[IMC-bristol] Update on spaces for EFCR and Indymedia

[resonate at spc.org]

Hi to all on Network list

Below is an update on the current situation on finding spaces for the
Indymedia / European Forum on Communicatiion Rights.

We will be able to give a full update on the situation of spaces and
collaboration with EFCR at the mini-network meeting in London on Saturday
- notes will follow.  We can also update people on the situation
surrounding autonomous space initiatives and the ESF.

I hope people will be able to make this meeting so we can collaborate on
finding ways to move forward with this particular issue of ESF.

The address of the meeting is below,it would be great to know who may be
ablew to attend, to make any necessary arrangements /food/ sleeping etc.

Indymedia Mini Network Meeting
Saturday 12th June @ The 142 Project
10.30am - 1pm

"Alt Media Tech Assembly - Weaving a Web Around the ESF"
Saturday 12th June 1-5pm
@ The European Creative Forum @ The 142 Project
http://www.europeancreativeforum.org/
142 Lea Bridge Road (A104),
Hackney/Clapton, E5

Look forward to seeing you there!
./resonate.

---

Update on spaces for EFCR and Indymedia

In the past weeks there has been a drive to search for an appropriate
venue to host both the European Forum on Communication rights and
Indymedia centre [polymedia/hack/tech lab].  The search has taken us from
private conference centres and club venues to church hall auditoriums and
community/tenant associations.

This search has been to fill a remit of a space that can host up to 500
participants and run on consecutive days for workshops, events and media
work.  After several weeks it has proved incredibly difficult to find a
space that can achieve this.

There are a variety of reasons for this.  The Bloomsbury Venue Working
Group (as part of the official ESF process) has booked up almost every key
venue in the Bloomsbury area, they have insanely dedicated people working
on this and a budget that can appropriate these spaces.

The most recent major drive for spaces was Conway Hall, which is a central
venue that escaped the main ESF process as it was booked in advance by
part of the London Social Forum under the name of the LETSlink
organisation.  We had been in meetings and discussions with this
particular group as the idea for the space was to use it as a
horizontalised space within which a variety of alternative groups/orgs
could collaborate in a drive to create a hub of autonomous spaces around
the ESF.

Why does this not seem suitable?

Well Conway Hall (www.conwayhall.org) has a capacity of approximately 500
people in their auditorium and IS suitable for the EFCR.

There is a provisional booking for thursday, which could be taken over,
with a firm booking.

The problem lies with issues for Indymedia and its need to work as an
autonomous mediated body which usual has a lot of different mediums
surrounding it and spilling from it.

Conway Hall does not have ADSL installed and for an Indymedia working
centre this is crucial.  We have discussed this problem with the hall and
they will install ADSL but only on commercial BT rates that are boosted
way up to and over £1000 to put cabling through the roof then into the
rooms.  Conway Hall does not really want to think about alternatives at
this moment and health and safety issues and masses of cabling don’t mix
for them! Frankly, we don’t have the budget for this.

The smaller rooms around the main hall would have been possible to use
(albeit on the small side). But LETS link want the bigger of the two rooms
as a cafe.

ALSO
One main issue is that Conway Hall need to know where all recording/video
done in the building will end up (having had a bad experience of Conway
hall being linked to a Muslim extremist group in a broadcast).  For us
this contravenes the principles of free and open media and actually
impossible for us to track anyway. All recordings would have to be done in
spaces designated a “press conference”, this may be fine for the
conference but for Indymedia it's too restrictive.

One other problem is that we would need a room booked over consecutive
days to avoid issues of re-setting up and moving equipment about.
Thursday, Sat and Sun are fine, but the room that we need is booked on the
Friday by an unrelated conference.  Not sure yet if this group will free
up the hall and difficult to re-negotiated.

Why use Conway Hall for the EFCR?

For the EFCR conference Conway Hall will be linked as part of the wider
hub of autonomous spaces during the ESF and a gesture towards a more
horizontal parallel conference would be to use this space.  Indymedia may
still have a desk in the lobby and ideas from the LETSlink organisation is
to block book all free rooms during Friday-Sunday for horizontal meetings
a well-being space, crèche and food.  The space also has a more manageable
capacity, which is probably reflected in costs.

What next for spaces / collaboration with EFCR and Indymedia?

We need to re-evaluate how we can link and collaborate within spaces. I
think Indymedia would have a presence in any venue that the EFCR choose to
use, just not in the form on a media centre.

...Unless a large suitable venue is produced from the magicians hat! :)

Forms of collaboration could involve continued joint statements on
communication issues throughout the ESF or joint workshops outside or
around the ESF and complementary programmes of content.

Questions about booking Camden centre or Conway Hall should be addressed,
what use would we like to see LSE put to?

What would also be really useful at this moment, would be to hear from all
the other voices in this list with their thoughts on these matters. Does
anyone have any other venue ideas? What about ideas on collaboration,
concrete ideas for content sharing and workshops (has anyone thought about
this??), for wider projects like radio around ESF, information
distribution, what resources we may be able to share/ gather, pre-ESF
benefit info-raising event or merging with an existing upcoming event etc.

>From the indymedia side we've been telling lots of people about the efcr /
mccrn ideas.

We thought we'd have been able to come up with more solid proposals by
now, beyond the lobbying of the ESF process. Now there is momentum
gathering around alternative spaces and autonomous venues and many people
want Indymedia to participate in these initiatives, so the pressure really
is on now to decide on the strategies and concrete plans.

Looking forward to hearing form people

Regards
Resonate - Indymedia London