[Imc-vlaanderen] Re: [New-imc] Imc Vlaanderen & Belgium

[Laurent Nelen]

Dear people,

I'm glad I've been away for the weekend.  I didn't had to follow the
discussion and become annoyed and angry about it.  However, after the last
comment of Libby, I think there are some positive ways out of this
discussion:

1.  Delocalisation and decentralisation.  Everyone in the imc-vl collective
supports those principes.  But we don't have to commit suicide by letting go
every non-provincial imc collective.  As I said before on meetings: it's
quite ridiculous to create ten imc in belgium, provided that London works
with one for about 8 million people.  The interests of Gent and Liège are
quite often also the interest in Antwerpen etc.  When I want to know what
happens in Flanders, I do not want to have to surf through six websites.
In concreto: I do not support the compulsory creation of city-imc in
belgium, which does NOT implicate a 'njet' against local networks of people
working in the imc collective (who can function as a contact node for local
organisations), and does NOT implicate a 'njet' against principes of
localisation.

2.  What is at stake here, are the different interpretations of the imc
mission.  Indymedia was not created to become a professional counter-media
(as lize said), but a grassroots and open publishing media where the gap
between journalist and reader would disappear.  At least, that's my opinion.
So I do not support the way imc-be is going and wants to continue going.

Imc-vl was created as a positive project: we want to fully implement every
aspect of open publishing in our way of acting and providing a platform to
the people's voices which are never heard.  We do not want to compete with
imc-be.  There can't even be a competition, because they do not go the same
way as we want to go.  They impose professional journalists and profesional
coverage on the activists, while we just want to encourage the people to do
it themselves.  And the imc-vl collective sees his role in this as
'technical' (providing a website, editorial policy) and 'outreach'
(encourage people and action groups to actually write on the site).  No
more, no less.  These visions do not exclude some essential things to make
it possible for people to publish or make a good report:
So there is the guide how-to-write, so there will be members of the imc-vl
collective who also publish on the site (not as imc-vl, but as an
individual), so there can be a provincial contact node where action groups
can ask for technical assistance (e.g. a person with a digital
camera)internet acces,...  This would be a true and modest localisation.

3.  Wvl and Liège are working collectives.  Imc-vl does not want to take
them over, but insists on a feedback-cooperation.  Apart from the more
sophisticated arguments (e.g. London), imc-vl should exist just because
there would be too many gaps in Flandern. Therefore, I feel quite offended
by Klaas' proposal to reduce imc-vl to imc-gent.  Thanks Klaas, for ignoring
three imc-vl members from Antwerp.

I think imc-vl is essential to provide real grassroots information in
Flandern.  Real grassroots, because I pointed out that imc-be chose another
direction.  This makes our project positive.  The future should point out
what role imc-wvl has to play within the collective.  I do not want to speak
in their place, nor I want to neglect the necessity of a imc-vl to provide
everyone in Flandern a platform to publish information and get information
from all around Flandern.

I thank you for your attention...;-)

Laurent


----- Original Message -----
From: "Libby" <libbylibby at skynet.be>
To: <new-imc at lists.indymedia.org>
Cc: <imc-vlaanderen at lists.indymedia.org>
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2003 12:26 PM
Subject: [Imc-vlaanderen] Re: [New-imc] Imc Vlaanderen & Belgium


> Hey,
>
> Since i don't live in either wvl or Liège i'm not prepared to nuke the
rest
> of the beligan territories, i'm not suicidal.
>
> However, i'm willing to take over the vl-application, providing that:
>
> - nobody in the newimc group or the vl collective objects to this, after
all
> i am a Belgian citizen and even if i'm not currently active in a local imc
> and try to keep out of the whole belgian discussion, sometimes things do
get
> to me when the POU are at stake.
>
> - the people of the vl collective start focussing on their application,
> taking the POU as a reference.
>
> I hope i can count on Bart and maybe Genex for advice, since this is only
> the second (third if you count wvl, but there i was "on the other side" as
a
> member of the collective) time i'd get envolved in a new imc process.
>
>
> Greetings,
>
> Libby/Els
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Pseudo Punk" <bart at indymedia.org>
> To: <new-imc at lists.indymedia.org>
> Cc: <imc-vlaanderen at lists.indymedia.org>
> Sent: Friday, September 26, 2003 4:02 PM
> Subject: [New-imc] Imc Vlaanderen & Belgium
>
>
> > Hey,
> >
> > Is there someone here who can
> > a) nuke belgium except for wvl & liege territories
> > or
> > b) take over the imc-vlaanderen application.
> >
> > I'm sick of all the mails and stupid discussions. I'm not in imc for
this,
> you can't expect volunteers do such things. I didn't even read last
'thread'
> about it.
> >
> >
> > Greetings,
> >
> >
> > Bart
> >
> >
> > --
> > "Intellectuals are the shoeshine boys of the ruling elite" (Killdozer)
> >
> > http://wvl.indymedia.org  |     bart at indymedia.org
> > http://thepits.be         |     bart at thepits.be
> > http://pseudopunk.be      |     icq: 48682266
> >
> > gebruik vrije software -- Debian GNU/Linux -- http://debian.org
> > gpg --keyserver keys.indymedia.org --recv-keys be196251
> > _______________________________________________
> > New-imc mailing list. Lista de correo New-imc
> > New-imc at lists.indymedia.org
> > http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/new-imc
> >
> >
>
>
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