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International Technology Support
Proposal for funding our work with the World Social Forum (WSF) in 2011 - 2012.
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, while others are individuals. 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: Technology within the WSF
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.
May First/People Link is a member of the International Council (IC) of the WSF and is critically engaged in the Communications Commission of the IC. We will be engaged in providing social networking and communications support to a variety of spaces over the next year. This work will build upon on our experiences and technical expertise that has been developed since the first US Social Forum in 2007 and has since included other events such as the 2009 World Social Forum in Belem, Brazil, the Conference on Climate Change in Cochabamba, Bolivia, the 2011 US Social Forum in Detroit, the World Education Forum in Palestine, the UN Conference of Parties (COP16) in Cancun, and most recently the 2011 World Social Forum in Dakar, Senegal.
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:
- Using our past experiences and technical knowledge to provide guidance and assistance to local organizers that host large convergences for social movements and networks.
- Build capacity for other participating organizations to effectively implement and use Internet technology such as social media and communications for their ongoing movement work.
- Spread awareness about the ownership, control, and use of corporate versus alternative social media, Internet technologies, and communications and their impact on our international networks.
Work Plan and Timeline
- Meetings are held twice per month online, at least twice per year face-to-face.
- First meeting in 2011 will be held in Paris at the end of May.
- <em>Second meeting has yet to be determined.</em>
- 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
- <em>Not all convergences have been announced and often our assistance is requested at short notice. In 2010, we organized technology at 4 convergences.</em>
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 | $500.00 |
| Airfare for one person from New York to France | |
| Accommodations | $300.00 |
| For one person for 4 days/3 nights | |
| Paris Total | $800.00 |
| Estimated Cost of 1 Other Meeting | $800.00 |
| Total sum requested | $26180.00 |
Related Projects and References
Global Digital Mobilization Project (COP16)
Techies of Color Training
International Outreach and Training
