Aotearoa IndyMedia Meeting 2005

AIMC 2005 Annual Meeting

Agenda:

11-1 meeting up, regional updates
1-2 lunch
2-4 strategy, where we are going,
4-4.30 break
4.30-7 updating editorial policy,editorial collective membership processes, adding new collectives, networking, research protocols

Saturday 3 December 2005,
128 Abel Smith Street

AIMC 2005 Annual Meeting

Present: Clare, Ken, Asher, Ian, Urs, John, Keiran, Geraldene, Daniel,
Megan, Richard

Agenda:

11-1 meet and greet, regional updates
1-2 lunch
2-4 strategy, where we are going,
4-4.30 afternoon tea
4.30-7 updating editorial policy,editorial collective membership
processes, adding new collectives, networking, research protocols

Updates:

Auckland
There's been renewed activity in Auckland, with a concerted effort to
involve new people.

Bi-monthly screenings at the Classic Comedy bar have re-started. The
McLibel doco will be shown in Auckland tomorrow.

Sustainability is an issue . Typically, there are a lot of people on the
organising list, but we need more people active!

Screenings generate enthusiasm and are a great profile event for
indymedia, however there seems to be a misperception that screenings are
what Indymedia Auckland is all about.

There has been some thought given to diversifying the screenings, and
become involved with an Australian distributor. The cost is high: $250
for a one-off screening.

Funds from screenings go back into the screenings (hire of venue,
purchase of videos and DVDs).

Documentaries produced by the Auckland documentary collective are in
circulation. “Whose News?” documentary has been sold to 80 secondary
schools and tertiary institutions with study guides; there has been good
feedback on the resource, orders are still coming through for “Plan B
Peace” and “Whose News”.

Hamilton
Organising in Hamilton was approached with the idea of getting a space;
the city lacks such a venue, and with the exception of the Environment
Centre there are few places to access info. A space run on donations
operated for about a year.

Radio: 'Under the Radar' show running via a micro radio station in Hamilton. He has approached building managers of tall buildings to get better coverage and has been working on broadcasting on the guard band (parts of the radio spectrum on either side of the commercial space, for micro radio, policed by Ministry of Economic Development) sharing the frequencies and resolving territorial disputes.

Wellington
Film nights - 4 have run this year and numbers and documentaries
have both been good! Showings at both the film archive and thistle hall
have attracted a range of people.

Windy zine: One put together per calendar month, 11 per year, on the
last Wednesday of the month.

Meetings: occur once per month, second weekend each month at 128.

In May, eight workshops were run showing people how to use the site.

Christchurch and Dunedin
The Black Star shop has moved and seems to be in good shape, but there
is no one at this conference from those places.

Chch: the Demozone people seem to be organising down there. They are now
holding Food Not Bombs film nights

Oceania:
Oceania IMC meeting in August, Sydney. There was an Indymedia meeting
during Subplot (an anarchist meeting prior to the Convergence). People
from most Australian collectives were there, and someone from Aotearoa
IMC as well.

Sydney: Indymedia Sydney based in an old ice cream factory in Turella -
a shared space with CAT. Indymedia centre with 10 computers set up and
networked, people live there.
For Sydney demos, a mobile centre was run in the back of a van with
wireless internet so photos could be uploaded on the go. Sydney Indymedia
is underutilised. The site runs on Active software.

Melbourne: Engage Media is a video project being set up to allow
streaming online, and to produce documentaries. Mostly Indymedia people
involved and is a main focus at the moment. Engage Media people have
also organised the first three Oceania Indymedia newsreel
collaborations.

Tasmania: There is a Tasmanian activist media network. The dispersed
nature of the community means it has been difficult to set up an
Indymedia Centre (i.e. people often involved in forest occupations).

Perth: Still going, pretty strong, the community is pretty tight knit.
Indymedia quite successful within the community. The website is the main
focus. There may be a radio show.

Adelaide: no-one in attendance

Brisbane and Darwin: There was no one there from either of these places.
Some divisions have occurred and attempts for reconciliation have been
unsuccessful.

Darwin: is up and running under a different name, possibly Darwin
Independent Media.

A few computers were sent up from CAT to Manila Indymedia. Indymedia
Jakarta are still going.

There was discussion about the Oceania site. One proposal was to get the
news wire from the Indymedia site posted on there. This was thought a
great idea.

There is money in the Oceania bank account. Someone in Australia is
looking after this. This money is for funding groups outside of New
Zealand and Australia.

G8
Someone from the Aotearoa Indymedia collective helped set up Indymedia centres there;
people from heaps of different collectives were involved and it was really cool! There was a satellite
Indymedia truck set up, and four Indymedia spaces (the biggest one being
in Edinburgh). The Edinburgh centre was running pretty much non-stop at
The Forest, a collectively-run cafe. Indymedia obtained space in that
building.

There was a fast turnaround of filming/screening.

It was generally run on an affinity group model.

Radio Working Group
New station in Karori - Alistair from Scoop is interested in an alliance
between radio people and Scoop.

The frequencies won't be there forever. It costs about $500 in set-up
costs; there are no on-going costs.

There is potential for working and networking with academic and
community groups.

http://www.air.org.nz Aotearoa Information Radio website being built.

There are currently 3 stations going in Wellington, including Critical
Analysis Broadcasting and The Matrix.

Radio Working Group: Made up of various people working in the area,
giving advice on about set up, technical specs, cost, etc. Also getting
out the word on the guard band.

1. watts is the legislated range; most stations work on 5 watts.
Coverage depends on the position on the transmitter.

-material will be posted on WIKI

Radio has the potential for reaching people who don't have access to
other technologies.

There is an IMC list on the Indymedia site used for the radio working
group. There are attempts being made to network with other small and
independent stations – student radio, community radio, access radio
etc., with a view to sharing info and programming. This liaison is
ongoing with digital archiving as a part of it.

Publicity for the stations -each has a website, there have been various
other methods employed.

SECOND SESSION
2-4 strategy, where we are going, editorial collective membership
processes

Strategy

- where are we going?what?how?

- outreach/publicity: Aotearoa, Pasifik

- effectiveness/access

- sustainability - films/radio/w(i)ndy/sharing software

- sharing resources - between cities

Other issues:
StolenWealth Games -idea was raised that strength of Indymedia was
priority so that when events occur we are ready for response/involvement

Planning for meetings - yearly/when/etc? - does having regular meetings
(face to face) provide an incentive for involvement? Next year was
suggested as time for next conference, as a follow-up, without the
expectation that subsequent meetings will occur yearly. Meetings can
potentially provide a framework for yearly actions and lead to
rejuvenation of collectives.

It was decided a meeting/conference will be held next year. February was
suggested for a time (2007).

The weekend before Waitangi weekend was a popular suggestion, with the
thought that a filming contingent could then go on to Waitangi.

- cf (see later reference) up and coming potential AIMC involvement:
Parihaka Peace Festival in March (?); Workers festival in May; Happy
Valley Feb onwards

Where are we going?

Brainstorming Ideas for Further Discussion

1. IMC crews filming around the country covering positive events
(rather than just protests and demos)

2. Ideas are needed for getting filmed material out of remote areas -
Happy Valley was the example cited

3. Discussion about whether the collective should be involved in
filming/creating news

4. Involvement with schools/tertiary educators in journalism to
encourage student participation with Indymedia; to set up educational
resources about indymedia

5. A need for editing of footage too much film is sitting in
cameras/on shelves

Access initiatives?
website, radio stations, film, educational documentaries, study guide
for the website, workshops, stickers/buttons,

Who is Indymedia for?
-the mission statement makes this quite clear
-the question was raised whether Indymedia is specialised or more global
in its activities
-should it be for sustaining left group media communications?
- should it be for education of the wider public and/or specific groups
in the kinds of skills Indymedia has (internet, filming) to get people
using the website eg.targeting outreach to activist groups?
-need for an activist package (similar to the education pack) to explain
and provoke thought about what Indymedia does, and how to go about
participating for distribution to groups and organisations and to make
available to interested people – an Indymedia “How To” pack.
- idea of a resource hub -for example collaborating with other groups to
organise screenings and keep them within the domain of other independent
activist groups (rather than political screenings being taken over by
institutional and profit-making groups:”Indymedia in association with
...present,lso to make independent media production more
sustainable

Mailbox drops to relevant regions.
Outreach -film screenings in smaller centres

Roadshow approach -a nationwide programme done with national
advertising, but with different local groups taking on the organising
and set-up in their areas/regions

Getting public libraries to bookmark the Indymedia site for public
access on their computers

Having a version of the site in te reo Maori-having more articles in
the reo would be good as an aim.

translating the feature into te reo is a possible first start -this
would involve getting someone on the collective who is fluent

Geraldene suggested making links between Aotearoa Cafe and
Indymedia stronger as a first priority – then taking it from there.

Getting some of the resources and info translated into Pasifik languages
for outreach

Other Pasifik Indymedias?

starting point -getting key documentation materials translated into
Pasifik languages. At present they are not even available in te reo
Maaori

Action Focus
activist package - getting resources together means there will be
materials to translate into non-English languages

Parihaka Peace Festival - March http://www.parihaka.com
-getting people to put things up on the site
-journalism students
-writing resources are available online
-subediting service? (this would need commitment)

Possible fulcrum events:
- Happy Valley all year. Parihaka 10-12 March
- UNITE “ reporting on UNITE' work and campaign organising at
workplaces
* workers film festival

Funds
There is quite a bit of money in the media account in Auckland which
could be distributed to assist with filming in other places

The idea of targeted fundraising was raised.

Film Library
A library of films for nationwide use was one idea.

Geraldene noted the possibility of a workers library, in conjunction
with UNITE. This would be two repositories.

There would need to be lists and contacts-so that people would know
the films were there to be accessed and how to get them.

-who would they be available to?

Facilitating distribution could be a lot of work

Ideally every Indymedia Centre in the country would have them, and they
could distribute them regionally

Asher said he will be transferring material from VHS to DVD next year.

THIRD SESSION

4.30-7 updating editorial policy, adding new collective, networking

Editorial collective membership

Adding new collectives

Networking

Editorial Collective membership process

Adding New Editors.

At present there seems to be no process for being added to the editorial
collective.

Is there some maximum size desired? Are balances, such as along the
lines of gender or geographical location, desirable? Should we be
seeking people to belong, should they be seeking us – or a mix of both?
A mix of both seemed to be preferred.

If persons are active in Indymedia Aotearoa - even just to the extent of
having posted to the website a lot- and if they are familiar with the
process, guidelines, etc.,they may apply/state they want to be on the
collective, after which a period of a week will pass during which others
may object (or not). Someone from the collective will take on each
new member as a “buddy” - this person will be decided on by the
collective on a case-by-case basis. No objections.
Congratulations. There has been consensus on this proposal.

Updating Editorial Policy
Was the Editorial Policy ratified at the first conference?
Amendments are not always going online, so it is difficult to track the
decision making process. An example of this is the possible hiding of
'fascist' posts, such as some by the National Front. Some discussion
followed about this issue. Many views were advocated. At present things
are hidden first, followed by discussion as to whether they should be
revealed or stay hidden.

Certain posts will not be discussed but just taken down. This will be
put in the editorial policy and includes commercial spam.

Strypey disagrees with hiding on the basis of authorship rather than
content.
We are in agreement that there is a problem: that there is offensive and violent content being posted on the site and we want to hide it,we have a
responsibility to keep the site free from abuse and to keep it a safe
space.

Blurring anti-fascists faces in photos of anti-fascist rallies should be
standard practice. Also, where there could be legal implications for
those photographs -they will also be blurred. An example -someone
being de-arrested. This will be added to the policy. If someone wants
their face blurred or a photo taken down in other situations, then it
will be referred to the editorial collective for discussion and decision
on a case by case basis.

Fascist authors:The National Front is hence considered a spammer. Other
newly-considered spammers are: Nic Miller and Sid Wilson.

Should the editorial policy be revisited at every conference? Yes. An
amendment to this effect has been added to the editorial policy.

Adding New Collectives
We need to agree on a policy for this. It should be simple,
straightforward and as automatic as possible.

This will be the same as the editorial collective policy (above)-agree
to principles of unity, mission statement, seven day period in which to
raise objections (which will be considered on the basis of perceived
merit). There needs to be at least 2 people (be a group). They need to
live in Aotearoa (or at least, usually live in Aotearoa, or are coming
back to Aotearoa). At least one of them needs to be on the list. We
think that when people are claiming to be an Indymedia they should have
informed the national collective. Once a new group is formalised they
will be sent a copy of the pack containing useful info such as conflict resolution-including the list of questions given to
new IMCs.

1. someone joins the national list

2. they and one other person want to form a
collective

3. they are given the principles of unity and mission statement

4. they agree to these

5. there is a week in which others may make objections

6. the objections are considered

7. they're in

8. they get their rad! new! Welcome to Indymedia pack stickers,
leaflets, etc etc.

9. Note: one doesn't need to be part of a local group to be part of
the national collective.

De-affiliating groups
If they are not working within the terms of unity and the mission
statement a collective can be dis-affiliated.
* if someone notices this they will be contacted. they have a
week.

if a group is inactive for a certain period of time they will be given 6
months to get it together. We will be helpful and encouraging about it.
Sharing the love.

Networking
IRC. There is a How To already.

IRC meetings:!
Decisions are made on the IRC and then final decisions are made via
email.

In general it will be used as a responsive tool.
Show others how to use it
xChat is good one but add the Indy irc channel on it first.

There is an Aotearoa channel on the Indymedia chat server.

Global representation
need someone on process, finance, new imc.- a need to call for
volunteers from various groups

Software
Discussed possibility of moving to Drupal CMS sometime in the future .

Newsreal
The last 3 have been put together in Melbourne. They are trying to find
some other people to put the next one together. You would need editing
gear, to be able to stream it out to archive.org (Oblong could do
this.

Asher will upload it if it is burnt to DVD first. Geraldene has offered
to put in some work on the project in the next few months. This could be
done within the next 6 months -sometime in May. Clare has offered to
work on that also.

Research Protocols
A lecturer from the University of Waikato has hired Megan to do some
research with Indymedia activists about Activism and New Media use in
Aotearoa.
There is a body of documentation on indymedia.org about research
protocols for instances such as these.
What is the research going to be used for?
Will interviews, analysis and publications be made available to the
indymedia community on a Creative Commons / archival basis?

Is the research methodology collaborative, or...?
How will the research be useful to Indymedia and assist the
sustainability of the Collective etc.?