[New-imc] indymedia estrecho / madiak membership criteria

[vandalia]

indymedia estrecho / indymedia madiak / Application for membership in
the Network of Independent Media Centers 
3rd document [21.07.2003]

[1st was the New IMC Form [6/12/03]; 2nd was the Mission Statement +
Editorial Policy document, sent to the New IMC and Process lists on 17
Jul 2003]

Who are we? 

We are a network of media and non-media activists some of us independent
and some participating in a wide array of local and global 
grassroots organizations, from Andalucía [Southern Spain], the Canary
Islands and Marrocco. Part of the group organized the media center for 
Sevilla june 2003 anti UE summit. The working group started after a call
in madrid indymedia and several local forums last march 2003. This 
initiated a horizontal process were different local nodes began
collaborating, using mailing lists, a wiki, physical asemblies, work
groups. This 
collaborative work led to our decission to become part of the indymedia
global network. We do have a test site working since june 20th at: 
http://estrecho.manje.net. 

Why we want to be an IMC? 

As we stated in our mission statement there are several reasons: First,
to produce independent, participatory and open information and 
communication tools  that can be used as a common space by different
persons, organizations and territories, that are now fragmented. 
Second, to promote the production of common knowledge and action, and
eventually networking, by and between the people and organizations 
separated by the borders that cross our territories: that is the Straits
of Gibraltar and the Atlantic Ocean. Third, to become part of the global 
indymedia network, thus contributing to the construction of a global
movement of movements. 
 

Response to the membership criteria 
 
a. Agree in spirit to the NIMC Mission Statement and Principles of
Unity, 

We have read aloud, discussed and agreed to abide by the Principles of
Unity and the Mission Statement. 

b. Have a committed membership substantial enough to sustain a
functional IMC, 

After 4 months of work, indymedia estrecho / indymedia madiak has got
active nodes in Sevilla, Jerez de la Frontera, Málaga and the Canary 
Islands, and individual persons and oragnizations participating in the
project in Larache [Marrocco], Tarifa, Almería. There are several very 
active mailing lists with approximately 80 suscribers, with a core group
of about 12-15 people. We are organized in the following working 
groups: social networks / editorial & design & translation / tech /
process & participation in the NIMC / economy and legal, each of them
with 
several commited individuals with significant territorial participation. 

c. Have open and public meetings (no one group can have exclusionary
"ownership" of an IMC), 

Indymedia estrecho / indymedia madiak meetings are publicly announced
and open to attend. We have local nodes meetings and have had one 
territorial meeting. A meeting in Marrocco is planned to take place next
august. Participants in indymedia estrecho / indymedia madiak are from 
different social, political, cultural backgrounds, most of us however,
coming form grassroots organizations. There is also a significant age 
diversity. 

d. Work toward developing a local Mission Statement or Statement of
Purpose. Network Mission Statement may be adopted or used on an 
interim basis, 

We have already consensuanted a draft Mission Statement, that has been
sent to the New-IMC and IMC-Process lists in a previous message. 
We do consider our Mission Statement as a work in progress, to be
continually improved / transformed according to the needs, aspirations
and 
changing context of the project, expressed and interpreted by indymedia
estrecho / indymedia madiak assembly.

 
e. Establish and publish an editorial policy which is developed and
functions through democratic process, and with full transparency, 

We have already consensuated an Editorial Policy, that has been sent to
the New-IMC and IMC-Process lists in a previous message. 
We do consider our Editorial Policy, too, as a work in progress, to be
continually improved / transformed according to the needs, aspirations 
and changing context of the project. We understand that the development
of our editorial policy and the editorial process that it establishes
has 
been and is democratic and fully transparent.


f. Agree to the use of Open Publishing as described in the NIMC
Editorial Policy [editorial collective comments: "We did agree that the
term 
"Open Publishing" was one that is still being defined by the Global
Network Collective, and we would wait and see what the results were
before 
rewriting this criteria], 

It is part of our editorial policy to use Open Publishing, that we
understand as the freedom and right of all persons and organization to
publish 
there contributions in indymedia estrecho / indymedia madiak, as long as
they respect indymedia global network and indymedia estrecho / 
indymedia madiak principles, as they are expressed in Indymedia Global
Network Unity Principles and indymedia estrecho / indymedia madiak 
Mission Statement and Editorial Policy.

 
g. Adopt a decision-making policy that is in alignment with consensus
principles which include open, transparent and egalitarian processes, 

As individuals and as a group we actively embrace equity, transparency,
horizontality, dialogue, non-discrimination, cooperation, openness, 
diversity, and consensus decision processes.
 

h. Have a spokesperson(s) willing and capable of participating in the
global decision-making process and meetings as a rotating 
liaison/representative, with a clear understanding of the
responsibilities that come with this role, 

 
To begin we have decided that osfavelados [osfa at wewearbuildings.cc] will
act as indymedia estrecho / indymedia madiak´s spokesperson. In 
perspective, we will establish a rotating system that will see different
liaisons in charge of different areas of the indymedia global network. 

 
i. Participate in the key IMC Network Communication Methods that pertain
to the health and vitality of the Network and that contribute to the
work 
of the IMC. Assure that at least one person from your local IMC
participates at any given time on the IMC-Communications list, 

This are provisional indymedia estrecho / indymedia madiak
spokespersons:
 
* for imc-process: osfa [osfa at wewearbuildings.cc] 
* for imc-communication: Teresa Arozena [summermute at softhome.net] 

In perspective, we will establish a rotating system that will see
different liaisons on the lists every six months, and appoint other
people to join 
further IMC lists.

 
j. (NOT FINALIZED): Have no official affiliation with any political
party, state or candidate for office (comments: but individual producers
have 
freedom to do whatever they like and local IMCs can "feature" stories
about various political parties and initiatives), 

We have no political affiliation to politicla parties, state or
candidates for office. 


k. IMCs shall in no way engage in commercial for-profit enterprises. [We
could add: The IMCN is committed to the decommercialization of 
information and will disassociate from any local IMC that decides to
become a for profit media corporation.] 

indymedia estrecho / indymedia madiak does not have and won´t have
commercial for-profit activities, beyond the activities necessary to 
finance the project, that won´t in any way be related to commercializing
information. 

l. Display a (((i))) logo on your website and literature. 

We do have a provisional logo, which is a version of the global
indymedia logo, and that is showed in oour provisional web site: 
http://estrecho.manje.net 


m. Include the IMC Network current &Cities List on your site, preferably
on the front page. 

Yes, we have the list of IMCN members on our front page. However we have
the proposal to include the United States section under the America 
or Northamerica title, in order to display a more egalitarian
cartography of the global network.


Special Issues - 

1/ indymedia estrecho / indymedia madiak is a transnational,
transcontinental indymedia to be established in a wide and diverse
territory: 
Southern Iberina Peninsula, Magreb and The Canary Islands. Therefore we
plan to have different local nodes within the estrecho / madiak 
network, somehow after the indymedia italy model. Local nodes will grow
according to the needs of local activists, and allowing for a
significant 
local autonomy, as described in our Editorial Policy. 

Being a transcontinental and transcultural indymedia we also plan to use
in an egalitarian way all languages spoken in the territories 
participating in the project.


2/ We have realized that there is an application for marrocco.indymedia,
date 09.2002. We would need to contact this project in order to see if
it 
is still going on, and if it is, to find out about an way of
collaboration.