May 25, 2010
Cross-border call for Collaboration
A delegation of Venezuelan media activists from ANMCLA (National Association of Independent and Alternative Community Media) are hoping to take part in the Allied Media Conference this summer in Detroit, Michigan from June 18-20. The group includes members of the indigenous Wayuu resisting coal miner exploitation in Zulia, the video collectives Calles y Media of “Venezuela Bolivariana” and Voces Urgente in Lara, active participants in the construction of the Ataro comuna, and Radio La Vega, one of the oldest pirated radio stations in Caracas.
The group is interested in collaborating in as many ways possible at the conference. They are open to facilitating a workshop on the Venezuelan media movement and potential points of convergence, as well as share direct experiences about the construction of community radio and video cooperatives and their struggle to make 33.3% of the radio-electric spectrum run by community run media.
They are also in need of funding for the trip. Attached below is an estimated budget of all expenses they will incur during their time at the AMC and their stay through the US Social Forum, as well as the bios of the delegation members. Any contribution, tips on organizational affiliations to reach out to, collaboration through waived fees or offered housing, or fundraising on their behalf would be greatly appreciated. They can provide videos for movie showings or anything else necessary.
ANCMCLA is a revolutionary social movement in the field of communication that includes more that includes more than 300 collectives in Nuestra America. It began in 2002 as a collective answer to a diversity of obstacles that coalesced within the varied community media movements in Venezuela. The scarcity of resources, the necessity to amplify the creation of community media across the country, the continuous attack of the commercial media, and the nearing possibility to actualize the long struggle for the democratization of the national radio-electric space are only a few of the reasons. In this sense, ANMCLA is the consolidation of an organizing initiative that foments, articulates and defends the diverse processes of independent and alternative community media that we are rapidly developing.
Please contact Amanda Eckerson at 503.897.8079 or ace@bmediacollective.org for more information.