To start with there was an introduction presentation about indymedia - its origins and development - and the story of how indymedia developed in the uk - spread throughout the country and now needs a focus in london.

The presentation set out the basic framework for indymedia london to exist within - ie part of the uk network and part of the global imc network - plus the minimum requirements for being part of those networks:

International Indymedia Network Principles of Unity:
 http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/PrinciplesOfUnity
 http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/MembershipCriteria
Indymedia UK mission statement + editorial guidelines:
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/static/mission.html
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/static/editorial.html

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LONDON:

Then came the questions for london....

while there are several indymedia projects based in london (film screenings / a radio show / print)
the box that is Indymedia London is basically empty!

So what should fill it?....

People introduced themselves and said why they were interested, or what they hoped to see,
or what they thought was important.

To give some context and ideas, people from IMC Bristol kindly visited to share some of their experiences and ideas....

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IMC BRISTOL PRESENTATION

Bristol Indymedia was asked to speak about their motivations and experience organising as a specifically local Indymedia outside of the broader regional Indymedia UK collective (special thanks to them for coming). Rather then try to recap their presentation, we instead jotted down key phrases and questions raised during their talk, especially those relevant to the establishment of Indymedia in London:

open collective - accountability - face to face meetings

while many people involved work from anarchist and anti-capitalist principles
this should not exclude others

Local content - local outreach

IMC Bristol came out of a several day long tech convergence involving other alt media groups
(around 40 people - asking if there was a need for an imc bristol)

Ran workshops and training for local groups about indymedia and how to use the website
as well as combining with other existing media projects (important)

Emphasis on promoting and collaborating with other alt media projects

Wanted to create a space for, and to reach, activists _and_ everyone else
Wanted to avoid just re-hashing national news
Wanted to keep the site and the organisation simple and straightforward
- easy for people to get involved in - avoiding categories
Not using language of 'reporters' and 'editors'
Create sense of community

Being a local site does not mean isolationism
often focus on national / international issues but through some local link
(ie reporting from Iraq by someone from Bristol on almuajaha.org)

Part of uk indymedia network + international indymedia network
Developing various film nights and radio project

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INDYMEDIA LONDON DISCUSSIONS

After the presentation from Bristol Indymedia, we broke up into small groups to consider Indymedia in London with the following questions as a basis:

How do we fill the ‘empty box' that is Indymedia?
What projects would people like to do with IMC London?
What’s important for London?
What kind of trainings would people like / can offer?

Following, then, is an attempt to recap ideas that were generated. This discussion was not intended to build a blueprint for what Indymedia London should look like, but rather, to begin brainstorming on what possibilities might there be. Below are points grouped into sections, followed by the raw points made as the different groups fed back.

People are encouraged to add to this list / dialogue!

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OUTREACH

Difficulty and importance of outreach in a large & diverse city like London
Importance of linking up with groups already in place (alt media / campaigns)
Efficient outreach
Networking with resident groups, youth orgs
Networking with existing alt media groups / campaign groups
Having space for people to respond to stories and to report on positive stories in their community
Make it simple
Emphasise wide variety of users of indymedia
Workshops on how to use Indymedia for other groups
Identify local space, local info shops, health food stores, community centers etc as places to get the word out about Indymedia
Create a poster outlining How to Get Involved in Indymedia to post at places like above and libraries, community centers, housing projects etc.
Mobile internet / public access points to travel to community spaces on a revolving basis
Neighborhood organising projects / getting together with people in your local community to organise reporting / projects / ways to use Indymedia
How to use large demo reporting and action coverage to expand users
Indymedia as forum to bring London together
More Indymedia London convergence type events - maybe themed

WIDEN SCOPE OF CONTENT

Arts / cultural resources and content
Investigative journalism
Reporting on local issues
Identify key local issues and groups working in that area
Engage NGOs and other groups to report on their own stories
Connect with workers in the City to identify those interested in reporting ‘undercover’ on what’s going on
Local political coverage
Include on-line took kits from other groups
Cover issue of surveillance in London

CALENDAR

List of what’s going on in London for free - some exist so us them / link to them
Useful to help Indymedia be a tool for other groups
Need for calendar / resource space for info on events before they happen not just reporting after the fact
Split calendar into topics like film screenings, benefits, protests, meetings, exhibitions etc


NEW PROJECTS

Reporting the March 20th international day of peace protest against war
Streaming the Peace not War 4 days of gigs in hackney
Create an ‘Ad Box’/ topic / section with photos of billboards and/or Subvertising
Map of radical London and link with radical histories of London and groups already involved in that within various communities
Need for projects to make everyday life visible + media issues relevant
More screening events and video production
More print projects
Media toolkits - gather into a resource guide / section


MISCHIEF ETC

How to translate indymedia into tactical media?
Direct action / media activism organising
WSIS issues for the uk / london


STRUCTURE / ORGANISING

Need for more languages / translations
Interactivity on site
Improve navigation on site
Create New Users box on home page that links to a ‘how to’ map of the site with information about how the site itself is laid out
Emphasis on public access
Clarify / tell the story of how things got to be as they are and what exists at the moment
Indymedia as distribution not just production!
More clearly link to other resources
Objectivity ­ be more clear that it is subjective reporting not intended to be objective
Twiki’s - Use of twiki’s in sharing information / working on joint projects or documents / training people to use twiki’s, use of twiki’s as toolkit for training and developing content
Redesign how the site looks ­ improve visual image
Make uploading form more clear


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UNSORTED RAW NOTES FROM GROUP DISCUSSIONS:

GROUP ONE

Push for more arts based content / involvement
More 'small news' local culture
Big Button - "New Users" to lead to a simple how to use this site explanation
Create a poster explaining Indymedia + encouraging participation - for libraries + community centres etc
Categorise calendar (have a better one) allowing people to see 'All Film Showings' / 'All protests' etc
London is CCTV world leader, a laboratory of surveillance

TRAINING:
need training on how to do training!
Can gather existing media kits / guides to skills / 'how to' guides
Need basic training just on how to use Indymedia site
Could visit campaign groups to train on how to use Indymedia
Could do local trainings in specific geographic areas

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GROUP TWO

More 'culture'on website
More focus on research + investigative journalism
Media actions / direct action / mischief!
More outreach to community centres etc, not just focus on activists
Try local area meetings + discussions and feed back to london imc email list
Media actions to make issue 'real' / relevant to everyday life
Local news - maybe subdivisions like Hackney, but probably too small
London has people from many countries so reporting international issues is relevant to london

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GROUP THREE

Make clear what exists now! Document history and ongoing projects
London drains energy by its nature - so should share resources more
Do "Self Replicating Media"
Push existing resources and projects - eg work with exploding cinema / and push
existing guides on how to do things - like exp cinema guide to doing screenings
More print projects, experimental print chains
NB Indymedia site is difficult for new people to understand
Are lots of other good sites out there - use them and work together
IMC focusses currently on reporting protests, and this is reflected by who gets involved

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GROUP FOUR

Outreach: Focus on existing groups
Look at Networks of groups eg residents associations
Try and carry more 'positive news' / good things and working initiatives
Make IMC london site a tool for the london community
Organise more events
More arts / culture focussed events
Move beyond 'normal politics' / normal protest coverage
More critical news and analysis, not just demo reports
London is the Neoliberal capital of europe - make this central
Transport issues are huge in london
Advertising / subvertising / public space is a big london issue (billboard watch?)
More outreach to NGOs and not 4 profit groups / train them on using the website
More investigative reporting
What about whistleblowers / workers in the city etc
Find people with passion for the issues
The big question is how to translate all this into practical projects

TRAINING: Audio + video basic training wanted / fundraising / marketing and outreach
Linux and open source training
Hardware sharing is important

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GROUP FIVE

Website ideas: Create a map of the radical history of london areas
Map the current radical landscape - infoshops / social spaces / health food shops / groups etc
Local issues need to be visable on the web
Use existing london free listings more
Do localised how to use indymedia training sessions, not just one big one per month
London has a wealth of different languages (cultures) - also useful for translations
What about local print newsletters
More film screening events - localising distribution + screenings

TRAINING: streaming media software / open source editing tools / internet BASICS / security /
basic writing and interview techniques / using video / radio and audio

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ROUNDUP:

People were especially keen to move forward with:

a programme of training events (to be organised on london list)
streaming peace not war 4 days of gigs (to be organised on london list)
organising reporting of the march 20th international anti-war protests
more discussion and further meetings / some special ones for existing alt media groups + campaign groups

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