolis and
St. Louis (St. Louis might be closer to three hours). Three trains go
to and from Chicago each day, as well as buses. There are two airports
in the area, 1 that is 15 minutes away and 1 with a cheap service (air
tran) 45 minutes away.

ACCOMMODATIONS
Hotels have sent conference rates, ranging between $40-$85/night, some
singles, some doubles, and all within that three mile radius. There's
an excellent bus system that runs until 3 in the morning. House-shares
have been discussed.

One of the biggest strengths WRFU has is it's a community radio
station, two-fold. First and foremost, WRFU serves the community of
Champaign-Urbana, but also to the IMC and its volunteers. The IMC
brings together people with a diversity of interests and help each
other do wonderful things by supporting each other's endeavors. Most
RFU volunteers have volunteered with other projects at the IMC, and
the same is true for the opposite. Many IMC volunteers have a vested
interest in community radio (either through WRFU, WEFT, or both) and
the IMC is the common thread that creates a network of organizing.
Having a weekend of workshops and media-making accentuates the
strength of the IMC and shows the rest of the world what the
grassroots community is made of.

You can find the specs about our local community radio, the IMC as a
venue, as general info on Champaign-Urbana here:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B-ZYSIaPqCJNMDJjZTRhMTMtMTU4Ni00MTUyLTg4ZmItNTE0YTc2Zjk0YjAz&hl=en&authkey=CIvVhrwM
The quality is a bit shoddy because of Google Docs' formatting.

I recognize that I am relatively new to the media scene (next months
marks three years in), but if the IMC gets picked for the site, I want
to extend every invitation to the coalition to give input and work
with WRFU and the IMC for the next five months to put this conference
on.

Cheers,
Kristina
--
Kristina Williams, News Media Coordinator
Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center
kristinawho[at]gmail[dot]com
202 S Broadway
Urbana, IL 61801
217.344.8820