[CIMC-work] (f.y.i.)(!!!) (proposed Indymedia Armenia) FW: [IMC-Process] Online form: Proposed new IMC! ()

[Chris Kaihatsu]

------ Forwarded Message
From: kbrochet at hotmail.com
Reply-To: kbrochet at hotmail.com
Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2004 09:45:00 -0400 (EDT)
To: new-imc at indymedia.org, imc-process at indymedia.org
Subject: [IMC-Process] Online form: Proposed new IMC! ()

Submitted by: Kevin Brochet <kbrochet at hotmail.com> on Wednesday, April 14th,
2004 @ 9:45:00 am (-0400)

Client Variables
----------------

HTTP_USER_AGENT:
Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.01; Windows 98)

Online Form Fields
------------------

proposed_imc_name:
Indymedia Armenia

proposed_imc_url:
armenia

current_url:


city:
Yerevan

state:


country:
Armenia

contact_name:
Kevin Brochet

contact_email:
kbrochet at hotmail.com

contact_phone:


tech_name:
Bob Grigoryan

tech_email:
bob at xter.net

tech_phone:


focus:
regional_focus

critical_dates:


supporting_groups:
Ynternet.org, Falkor I.C.Y, CMI

introductory_statement:
Armenia lacks an independent media. Recently protesters outside the
Parliament in central Yerevan were attacked and pursued through darkened
streets by riot police and the military, armed with fire hoses, clubs, and
tasers. Leaders of the protest, even cameramen covering it, wound up
imprisoned or hospitalized. There were explosions after midnight that many
people heard, but no mention of the events the following day on state-run
television. Journalism students at the university circulated broadsheets to
get the word out and reports appeared later on a few web sites. Otherwise,
nothing.

Journalists still cover press conferences and follow the government&#8217;s
lead. The only non-state owned television station has been denied a license
for two years and protests over this have fed a growing opposition movement
that lacks media outlets. The government is taking steps to ban meetings and
demonstrations and photographers at protests have been attacked. Still,
these photographers are not necessarily independent, but only covering news
in favor of the opposition&#8230; And the opposition is not necessarily any
better than the government in power.

There is no independent source of information about what goes on. Protests
are growing, traffic, on the roads and in the air has been intermittently
blocked from Yerevan, riot police have been called out to monitor opposition
protests. But the opposition includes members of the former Communist
government as well artists who gave up their former positions in protest,
elements both corrupt and idealistic. No means of covering the conflict
exist beyond state owned media, and the (thwarted) attempts at establishing
opposition media, all of them necessarily biased, none of them effective at
truly gauging opinion among the people and reporting fairly on the many
contradictions inherent in the current situation. As the opposition grows,
it becomes more and more important to publish, and publish widely,
independent reporting on the situation in Armenia. Especially with travel
restrictions in place, which prevent foreign journalists from operating
effectively as well.

But this is not simply an issue of reporting on a nascent revolution.
Transparency is low or altogether absent, corruption prevalent.
Environmental issues are not well publicized and people persist in
destructive behavior because of a lack of education about options.
Women&#8217;s issues are rarely discussed and there is no open clearinghouse
of information about rights and birth control &#8211; abortion is a commonly
used method of &#8216;birth control&#8217;. The need to establish and grow
an independent media will not fade with the success or failure of the
present round of protests. All of this is valid even more especially in the
more isolated areas outside of the capital, Yerevan. There exists a lack of
resources, of information, of independent reporting, of media facilities and
meeting places. 

We propose to create an independent media center based in Yerevan, the
capital of Armenia. The project is one part of a larger project directed by
YPAC &#8211; Youth Progressive Action Coalition, which aims to provide a
center with computers, a darkroom, video equipment, scanners, and a website
linking up to the larger Indymedia global group, enough to try to begin to
fill the media void, at least in Yerevan, and to begin to increase
connectivity so that the regions can participate. The YPAC group working on
the Indymedia center is comprised of members of several local and
international groups working or based in the Yerevan and the regions,
including Falkor I.C.Y., Ynternet.org, CENN (Caucasus Environmental NGO
Network), Bars Media (a local documentary film studio), as well as
independent journalists and programmers. We a mixed group, mostly Armenians,
some returned Diaspora, and three expats. We are also supported by the
Caucasus Media Institute, which in additions to reso
 urces and advice offers journalism and language classes.  We are in
discussions with Project Harmony Armenia as well as Ynternet.org about
collaborating on Internet connectivity issues so that people in the regions
will be able to participate.

We will establish a website in Armenian, Russian, and English so that the
reporting will be accessible throughout Armenia, so that we will be able to
foster collaboration with readers in the NIS, and throughout the world.


resources:
We\'ve found a host that meets our needs, within Armenia, so that the site
will be accessible to users of Freenet, the most common dial-up here. We\'ve
also arranged for mirror sites in Denmark and Sweden. We have an experienced
technical team and, coming from several organizations ourselves, already
have experience organizing and branching out via contacts.

outreach:
We\'ve been active in recruiting at different activist organizations in
Yerevan, meeting people at protests and events, word of mouth. It\'s
something we\'d like to continue, by building an internet presence, by
continuing to be active in meeting people in the community and spreading
through relationships.

identity_makeup:
Most of our collective comes from the local community, most of them from the
progressive community as it exists in Yerevan. About 50-50 men and women,
skewed towards the latter. Everyone is open sexually, but spirituality has
never come up. The Armenian Church is not strongly represented in our ranks,
if at all. Generally in our twenties, but many ties to older individuals,
and we\'ve been expanding a lot.

steps_represent_diversity:


steps_involve_new_workfields:
So far we\'ve been operating on a volunteer basis - people have had to jump
in involve themselves in new workfields through their own volition, or we
wouldn\'t be in a position to apply. All have some experience with at least
one field, but not enough to do everything related to it, and not enough
time to learn everything about it. Everyone has had to try something new; we
wouldn\'t make progress otherwise. And I think this wil continue as we grow.
No one has any postion on more than a temporary, voluntary basis - we intend
to keep that structure. Everyone learns everything, no one becomes static.

As for gendered work division, we feel that having a rotating parecon
xtructure will overcome that. And some of the primary issues driving the
formation of this Indymedia collective are women\'s issues. The male/female
ratio, in terms of number and of voice, favors women. And if it should skew
too far in that direction, all the better, given the general oppression
faced by women in Armenian society. Already, we\'ve traded off authority
back and forth, and the system has worked so far.


_______________________________________________
imc-process mailing list
imc-process at lists.indymedia.org
http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-process


------ End of Forwarded Message