The Media Culture and Communications Rights Network

presents:

Four days of Communication Rights Discussion and Tactical Media Production

Thursday 14 - Sunday 17th October 2004
@ The Camden Centre,
Judd St
Near Kings Cross,
London WC1

FREE / donations encouraged
RSVP to:  info@efcr2004.net

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As Governments and corporations increasingly base their authority on the ownership and control of information - a closer look reveals these areas as the landscape in which crucial struggles are being played out. 'Communication Rights' is at the heart of these struggles.

The media-led battles for hearts and minds are playing a central role in global politics, and Intellectual Property is becoming a major means of corporate control over knowledge and our environment. Technologies of control are being developed and deployed on a wide scale to both keep watch on people, and to limit their free movement. At the same time an increasingly militarised level of repression is being deployed against dissent, creating a situation of intensified infowar, in our newspapers, on our TVs, our computer screens, and in our streets.

As we witness the increasing privatisation of knowledge and extensions of repressive cybersecurity regimes, a growing movement around communication rights is making links across physical borders, networks and a variety of different campaigns.

These issues will be tackled by four days of discussion, practical collaboration and media making, taking place alongside the European Social Forum (ESF) in London, and based at the Camden Centre, next to Kings Cross in the Bloomsbury area (one of the two major ESF locations).

The venue will house an ongoing Indymedia centre (IMC) to facilitate the DIY reporting of the ESF and the events in autonomous spaces, as well as covering protests, actions and theatrical interventions; and to also enable synergies in both practical and theoretical ways. All attendees are encouraged to participate in developing and experimenting with horizontal communication, sharing knowledge, creating networks of alternative communication projects and campaigns, and producing grass roots media. There will also be a bar and cheap food available, as well as social events and film screenings.

NOTE: Further IMC / alt. media production nodes will be located in other venues, and additional spaces will be provided for some workshops and training.

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Thursday 14th October 9.15am-6.30pm

The European Forum of Communication Rights (EFCR) takes place the day before the start of the European Social Forum, and tackles one of the most important questions: how to bring together those working at different levels on communication rights - from grass roots activists working on practical projects and street level campaigns, to those engaged in lobbying and advocacy, to researchers and academics. Starting the day a series of keynote speakers, presentations and open-floor discussions will establish what is at stake in the information revolution: who owns what, who has the power, and what it means for us all.

"As the movement around Communications Rights gathers momentum, a multitude of campaigns are confronting the same issues from a variety of directions."

Focusing on the global issues of Security and the Surveillance State, Migration and Borders, and the Corporatisation of our Communication spaces and knowledge, the event aims to find common ground that links these varied strands together to produce vibrant, relevant and powerful campaigns.

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Friday explores the emergence of the resistance to technologies of control, looking at tactics, tools and techniques, focusing on Infowar and Signal Jamming, Electronic Commons, IP and Bio Piracy, Biometric ID Cards, Gender and Technology, and Tactical and Alternative Media.

Friday night will see an evening of entertainment with comedy, music, films and a special set of presentations and performance from migrant networks, sans papiers, and people from the global south.

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Saturday will see the 10th anniversary celebration of the respected alternative media project www.SchNEWS.org.uk with a full afternoon conference. SchNEWS was borne out of the movement against the infamous UK Criminal Justice Act of 1994, an act that sought to criminalise everyone from travellers to free partygoers to those doing direct action. SchNEWS has become an internationally respected newsletter of the anti-capitalist movement providing information for action to activists across the world. On the web or in print, it's free, written entirely by volunteers, and is funded by donation. Later that evening they kick off their birthday fundraiser party in a venue south of the river.

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Throughout the four days, daily Indymedia meetings will be held to co-ordinate grassroots media coverage. The space will also serve as a hub for other initiatives such as web-radio production, as well as providing information on all of the other events within the ESF that relate to communications rights.

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This four day programme has been developed to counteract the lack of content addressing communication rights within the European Social Forum programme. As thousands of participants from diverse movements gather to meet and discuss, the urgency of Communication Rights issues and the freedom to communicate must be at the core of any vision of another society.

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LINKS AND CONTACTS:

EFCR website:
 http://www.efcr2004.net

EFCR contact:
info@(nospam)efcr2004.net

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Indymedia UK Network
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk

IMC Media Centre organising wiki website:
 http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Local/UkImcEsf

Indymedia mailing list:
 http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-esf

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Autonomous Spaces and Initiatives:
 http://www.altspaces.net

Official ESF website:
 http://www.fse-esf.org

Unofficial ESF website:
 http://www.esf2004.net

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NOTE: There is no accomodation at the imc in the camden centre and the imc will close at different times each day.

More info on the imc centres and programme coming soon...