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Bamako IMC starts

Bamako IMC | 17.01.2006 16:06 | Globalisation | Indymedia | Sheffield | World

After I've arrived in Bamako airport at 3am this morning thanks to a three hour delay of the plane, this first intresting thing was the temperature: 19 degrees Celsius!
With the help of two Attac activists from Finnland I found a place to stay for a short night and finanlly hooked up with the french indymedia lot today.

They have secured a house in the quarter Hippodrome in the east of Bamako with the association Geekcorps, an NGO which works with Internet stuff and open publishing in Bamako, funded by USAID.
From here various preparations are done, including for this matter the IMC Bamako, that will include a cinema.
We will try to fly more Indymedia delegates in from South Afrcia and Nigeria as we have in the last miniute secured some funding from a german foundation to do so.
It is all a big chaos of course with over 10.000 people expected to come to the WSF.

Bamako IMC

Additions

For those of you that don't know

17.01.2006 17:10

For those of you that don't know;

- Bamako is the capital of Mali.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamako

- Hippodrome is a Quartier of Bamako. The Geekcorps is located in the Quartier.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippodrome%2C_Bamako

- The Geekcorps is a non-profit organization that sends people with technical skills to developing countries to assist in computer infrastructure development.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geekcorps

a little more info please...


Photos

17.01.2006 22:16

hacktivists working hard
hacktivists working hard

view of bamako from the youth camp
view of bamako from the youth camp

in the youthcamp
in the youthcamp

WSF poster
WSF poster

There is more coverage of the World Social Forum 2006 in Bamako on SA IMC:

 http://southafrica.indymedia.org/features/wsfmali2006/

These photos have been taken from there.

fwd


Comments

Hide the following 3 comments

USAID is totally sketchy

18.01.2006 17:02

USAID has a long history of involvement in developing copuntries and as far as i know it is mainly involved in fucking things up as opposed to sorting things out.

USAID is a state agency and has a CIA role. individuals inside may be ok but overall i would rather trust a wired crack addict chimp with a flick knife.

Read what John Pilger ha to say about them in Vietnam and Cambodia, how aid was diverted away from starving refugees towards US-backed militia pursuing US military / socio-economic objectives.

please, be critical. look into previous critiques of USAID behaviour.


From their own web site:

What is USAID?

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency that provides economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of the foreign policy goals of the United States.
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Where is USAID located, and how do I get there?

USAID is located in the RONALD REAGAN Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20523. We are located on the Blue and Orange lines of the Washington, D.C. subway (the 'Metro') at the Federal Triangle Station.
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What is USAID's phone number?

The agency's main telephone number is 202-712-0000.
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Q. I am a student majoring in International Affairs. I am writing a research paper and need to know more about USAID.

USAID is an independent federal government agency responsible for providing economic and humanitarian assistance around the globe. To read more about USAID and the history of foreign assistance please visit the following web site:  http://www.usaid.gov/about_usaid/.
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Q. I would like information on U.S. foreign aid policy. I would like to know how much the American taxpayer is giving to each country and how it is being spent.

The United States has a long history of extending a helping hand to those people overseas struggling to make a better life, recover from a disaster or live in a free and democratic country. It is this caring that stands as a hallmark of the United States around the world -- and shows the world our true character as a nation.

U.S. foreign assistance has always had the twofold purpose of furthering America's foreign policy interests in expanding democracy and free markets while improving the lives of the citizens of the developing world. Spending less than one-half of 1 percent of the federal budget, USAID works around the world to achieve these goals.

bulgar


beyond weekend events...

19.01.2006 20:18

A perfect opportunity for you guys to find the people to run imcs, provide training, set up the websites and give them a PC.

and what do you doing?.... more just just reporting the campsites and conferences.

please get it together and launch-
"" http://bamako.indymedia.org""

African IMCs needs help!


CIA+USAID+IMC?

24.01.2006 08:13

Well, well well

Is somebody there with a somekind of explication about this embarrasment situation?

Or... I'm wrong and now the "new free media" in poor countries can tolerate bytes sponsored by the patriot? who's these radical tourist-activist?

bamakrisis