May First/People Link
International Movements Work Plan
2014

The International Movements working group is charged with all MFPL's international relations including our work with organizations like APC and the World Social Forum. Members of the working group will attend international conferences and increase our visibility, communications and recruitment work in countries outside of the U.S. and Mexico.

Internationalization

Localization of server applications

We need to ensure that most, if not all content published in our website, bulletins, articles, public statements, support notifications, etc. is translated and sent in both versions English and Spanish. It's important that members can install, administer, create and support their users in languages most used in their communities. This requires us to offer the most up-to-date versions of language packages for the server applications that we offer members. Additionally, our mail software must support the widest possible range of characters so that non-Roman languages display properly in webmail. Specifically,

• Ensure that all server applications are available in at least: English, Spanish, French and Arabic
• Ensure that all server applications are available in the local languages of all MFPL members by taking a survey of our current membership.

Internationalization team

We will foster a team of translators and interpreters, mostly volunteer. In cases when the translation of text is urgent, difficult or extensive, we may elect to pay translators at a fair market rate per word.

• Develop a political perspective to our language diversity work that explores the bast experience of the Internationalist struggle, in every case in the past those experiences first developed understanding across languages.
• Propose to change the name of the Internationalization team to Language Diversity team, or something that reflects better its goals
• Organize one event, perhaps online, for the internationalization team in coordination with ​Tlaxcala, ​Boston Interpreters Collective, ​Colectivo para la autogestión de tecnologías para la interpretación, and others to expore the political and revolutionary perspectives of this work
• Team members will organize themselves to translate any existing or future outreach materials into English or Spanish as necessary.

Networks and movements

Association for Progressive Communications

MFPL has been a member of APC since 2008. APC is probably the largest international network of progressive ICT-focused organizations in the world. Founded in the mid-1990's by the Institute for Global Communications (Labornet, Peacenet, etc.), APC involves non-profit Internet and technology organizations in countries throughout the world with a focus on the global south.

• Renew primary and secondary representatives to the council
• Attendance at council meeting, June 2014
• Collaborate with Infrastructure team on DDoS event.

World Social Forum

MFPL has been an active member of the WSF Communications Commission since the Belem forum in 2009. In 2011 it became an official member of the governing body, the WSF International Council, sponsored by Social Watch Italy and Alternatives International. We have been active organizers of several forums, both thematic and global.

• Attend the 2014 IC meeting, TBA
• Support reclamation of the outdated WSF website
• Attend the People's Social Forum in Ottawa in August 2014
• Begin organizing and fundraising for the WSF 2015 in Tunisia.

Free and Open Sorce Software event

• Encuentro Internacional: Aportaciones del Software Libre a la Lucha de las Izquierdas 2014. Previous event on 2012 had mostly participants from Latin America, but also US, Canada and Spain. Event aimed at promoting the analisys and reflexion on the Free and Open Source Software political implications and effects on social change.

UN

Currently, under our membership with APC, MFPL has some limited ability to attend UN events as a civil society observer organization. A UN headquarters is conveniently located in NYC, thereby opening possibilities for MFPL to explore our potential impact on international policy work.

• Explore use of APC's observer status at events in our advocacy realm
• Explore value of having our own observer status.

Social and solidarity economy

Because MFPL Mexico is this year going to be part of the cooperative movement, we should also begin to participate in international spaces and coalitions exploring solidarity economy, one of the most robust movements on the left, worldwide.

• Explore additional partnerships with specific organizations related to this work and our past participation in the 6th International Forum of Social and Solidarity Economy, where cooperatives are widely present and considered in 45 countries as the most important instrument in developing the SSE.
• Participate in the 7th International Forum of Social and Solidarity Economy in 2014.
• Attend the International Summit for Cooperatives in Quebec, Canada on October 6-9, 2014.

Ad hoc networks

Mapping MFPL's network would be no easy task. However, the more we as a collective know who we are connected to, the more impact we will have within these networks and the more we will recognize in what regions and sectors we must grow.

• Attempt to visually map the MFPL universe
• Present to our members and allies a list of preferred providers and sister organizations in various countries, so as to support local infrastructure as well as progressive technology groups.

Miscellaneous

Bitcoin

• Implement the use of bitcoin into our financial plan so international members can pay their dues with bitcoin, avoiding wire transfer fees.

Budget

Item	2012	2013	2014
Dues and Subscriptions
APC	500	500	500
WSF	0	0	500
Travel (accomm, flight, food for two people)
WSF meeting	?	?	3,000
People's Social Forum	0	0	500
International Forum for SSE	0	0	1600
The Quebec Summit for Coops	0	0	850
FOSS and the left	?	0	200
Organizing
Internationalist struggle and language diversity			1000
Payroll
Translation and editing	0	0	500
Total Expenses	?	?	8,650