Submitted by: querfunk <querfunk> on Saturday, May 24th, 2008 @ 9:25:40 am (-0700)
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proposed_imc_name: linksunten
proposed_imc_url: linksunten.indymedia.org
current_url: autonome-antifa.org/imc (Wiki in German)
city:
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state: South West Germany
country: Germany
contact_name: querfunk
contact_email: querfunk at riseup.net
contact_phone:
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tech_name: tobinsky
tech_email: binsky at gmx.de
tech_phone:
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focus: regional_focus
critical_dates: The 60th NATO summit is taking place in our region in April 2009 and will involve a large international mobilisation. We’d like to have the page up and running several months before that.
supporting_groups: Autonomes Medienkollektiv Freiburg, Autonomes Medienkollektiv Rhein-Neckar, cine rebelde, a-films, Autonome Antifa Freiburg, Anonyme Gruppe Ponyhof Heidenheim, Antifaschistische Aktion Ulm/Neu-Ulm, Antifa Ravensburg, AKUZA Heidelberg, alert|a Pforzheim
introductory_statement: We are a diverse network of people involved in different radical left, anticapitalist and libertarian political activities. We see participatory grassroots media activism as a crucial tool for emancipatory social change.
Our aims include the empowerment of regional social movements by providing a platform to improve their capacity to communicate and reach out. We’d like to foster new contacts and promote a culture of skill sharing.
Most of us have been involved with indymedia and media activism for a quite some time. Some of us have also been active as administrators within the de.indymedia.org network.
The issue of decentralisation of de.indymedia.org has been debated about since the very beginning of the German indymedia network. Linksunten is a recent initiative that emerged within the German indymedia network and that has gathered enough momentum to get started.
(linksunten means ’from below to the left’ in German, both in a geographical sense (South West Germany) and in a political sense (grassroots, direct democracy, class struggle) - inspired by "desde abajo y a la izquierda" from "La Otra Campaña" in Mexico)
resources: We don’t have own server capacities for the moment and think that having the server located in Germany is not an option due to repressive state policies.
Technically speaking, we have the skills to set up and maintain a webpage based on drupal. However drupal is new to most of us. We would appreciate support and sharing of experience. Once the linksunten network will have gathered enough solid experience and capacities, we will be happy to share it with others.
Our network has been communicating through the IRC chatrooms at chat.indymedia.org for quite a long time. (check out #linksunten)
As activists being involved in various political groups, we have access to different structures which enable us to use resources and materials as well as to raise necessary funds.
These structures have already been used to raise funds for the German indymedia network and the fund to support indymedia projects in the global South.
outreach: First of all we set up an open wiki, a public email list (archived) and an indymedia chat room. A call and invitation to the first meeting was widely circulated through email lists, websites, zines and translated into five languages and two regional dialects.
http://de.indymedia.org/2008/04/213560.shtml
There were two public information evenings in Mannheim and Heidelberg. There will be another information event at a campus protest camp in Heidelberg in the near future.
Recent indymedia and video workshops were used to publicize the initiative. Leaflets and posters were printed and spread in different languages. Two articles about the linksunten initiative were published in nationwide newspapers:
http://www.taz.de/1/leben/medien/artikel/1/zoff-bei-indymedia/?src=SE&cHash=b1fbc59822
http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/128437.html
The call was published on several indymedia sites. It was featured and prominently linked for weeks on de.indymedia.org.
identity_makeup: The first meeting was attended by 26 people with about 20% women. We respect all kinds of sexual orientations and do not tolerate homophobic, antisemitic, fascist and racist behaviour.
steps_represent_diversity: We are aware that we are reproducing a white male middle class dominated environment. We are making efforts to improve this situation by directly raising and tackling the issue.
We are also actively trying to integrate and involve immigrants and refugees who are usually marginalized within German society. In the framework of our first meeting, we organized an indymedia workshop at a anti-racist solidarity camp near a refugee housing.
In general we’ll try to overcome structural barriers to integrate a diverse spectrum of people. We’ll translate key texts like the mission statement and the editorial guidelines as well as the navigation structure of the webpage to different languages.
steps_involve_new_workfields: We already work on establishing a vivid culture of skill sharing. We founded some media collectives and try to spread this idea through workshops and the collective production of indymedia articles and videos.
We aim to organise offline activities like regular indymedia cafés, publications, workshops and other events.
Female activists are involved in our technical workgroup and we also try to motivate more women to participate in this group.
username: querfunk