[New-imc] imc.biotech - papers

[libby]

Hi Clara, Hi All,

I'd be happy to be the newi-imc contact for the biotech imc.

Greetings,

Libby

clara wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> we hereby submit all our papers: membership criteria, mission 
> statement, editorial policy and decision making policy for 
> biotech.indymedia as topic IMC - pending the decision on imc-process.
>
> All papers are also available on wiki: 
> http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/BiotechApproval
>
> The site is up and running at http://www.biotechimc.org
>
> Love and solidarity
> Clara
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> ***** membership criteria **********
>
> IMC MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA - DRAFT Each IMC and Global Working Group is 
> expected to:
>
> a. Agree in spirit to the NIMC Mission Statement and Principles of 
> Unity, -> yes
>
> b. Have a committed membership substantial enough to sustain a 
> functional IMC, -> yes, we are small but bigger then some local imcs, 
> without proper outreach yet
>
> c. Have open and public meetings (no one group can have exclusionary 
> "ownership" of an IMC), -> yes
>
> d. Work toward developing a local Mission Statement or Statement of 
> Purpose. Network Mission Statement may be adopted or used on an 
> interim basis, -> yes: 
> <http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/BiotechMissionStatement>http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/BiotechMissionStatement 
>
>
> e. Establish and publish an editorial policy which is developed and 
> functions through democratic process, and with full transparency, -> 
> yes: 
> <http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/BiotechEditorialPolicy>http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/BiotechEditorialPolicy 
>
>
> 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], -> yes
>
> g. Adopt a decision-making policy that is in alignment with consensus 
> principles which include open, transparent and egalitarian processes, 
> -> yes: 
> <http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/BiotechDecisionMaking>http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/BiotechDecisionMaking 
>
>
> 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, -> yes: rotating spokes 
> persons, starting with Clara who is already on these lists
>
> 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, ->yes
>
> 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), -> 
> yes
>
> 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.] -> yes
>
> l. Display a ³local version² of the IMC ³i² logo on your website and 
> literature. -> yes: see 
> <http://www.biotechimc.org>http://www.biotechimc.org
>
> m. Include the IMC Network current ³Cities List² on your site, 
> preferably on the front page. -> yes: see 
> <http://www.biotechimc.org>http://www.biotechimc.org
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ******* mission statement ***********
>
>
> Biotech Independent Media Centre is an issue based Indymedia site 
> dedicated to biotechnology and genetic engineering in agriculture, 
> food, medicine as well as its relevance to globalisation. It is about 
> struggles everywhere against the commodification of life, and about 
> alternatives.
>
> Our aim is to connect activists and IMCs, as well as concerned groups 
> and individuals from around the world by learning about one another 
> and our actions. This specialised site is a tool for creating, 
> covering, spreading and highlighting IMC content from all over the 
> world, both from different Indymedia newswires and by open publishing.
>
> Indymedia Biotech is set up by a group of volunteers from different 
> continents working on biotech issues, many of whom are also Indymedia 
> activists of local IMCs. We are committed to a multilingual site to 
> break through language barriers that keep local actions restricted to 
> local languages, or that exclude people that don't speak and write the 
> main language of a global website.
>
> We are part of the Indymedia network and therefore share Indymedia's 
> principles of Open Publishing, and of horizontality, openness and 
> consensus as the basis of our work. We work out of a love and 
> inspiration for people who continue to work for a better world, 
> despite corporate media's distortions and unwillingness to report the 
> efforts to create autonomous and sustainable futures.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> ******* editorial policy **********
>
>
> Everything of this editorial policy can be reviewed when necessary.
>
>
>
> why?
>
> "The aim of Indymedia Biotech is to connect activists and IMCs, as 
> well as concerned groups and individuals from around the world by 
> learning about one another and our actions. ... We work out of a love 
> and inspiration for people who continue to work for a better world, 
> despite corporate media's distortions and unwillingness to report the 
> efforts to create autonomous and sustainable futures."
>
> The work of the editorial team is to ensure that the Indymedia Biotech 
> site is fulfilling these functions, that it is a space for news about 
> biotech and related issues, for reports about actions and from events, 
> for background papers, analysis etc, and that it is a space that 
> supports activists in their political work.
>
> It is not meant for company PR as biotech companies have their own 
> resources to spread their views.
>
>
> middle column
>
> Features for the middle column are written by the editorial team, and 
> sent out via the mailing list for comments. Features can be posted in 
> the middle column after 25 hrs and if there is at least one positive 
> reply. Everybody is asked to come forward if they feel that 24 hrs is 
> too short for them, so that this procedure can be changed if necessary.
>
> During events, different procedures can be developed with the basic 
> line that the people at the event need consensus on the feature, that 
> the list is informed immediately on new features (esp. for 
> translations) and other relevant issues, and that it is know 
> beforehand who will be at the event and how long it takes.
>
> Where possible, cooperation should be sought with local IMCs in 
> writing and publishing features.
>
> Features can be written in any language, but should have an English 
> and/or Spanish translation, but no google translations.
>
> Good articles can be promoted from the newswire to the middle column. 
> Where necessary a better introduction should be written by the 
> editorial team and linked to the original article.
>
>
>
> newswire and comments
>
> Biotech IMC does not accept hate speech and discrimination and will 
> hide such postings and comments. Hidden postings stay accessible in a 
> special containment field. Anti-abuse measures can be taken, for 
> restricted periods and need to be evaluated regularly.
>
> Off-topic postings are moved into the containment field as well, 
> together with a reason why.
>
> Hiding articles is announced on the mailing list for a period of 24 
> hrs and one positive reply, unless it is communicated that hiding is 
> urgent. We will evaluate this procedure regularly in IRC meetings.
>
> The editorial team can hide comments that appear to be posted just to 
> provoke and insult other users.
>
> Articles from main-stream media should be marked as such and displayed 
> differently then original postings. (The exact format is yet to be 
> determined.)
>
> The newswire is not meant to replace (existing) mailing lists, and we 
> therefore discourage routinely done cross postings, but encourage 
> postings that describe those mailinglists so that users can subscribe 
> to them directly.
>
>
>
> the rest
>
> Indymedia Biotech is not making changes to any posting, with 3 
> exceptions:
> - broken links can be fixed if the mistake is something obvious like a 
> typo in the URL
> - sensitive personal data, like addresses can be replaced by "xxx"
> - spelling mistakes in our own features, in translations and in the 
> visible part of promoted articles
>
> All changes are announced in internal comments and on the notice board.
>
> Syndicated postings from other sites can be attributed to the topics 
> on Indymedia Biotech (like food, animals).
>
> We will need to develop some guidelines of how to work together with 
> local IMCs if they want to use Biotech IMC to cover a biotech event, 
> we can only do so we go along.
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
>
> ********* decision making policy ***********
>
> We will conduct our decision making in a manner that aims to 
> incorporate and consider all viewpoints. Our decision-making process 
> will be consensus oriented. We define consensus as a process that 
> takes into account the viewpoints, emotions, and knowledge of all 
> members of the Biotech IMC such as they are represented in any 
> particular meeting. We do NOT define consensus as the right or ability 
> of any individual, or small group of individuals, to halt the work of 
> Biotech IMC. We define consensus as taking into consideration all 
> viewpoints represented within the group and incorporating those 
> viewpoints into each decision. Specifically, our decision-making 
> procedures shall be as follows:
>
> Everything can be reviewed when necessary. We learn as we go along.
>
> - All communication and decision making within Indymedia Biotech is 
> done online. We acknowledge that this might exclude individuals from 
> participation but we hope that they will find the possibility to 
> participate in a local IMC with with face-to-face meetings and offline 
> projects. Nevertheless we try to keep the need for technical 
> requirements and online-time as low as possible.
>
> - Email, IRC, Twiki pages and the noticeboard in the admin interface 
> are different modes of communication used.
>
> - General decisions are taken on the mailing list, in an appropriate 
> timeframe, and with a minimum number of people explicitly supporting a 
> proposal. Day-to-day business like editorial decision can also be 
> decided upon through other communication channels. (The distinction 
> between "general" and "day-to-day", and appropriate timeframes and 
> numbers of supports still have to be defined.) Communication and 
> decision making policy are to be evaluated regularly and whenever 
> necessary.
>
> - Meetings take place in IRC every 2 to 4 weeks at different times to 
> accommodate people in different timezones.
>
> - Meetings are announced on email and on the twiki page.
>
> - IRC meetings are lightly moderated, and notes and logs are posted 
> (preferably) directly on the wiki page. Invitations, moderations and 
> note taking rotate. (The facilitator position should be rotated, not 
> necessarily everybody, but between those who possess some skills at 
> facilitation.)
>
> - As IRC and wiki are relevant for communication and meetings, we will 
> teach one another about how to use them. As well as teach about 
> facilitation
>
> - Decisions are based on consensus. We try to avoid implicit consensus 
> in order to learn about each others ideas, priorities and trains of 
> thoughts, but we will see at a later stage where we can adapt it for 
> day-to-day business.
>
> - Proposals are made after initial support. Explicit support is favour 
> over silent support, even if it increases email traffic. Objections 
> are made in a constructive way. If an individual blocks a majority 
> opinion, and s/he is not able to persuade the others toward an 
> alternate proposal within a reasonable time, then their block will be 
> considered null. Biotech IMC will under all circumstances give full 
> and due attention to all alternative proposals to a reasonable degree.
>
> -Editorial and decision making policies can be amended during the 
> cooperation with a local IMC to cover an event, but all changes will 
> stay true to the spirit of these policies and of the mission statement.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------
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