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International Technology Support
May First/People Link seeks funding to democratize and expand participation in the World Social Forum (WSF) and Climate Justice movements through the Internet.
As Peter Waterman points out:
The WSF still has one foot firmly in the 20th century: NGOs, Organisations, Institutions, Funding Dependence, Ecologically destructive transcontinental flights and equally anti-ecological forum sites. It has also been having the greatest difficulty, I think, in placing its other foot in the agora offering the greatest freedom – cyberspace.
For the last several years, May First/People Link has been working on the "other foot" by sending teams of technologists to build bridges between global convergence attendees and the vast majority of people unable to attend in person, via live video and audio streaming, multi-media web sites, and our collaborative democracy tool. Through our work, we've prioritized building local capacity for supporting the technology and have contributed to a culture of inclusive participation into the very planning of international gatherings.
May First/People Link seeks funding to continue and expand this work in 2011. There are three critical meetings - Cochabamba + 1 in Montreal, the Paris World Social Forum IC meeting, and the COP17 convergence in Durban, South Africa. May First/People Link is seeking: $26680.00 to help build diverse international participation in these meetings.
About May First/People Link
May First/People Link is a membership organization based in the United States. It is one of the oldest progressive providers of Internet to non-profits in the world. Our membership consists of over 500 members, most of which are organizations (the rest are individual members). By joining as a member and paying yearly dues, an organization receives free, unlimited website and email hosting. Our vision is to build a network that values an Open Internet by committing to the use of Free and Open Source Software and making principled decisions regarding policy and practices that affect online communication.
We believe that the Internet is humanity's way of facilitating the communication necessary to build movements to save the human race and the world. The converging crises in the major capitalist economies, the precarious state of the world environment, the political crisis in government in so many of the world's countries and the usurpation of government authority by international banks and committees have brought humanity to a point of urgency and increasing certainty that something must be done to save itself. When all else fails, human beings come together to communicate and figure out how to survive; that is our legacy as a species.
Our Work: Democratizing Global Convergences
Humanity has been forging ahead in doing that with world-wide efforts like the World Social Forum and the Climate Control movement and, of course, the Internet. The Internet, a community of more than 1.9 billion people world-wide, is among humanity's principle responses; it's humanity's way of facilitating the communication necessary to make all this collaboration possible.
In 2011 we will be building on our experiences in World Social Forum and the Climate Control movement.
Our global movement work began with the US Social Forum in 2007, where we helped lead the technology working group overseeing the first social forum with full online registration from beginning to end. In 2008, at Social Forum of the Americas in Guatemala, we held our first collaborative democracy workshop linking participants in Guatemala with participants in New York, in real time. We repeated this workshop at 2009 World Social Forum in Belem, Brazil (this time brining in Belem, Guatemala, Quebec and New York in French, Spanish, Portugeuse, and English). In 2010 we were invited to support the Global Conference on Climate Change in Cochabamba, where we provided a free video stream of all major events using all free and open source software. In June 2010, May First/People Link was central to the organizing of the technology working group and media center. Our Social Forum work continued in October at the World Education Forum in Palestine. In December, the UN Bolivian Mission sponsored our tech support work during the COP16 meeting in Cancun. And, most recently, we provided support to both the World Social Forum in Dakar (where we were accepted onto the International Committee) as well as helped organize the Indymedia Africa center taking place during the forum.
We plan to further our mission as an organization by building up international movements' and networks' capacities by investing in training and infrastructure in specific regions around the world. Additionally, we will build this capacity through exchanges among the social forums and through the event spaces, such as those listed above.
Goals for Ongoing Work
This year, our work will focus on reaching our goals of:
- Increasing participation:
The core goal of our work is to transform the global movement, helping us reach our potential as truly mass and inclusive movements - Using Experience:
Our past experiences and technical knowledge that we've accumulated over the past few years are specifically crafted to this historical moment's crises and the political goals of the alter-globalization movement. We will:- continue to use this experience to provide guidance and assistance to local organizers that host large convergences for social movements and networks.
- create a Technology Group within the WSF Communications Committee to coordinate with other organizations invested in software implementation
- Building Capacity:
It is important for other participating organizations to effectively implement and use Internet technology such as social media and communications for their ongoing movement work. We will:- pursue follow-up work that helps to build capacity with social movement organizations such that expertise and access are shared tools for social change.
- outreach to organizations to join, and therefore strengthen, our network of protected Internet users at May First/People Link.
- Spreading Awareness:
The ownership, control, and use of corporate versus alternative social media, Internet technologies, and communications has an impact on our international networks. Our politics around an Open Internet will ultimately raise consciousness about technology choices that will ensure that the power of communication over the Internet remains a force for social change. We will:- advocate for and support the use of Free and Open software
- engage in critical debates on the future of the Internet within various communities, organizations, and institutions
Work Plan and Timeline
- World Social Forum
- First meeting in 2011 will be held in Paris at the end of May.
- Second meeting has yet to be determined.
- Several convergences will be held each year. We will work with those that are close to use both politically and geographically.
- The Cochabamba +1 convergence will be held in April 2011 in Montreal.
- COP17 will take place in Durban, South Africa in December 2011
- Not all convergences have been announced and often our assistance is requested at short notice. In 2010, we organized technology at 4 convergences.
Budget Summary: Expenses
Montreal Convergence | |
Travel | $650.00 |
Train ticket for two - four people from New York to Montreal | |
Accommodations | $0.00 |
For two - four people at one - two weeks is donated in-kind by Alternatives International | |
Support work | $1920.00 |
40 hours for 1 week at $12.00 per hour for two - four people | |
Technical Equipment | $250.00 |
Unknown, estimated cost of equipment purchases | |
Montreal Total | $2820.00 |
COP17 Durban Convergence | |
Travel | $8000.00 |
Airfare for two - four people from New York to South Africa | |
Accommodations | $2,500 |
For two - four people at two - three weeks | |
Support work | $5760.00 |
40 hours for 2 - 3 weeks at $12.00 per hour for two - four people | |
Technical Equipment | $500.00 |
Unknown, estimated cost of equipment purchases | |
Durban Total | $16760.00 |
Estimated Cost of 2 Other Convergences | $5,000 |
Paris Meeting | |
Travel | $1000.00 |
Airfare for two people from New York to France | |
Accommodations | $300.00 |
For two people for 4 days/3 nights | |
Paris Total | $1300.00 |
Estimated Cost of 1 Other Meeting | $800.00 |
Total sum requested | $26680.00 |
Related Projects and References
Global Digital Mobilization Project (COP16)
Techies of Color Training
International Outreach and Training