[spectre] Fwd: The European Forum on Communication Rights

[Eric Kluitenberg]

Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2004 14:01:03 +0100
From: Steve Buckley <steve at commedia.org.uk>

Please distribute widely...

///
The Media Culture and Communications Rights Network

Presents

The European Forum on Communication Rights

Thursday 14 October 2004
9.15am - 6.30pm

@ The Camden Centre,
Judd St
Near Kings Cross,
London WC1

FREE / donations encouraged
RSVP to info at efcr2004.net
See www.efcr2004.net

The European Forum on Communication Rights (EFCR) takes place the day 
before the start of the European Social Forum, and tackles one of the 
most important questions we face how to bring together those working 
at different levels on communication rights - from grass roots 
activists working on practical projects and street level campaigns, 
to those engaged in lobbying and advocacy, to researchers and 
academics.

"As the movement around Communications Rights gathers momentum, a 
multitude of campaigns are confronting the same issues from a variety 
of directions."

Starting the day a series of keynote speakers, presentations and 
open-floor discussions will establish what is at stake in the 
information revolution who owns what, who has the power, and what it 
means for us all.  Focusing on the global issues of Security and the 
Surveillance State, Migration and Borders, and the Corporatisation of 
our Communication spaces and knowledge, the afternoon aims to find 
common ground that links these varied strands together to produce 
vibrant, relevant and powerful campaigns.

The (EFCR) is the first of four days of discussion, practical 
collaboration and media making, based at the Camden Centre, next to 
Kings Cross in the Bloomsbury area (one of the two major ESF 
locations).

------------------------------------------

Keynote Speakers Include:

Dr Cees J. Hamelink
Dr. Hamelink has published over 250 articles, papers and numerous 
books on Communication Rights, and initiated the People's 
Communication Charter movement.

Sean O'Siochru
CRIS Campaign Ireland (Communication Rights in the Information 
Society) and Coordinator, World Forum on Communication Rights, Geneva 
December 2003.

Dr. Claudia Padovani
Dept. of Historical and Political Studies, University of Padova and 
CRIS Campaign, Italy.

Roberto Verzola
Currently the secretary-general of the Philippine Greens, Roberto 
Verzola was one of the founders of the progressive information and 
communications technology (ICT) movement.

Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng
Director of Isis-WICCE, (Women's International Cross Cultural 
Exchange) Uganda. Ruth Ochieng is also a member of the International 
Coordinating Committee of Women Human Rights Defender (WHRD) and WSIS 
Africa Gender Caucus.

-------------------------------------

Participating panel speakers and organisations include:

Supinya Klangnarong, Secretary General of the Campaign for Popular 
Media Reform in Thailand
Simon Davies, Privacy International
Gus Hosein, Privacy International
Mark Littlewood, No2id Campaign
Hagen Kopp, IOM campaign
Steve Buckley, AMARC
Karen Banks, APC

And speakers from the Institute of Race Relations, Defy-ID, 
Statewatch, Indymedia Estrecho (madiaq collective),
with more to be confirmed.

======================================

The European Forum on Communication Rights  and ongoing four day 
programme has been developed to counteract the lack of content 
addressing communication rights within the  European Social Forum 
programme. As thousands of participants from diverse movements gather 
to meet and discuss, the urgency of Communication Rights issues and 
the freedom to communicate must be at the core of any vision of 
another society.

The venue will also house an ongoing Indymedia centre (IMC) to 
facilitate DIY reporting and media production, and all attendees are 
encouraged to participate. There will also be a bar and cheap food 
available, as well as social events and film screenings.

======================================

PROGRAMME

The European Forum on Communication Rights
Thursday 14 October 2004
9.15am - 6.30pm

9.15  Doors open

9.45 -  10.00 Welcome (MCCRN representative)

10.00 -  10.45 Keynote  Cees Hamelink (with response speaker)

10.45 -  11.45 Framework on Communication Rights Defining Key Issues 
in the European Context
Speakers Sean O'Siochru and Claudia Padovani

12.00 -  1.30 Communication Rights  Grassroots Experience and Social Realities
Speakers Roberto Verzola (Philippines) and Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng (Uganda)

1.30 -  2.30 Lunch Break
(cheap food is available from the venue and there are many pubs and 
shops in walking distance)

2.30 -  2.45 Introduction to the Afternoon (MCCRN representative)
The afternoon focuses on three global issues and aims to find common 
ground that links these varied strands together to examine how to 
produce vibrant, relevant and powerful campaigns. Each panel will 
have short contributions from speakers, followed by an open floor 
discussion.

2.45 -  3.45  The Security State and Technologies of Control
As civil liberties crumble under the wave of repressive 
anti-terrorism legislation being introduced across Europe, the UK is 
becoming a testing ground for new levels of surveillance and control. 
While migrants will be tagged with satellite tracking devices, the 
general population will be required to carry 'Biometric Microchip 
Identity Cards' to access healthcare, welfare benefits and local 
services like transport, with all data being stored in a vast 
national information system of linked databases accessible by 
thousands of government departments and other 'interested' parties.

What are the latest developments, what are the strategies of 
different campaigners, how are they working together to form broader 
coalitions to prevent this repressive wave from obliterating 
fundamental human rights and freedoms?

3.45 - 4.45 Migration Freedom of Movement and Free Communication
Despite increasing tendencies of global governance directed at the 
flow of migration and communication through databases like the 
Schengen Information System, biometric controls etc, people continue 
to move and communicate. This panel will explore the connections 
between free movement and free communication, looking at institutions 
like the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) and the World 
Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) as well as the movements 
against these types of global governance and the ICT tools they are 
using.

4.45 - 5.45 The Corporatisation of Our Communication Spaces and Knowledge
The growth of corporate power in europe is reflected in increasing 
concentration of ownership in media and communications. Safeguards to 
preserve pluralism have been insufficient to keep in check the big 
corporations unaccountable power over public life. This panel looks 
at the rise of corporate power in Thailand and Italy and its base in 
major communications corporations. It asks what measures are needed 
to counter the corporate communications hegemony and asks "is another 
communication possible?", as well as drawing parallels with other 
areas such as Intellectual Property.

5.45 - 6.30 Closing Session

Note: The Camden Centre has a licensed bar which will be open through 
the evening.

============================

The Media Culture and Communications Rights Network includes:

Article 19, Association For Progressive Communications (APC), 
volunteers from Babels, Community Media Association UK, Computer Aid 
International, members of the CRIS Campaign (Ireland, UK, Italy), 
E-Hippies, GreenNet, GreenNet Educational Trust, volunteers from 
Indymedia Centers in the UK, France and Germany, Privacy 
International, World Association of Christian Communications (WACC), 
World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC)

============================

Links and Contacts:

EFCR website
http://www.efcr2004.net

EFCR contact
info at efcr2004.net

Official ESF website
http://www.fse-esf.org

Unofficial ESF website
http://www.esf2004.net

ESF Autonomous Spaces and Initiatives
http://www.altspaces.net

Indymedia UK Network
http://www.indymedia.org.uk

IMC Media Centre organising wiki website
http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Local/UkImcEsf