[imc-tech-solidarity] Update on tech solidarity projects

[evan@protest.net]

Tech Solidarity Project Update:

Ecuador: Small problems with some paperwork saying the destination
	is Guayaquil and others saying Quito. Delaying the receiving the
	boxes by another one to two weeks. I am currently in Quito to
	help on the project for the next couple of months.


Oakland: ACCRC is probably getting their second warehouse so the
	space storage issue is resolved!


Uruguay: Gaba (Uruguay imc) and I met with groups who have importing
	experience about forming a coalition to receive and distribute
	the computers in Uruguay. It was just an initial meeting but
	there was plenty of interest. They are working on talking to
	other groups and mining contacts within the mess that is customs.


Argentina: The Argentina IMC (Buenos Aires Collective), has designated
	Loulee to be the primary contact / bottomliner for the project.
	They want the computers but none of the money from Soros. Loulee
	is working with contacting other groups and coordinating with
	the Rosario imc to get the importation papers worked out. Also
	they have a non-consensed preference of the container going to
	Uruguay so they don't have to handle the logistical nightmare.


Money: Because the Argentina IMC wants to participate in this
	project and the have consensed to refuse OSI money we need to
	raise money from other sources. The decision to use OSI
	money for in country expenses is still up to each individual
	imc. But we need to find other sources for the $7000. See below
	for more about this.

Portland & Rosario: No updates as far as I know.

GENERAL UPDATE:
Ok, now to a general update. At a meeting on Tuesday in Buenos Aires,
Blicero proposed a plan for the organization receiving the computers and
for working as a multi-imc network on this project.

First we invite IMC's in conosur to participate. This means sending a
letter to the Chile, Bolivia, Porto Alegre IMC's asking them if they are
interested in working on this project. We already know that Rosario,
Argentina, and Uruguay have committed to it. I personally think we may
have to allow an exception for the Bolivians because the popular rebellion
in their country might distract them from reading their indymedia email.

So once we have a clear idea of which imc's are participating in the
project we can get a contact / liaison person from each imc who will be
bottomlining communication about the project. It will be this group which
will be able to communicate and coordinate major decisions such as how
many computers go to which imc.

Within each country the IMC's have two options:
	* If they only want a few computers the IMC can just receive them.
	* If they are going to serve in a broader role and use the
	  computers to support many groups then they need to form their
	  own coalition within their city/country.

The decision and structure of that coalition is up to each imc to build as
is appropriate to the political situation within their city/country. But,
using Ecuador as a model for how it can be done we know some things. The
Ecuador imc has brought together a coalition of 8 groups. Indymedia and
the coalition developed a list of 16 principles by which the project would
function and which would drive the distribution of the computers.
	http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Local/CmiEcuadorCompuCriterios
This coalition was of groups who had a direct interest in benefiting from
the project, but also could contribute resources toward making the project
happen. The initial and probably most difficult part in the project is
getting the computers through customs. Once that is done there are a
number of logistical hurtles which must be dealt with such as
transportation, storage of the computers, and locations for holding
trainings and workshops.

Some of the critical points within the principles by which the Ecuador imc
has been working are that no computers go to political parties, there is a
preference for disenfranchised communities and communities in need, the
project is at it's core a political project of building a national network
for indymedia's media activism.

NEXT STEPS:
The next steps for the conosur tech solidarity computer project are to
figure out the paperwork and customs issues in the south and to finish
preparing the computers for shipping in the north.

We need to compile the list of what will be sent as much as possible. This
means getting the list Eddy has from the Oakland warehouse and Josh (Knom)
has from the Portland end of things. With this we need to combine them and
then send them to the inter-imc coordinating group (Gaba, Loulee, Hendrix,
and Ernesto) so that they can begin the process of getting the import
cleared by customs.

Once the computers in Portland are ready, we need to get them down to
Oakland and palletized. Only then will we know for sure how close to the
full container of 20 palettes we are.

I will be talking to Edgar and others who coordinated the receiving of the
computers here in Ecuador to learn from mistakes we made. I already know a
few.
	* We didn't get the paperwork cleared before the container was
          sent to the docks.
	* Bill of Lading was written to send the computers to Guayaquil
	  but we actually were sending the boxes to Quito.
	* We had problems getting all the documents signed off and looking
	  official on letterhead.


MONEY ISSUES:
As I stated in the summary, and as Im sure you are all aware, the
Argentina (Buenos Aires) indymedia collective has consented to refuse the
money we had raised for this project through a grant submitted to the Open
Society Institute, a foundation funded by George Soros. This means we are
in a bit of a pinch. Blicero and the Argentina folks have proposed a
couple solutions to this problem. First is to put a pay pal link up on the
global site and local imc sites explaining the project and asking people
to contribute. We raised $800 for the Ecuador shipment this way. I have
sent the revised fundraising letter, which was sent to this list, to a
number of people and it has been forwarded on to the cool rich kids list.
Hopefully some of these efforts at more grassroots fundraising will work,
although I personally have my doubts. Another option is to go back to
Panta Rhea, a small family foundation, which provided half the funds for
the Ecuador shipment.

The issue of money is complicated. It is especially frustrating when
groups and individuals involved in a project have such different
perspectives on money. I am quite worried that we will not be able to
raise enough money to fund the project given the constraints of pure and
clean money imposed by the Argentina IMC. It's imperative that Blicero and
the Argentina imc take a very proactive role in raising the money needed
for this project. It would be very sad to have to revert to using the OSI
money and loose the Argentina imc's participation in the project.

REFLECTION ON THE PROJECT:
So as not to end on a contentious note. I think this can be an incredible
project. We have the ability to start constructing our own popular
grassroots communications and media network. It might not be directly
about covering protests, but once we have this organized network of media
centers and allies online we will be in a much stronger position to work
from. This allows us to be strong when major protests and crises happen,
but also to sustain real local coverage and organization which will build
the movement between major events. One step at a time we are laying the
foundation for a media revolution to make revolution possible.

in solidarity,
evan

-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| blog: anarchogeek.com                    pgp: anarchogeek.com/pgp.txt |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Protest.net is an anti-this, anti-that website to divide, demoralize, |
| and bring down the very frabric of America. Proudly lead by pacifist, |
| godless, demented, berkenstock wearing, granola eating, peace-freak,  |
| moronic, unamerican, green, muslim, communist, faggot, liberal,       |
| serbian, arab, rag-head, anarchist, terrorist, scum, pigs and         |
| traitors. We're underemployed scumbag welfare sucking parasitic       |
| shelted uneducated intellecutals who are always explaining the root   |
| causes of terrorism, blaming america first, and whining about         |
| non-existant threats to civil liberties.                              |
| GOD BLESS AMERICA!!! DEATH TO THOSE WHO STAND AGAINST US!!!           |
|                      - All words from hate mail sent to protest.net   |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------