From 22 to 25 July, a polymedia laboratory was set up at the PUCRS University in Porto Alegre in Southern Brazil. The medialab took place alongside the OURMedia conference.
Impressions from the Polymedia Lab
Temporary medialabs have accompanied many recent international events. They have brought together international media activists, have provided spaces for skill-sharing, workshops, and presentations, and have served as laboratories for experimentation and for creating media alternatives. Amongst many other examples, there have been the HUB at the European Social Forum (ESF) 2002, the Metallo MediaLab at the ESF 2003, and the PolyMediaLab as part of the "WSIS? We Seize!" side-events around the World Summit on the Information Society in December 2003.
In late July 2004 media activists from Latin America (and some from other parts of the world) used the OURMedia conference to set up the next media lab. OURMedia is a network of academics, advocates and practicioners of community/alternative media, and their conference took place in Porto Alegre this year. At the media lab, dozens of activists from free radios, indymedia centres, alternative newspapers, etc., came together to share their knowledge and strengthen their networks. A radio station and a TV station were set up, and a continuous programme of workshops on free software, encryption, web editing, etc., attracted large numbers of participants.
Having the media lab alongside the conference allowed for new connections to be made between media activists, academics, and community media advocates from NGOs. These interconnections could have been more profound, as prevailing "cultural differences" between grassroots media activists and academics / NGO activists often prevented the two "camps" to interact. But the experiment was certainly a step forward in connecting different communities and different approaches.
In late July 2004 media activists from Latin America (and some from other parts of the world) used the OURMedia conference to set up the next media lab. OURMedia is a network of academics, advocates and practicioners of community/alternative media, and their conference took place in Porto Alegre this year. At the media lab, dozens of activists from free radios, indymedia centres, alternative newspapers, etc., came together to share their knowledge and strengthen their networks. A radio station and a TV station were set up, and a continuous programme of workshops on free software, encryption, web editing, etc., attracted large numbers of participants.
Having the media lab alongside the conference allowed for new connections to be made between media activists, academics, and community media advocates from NGOs. These interconnections could have been more profound, as prevailing "cultural differences" between grassroots media activists and academics / NGO activists often prevented the two "camps" to interact. But the experiment was certainly a step forward in connecting different communities and different approaches.
