[IMC-US] FOCI: Indymedia Birthday & Media Activist Gathering

[sheri at speakeasy.org]

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-----Original Message-----
From: Yossarian [mailto:catchtwentytwo at gmx.de]
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 05:26 PM
To: imc-europe at lists.indymedia.org, imc-africa at lists.indymedia.org, 
imc-Eastern-Mediterranean at lists.indymedia.org, 
imc-communication at lists.indymedia.org, imc-news at lists.indymedia.org
Subject: [Imc-communication] Indymedia Birthday & Media Activist Gathering

In celebration of five years of Indymedia, IMC Germany has teamed up 
with a host of independent media projects and now proudly presents:

Free Media Reloaded...

The first MAG (Media Activist Gathering) will be held in Berlin, 
Germany, from November 24 to December 1, 2004.  As inspiration for this 
event is the celebration of Indymedia’s fifth year as the largest 
independent media network.

MAG ’04 starts off Nov. 24 at 7:00 pm with its opening ceremony.
The week-long “Freedom of Information” film festival  begins Thursday, 
Nov. 25 in over seven theatres in Berlin, Potsdam, and Erfurt.  The 
independently-made films presented here will concern the process of 
globalization and the world that finds itself engulfed by this process. 
  In particular, the films will enlighten audiences about the role of 
media as well as dissect commercial clichés and consumer habits, while 
also demonstrating what alternatives are available.
All interested are invited to the public MAG festival on Friday, Nov. 
26, beginning at 3:00 pm.  There will not only be information concerning 
the theme of “Free Media,” but also about the technology and philosophy 
that enable it.
Friday, Nov. 26 the Open Space Conference begins in Berlin with the 
topic of “Free-er and More Independent Online Media: a Quantum Leap in 
the Evolution of Media—Visions and Strategies.”  The content of the 
conference will not be decided by a predetermined program, but rather by 
the participants themselves.
A definite highlight to look forward to is Indymedia’s 5th Birthday 
Party on Saturday.
Entrance is free to both the opening ceremony and the public MAG 
festival.  A fee will be asked for entrance to the “Freedom of 
Information” film festival and the Open Space Conference.
We hope to make factual information accessible to all and also 
demonstrate an alternative form of media consumption.

Ideas, Goals and Background
Indymedia, as an online network of the Independent Media Center (IMC), 
represents now over 160 IMCs worldwide.  This network has been built 
without a main center, has no structural hierarchy, and its participants 
arrive at various decisions consensually. This allows for the 
uncensored, critical reporting of social, environmental, sociopolitical 
themes in word, image and tone.
There has been difficulty in impressing the interests and effects of 
globalization, whose coverage by the media has up until now been mostly 
one-sided.
Since its foundation, Indymedia has served as an important source for 
information that would otherwise either not be reported or modified to 
be toned down.  Furthermore it utilizes the Internet to connect 
thousands of media projects and activists.
Increasingly the monopolization of media by ever-growing international 
media corporations affect the reporting of events, with the (in)direct 
censur and watering-down of informational content and quality.  The 
fight against this global trend and the underlying political apathy of 
media are the main themes of MAG '04, offering alternatives to implement 
in the future.

Independent media is a necessity in order for people to be heard, and a 
world based on peace and cooperation, instead of competition, cannot be 
achieved without a free media.

What that means exactly is what we want to make visible and 
experienceable through the film festival and MAG festival.  Moreover, a 
platform for direct exchange and connectivity originates from engaged 
and interested creators.  The issues addressed here before all, for the 
free exchange of and an open road to information, make up the main 
argument for a free-er and fairer society.  This can be active in the 
different concentrations of media (paid or unpaid, mainstream or 
underground).

Participation is more than wishful thinking...

Homepage and more info: http://mag04.net

Do you know of other events taking place in connection with Indymedia's 
fifth birthday? Please let us know: info at mag04.net


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