THURSDAY 14 OCTOBER 2004
9.15am - 6.30pm

@ The Camden Centre,
Judd St
Near Kings Cross,
London WC1

FREE / donations encouraged
RSVP to  info@efcr2004STOPSPAM.net
See  http://www.efcr2004.net

The European Forum on Communication Rights (EFCR) takes place the day before the start of the European Social Forum, and tackles one of the most important questions we face how to bring together those working at different levels on communication rights - from grass roots activists working on practical projects and street level campaigns, to those engaged in lobbying and advocacy, to researchers and academics.

"As the movement around Communications Rights gathers momentum, a multitude of campaigns are confronting the same issues from a variety of directions."

Starting the day a series of keynote speakers, presentations and open-floor discussions will establish what is at stake in the information revolution who owns what, who has the power, and what it means for us all. Focusing on the global issues of Security and the Surveillance State, Migration and Borders, and the Corporatisation of our Communication spaces and knowledge, the afternoon aims to find common ground that links these varied strands together to produce vibrant, relevant and powerful campaigns.

The (EFCR) is the first of four days of discussion, practical collaboration and media making, based at the Camden Centre, next to Kings Cross in the Bloomsbury area (one of the two major ESF locations).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keynote Speakers Include:

Dr Cees J. Hamelink
Dr. Hamelink has published over 250 articles, papers and numerous books on Communication Rights, and initiated the People's Communication Charter movement.

Sean O’Siochru
CRIS Campaign Ireland (Communication Rights in the Information Society) and Coordinator, World Forum on Communication Rights, Geneva December 2003.

Dr. Claudia Padovani
Dept. of Historical and Political Studies, University of Padova and CRIS Campaign, Italy.

Roberto Verzola
Currently the secretary-general of the Philippine Greens, Roberto Verzola was one of the founders of the progressive information and communications technology (ICT) movement.

Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng
Director of Isis-WICCE, (Women’s International Cross Cultural Exchange) Uganda. Ruth Ochieng is also a member of the International Coordinating Committee of Women Human Rights Defender (WHRD) and WSIS Africa Gender Caucus.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Participating panel speakers and organisations include:

Supinya Klangnarong, Secretary General of the Campaign for Popular Media Reform in Thailand
Simon Davies, Privacy International
Gus Hosein, Privacy International
Mark Littlewood, No2id Campaign
Hagen Kopp, IOM campaign
Steve Buckley, AMARC
Karen Banks, APC
Arun Kundnani, Institute of Race Relations
Ben Hayes, Statewatch


And speakers from Defy-ID, Indymedia Estrecho (madiaq collective), with more to be confirmed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The European Forum on Communication Rights and ongoing four day programme has been developed to counteract the lack of content addressing communication rights within the European Social Forum programme. As thousands of participants from diverse movements gather to meet and discuss, the urgency of Communication Rights issues and the freedom to communicate must be at the core of any vision of another society.

The venue will also house an ongoing Indymedia centre (IMC) to facilitate DIY reporting and media production, and all attendees are encouraged to participate. There will also be a bar and cheap food available, as well as social events and film screenings.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PROGRAMME

The European Forum on Communication Rights
Thursday 14 October 2004
9.15am - 6.30pm

9.15 Doors open

9.45 - –10.00 Welcome (MCCRN representative)

10.00 - 10.45 Keynote Cees Hamelink (with response speaker)

10.45 - –11.45 Framework on Communication Rights Defining Key Issues in the European Context
Speakers Sean O’Siochru and Claudia Padovani

12.00 - 1.30 Communication Rights Grassroots Experience and Social Realities
Speakers Roberto Verzola (Philippines) and Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng (Uganda)

1.30 - 2.30 Lunch Break
(cheap food is available from the venue and there are many pubs and shops in walking distance)

2.30 - –2.45 Introduction to the Afternoon (MCCRN representative)
The afternoon focuses on three global issues and aims to find common ground that links these varied strands together to examine how to produce vibrant, relevant and powerful campaigns. Each panel will have short contributions from speakers, followed by an open floor discussion.

2.45 -– 3.45 The Security State and Technologies of Control
As civil liberties crumble under the wave of repressive anti-terrorism legislation being introduced across Europe, the UK is becoming a testing ground for new levels of surveillance and control. While migrants will be tagged with satellite tracking devices, the general population will be required to carry 'Biometric Microchip Identity Cards' to access healthcare, welfare benefits and local services like transport, with all data being stored in a vast national information system of linked databases accessible by thousands of government departments and other 'interested' parties.

What are the latest developments, what are the strategies of different campaigners, how are they working together to form broader coalitions to prevent this repressive wave from obliterating fundamental human rights and freedoms?

3.45 –- 4.45 Migration Freedom of Movement and Free Communication
Despite increasing tendencies of global governance directed at the flow of migration and communication through databases like the Schengen Information System, biometric controls etc, people continue to move and communicate. This panel will explore the connections between free movement and free communication, looking at institutions like the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) as well as the movements against these types of global governance and the ICT tools they are using.

4.45 –- 5.45 The Corporatisation of Our Communication Spaces and Knowledge
The growth of corporate power in europe is reflected in increasing concentration of ownership in media and communications. Safeguards to preserve pluralism have been insufficient to keep in check the big corporations unaccountable power over public life. This panel looks at the rise of corporate power in Thailand and Italy and its base in major communications corporations. It asks what measures are needed to counter the corporate communications hegemony and asks "is another communication possible?", as well as drawing parallels with other areas such as Intellectual Property.

5.45 - 6.30 Closing Session

Note: The Camden Centre has a licensed bar which will be open through the evening.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The MCCRN grouping is made up of progressive electronic networks, community and alternative media groups, freedom of expression and civil liberties advocates, grass roots, communication rights, social and gender justice advocates. These groups have been active nationally, regionally and internationally in activities and processes concerned with policy formulation, decision-making processes, alternative strategies and grass-roots activism. It includes:

Article 19, Association For Progressive Communications (APC), volunteers from Babels, Community Media Association UK, Computer Aid International, Creative Forum, members of the CRIS Campaign (Ireland, UK, Italy), E-Hippies, GreenNet, GreenNet Educational Trust, volunteers from Indymedia Centers in the UK, France and Germany, OneWorld UK, Privacy International, Women Connect UK, World Association of Christian Communications (WACC), World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC)

=================================================================================

FRIDAY 15th OCTOBER:

@ Camden Centre
Judd Street
Kings Cross
London WC1

Friday explores the emergence of the resistance to technologies of control, looking at tactics, tools and techniques, focusing on Infowar and Signal Jamming, Electronic Commons, IP and Bio Piracy, Biometric ID Cards, Gender and Technology, and Tactical and Alternative Media.

Friday night will see an evening of entertainment with comedy, music, films and a special set of presentations and performance from migrant networks, sans papiers, and people from the global south.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PROGRAMME:
9.00 - 12.00 From Genoa to Guantanamo
Confronting and discussing human rights abuses across the world, from Genoa through to Guantanamo. Including: Garethe Peirce, Camp X-ray Detainee Lawyer; Heidi Giuliani, Mother of Carlo Giuliani; Massimo Pastore, Genoa Legal Forum Lawyer; Rachel Shabi, Journalist; Gwyn Rodgers, Chair; with more to be confirmed.

12 - 1.00 FILM Weapons of Mass Deception : Danny Schecter's New Film
Documentary revealing the collusion between the military and the medias "coverage" of the Iraq war.

1.00 - 2.30 Inforwar: Media Deception & Disinformation Vs. Dissent & Direct Democracy
The corporate media, propaganda and how grassroots action can interpret the truth beyond the lie. Speakers from: Indymedia uk and Ireland, Venezuela Solidarity Campaign, Quebec media activists and others.

2.30 - 4.00 Resisting the Security State and Technologies of Control
Campaigns of resistance against the erosion of identity, public space and freedom of movement and protest. Speakers from: No2ID, Privacy International, Defy ID and others.

4.00 - 4.30 FILM BREAK (film tbc)

4.30 - 5.30 Intellectual Property and Electronic Commons
Opposing corporatisation and ownership, and exploring the alternative strategies for managing our knowledge. Speakers from: AMARC, Genewatch, UK Food Group and others.

5.30 - 6.30 The Media Circus - Networking Resistance
How Indymedia and other activists are reclaiming the commons and building networks of resistance.

6.30 - 7.30 FILM: XXI CENTURY: PART 3 of 7 "...and nothing but the truth"
How the mainstream media sold their souls and worked as the propaganda machine of the iraq war. Interveiws with: Noam Chomsky, Gore Vidal, Howard Zinn, Greg Palast, Amy Goodman and many others.
 http://www.thecatsdream.com

7.30 - 8.00 Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination
Reports and video highlights from theatrical interventions on the streets so far.

8.00 - 9.00 Comedy from Mark Thomas tbc

9.00 - 12.00 No Vox: The Evening of "Have Nots"
Film, music, bands and presentations of the struggles of the 'Have Nots' in the ESF / WSF processes. Speakers and short films from: Untouchable Dalits (India), MNLM Brazil, Unemployed movements, Homeless groups, Intergalactic network, and Sans Papiers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WORKSHOPS AT:

The Bartlett School
Wates House
22 Gordon Street
London WC1

(ten minutes walk from camden centre - rooms capacity 40-50 people)

1300 - 1700 CRIS / GGP Workshop: Networking Communication Rights in the EU (Room 433)

1700 - 1900 Thistuesday.org: Migration, Labor, and Transnational Organising (Room 433)
Developing Thistuesday.org - a transnational website platform tracking the struggles of migrant workers.

===================================================================================

SATURDAY 16th OCTOBER

@ Camden Centre
Judd Street
Kings Cross
London WC1

Saturday will include the 10th anniversary celebration of the respected alternative media project www.SchNEWS.org.uk with a full afternoon conference. Schnews was borne out of the movement against the infamous UK Criminal Justice Act of 1994, an act that sought to criminalise everyone from travellers to free partygoers to those doing direct action. Schnews has since become an internationally respected newsletter of the anti-capitalist movement providing information for action to activists across the world. On the web or in print, it's free, written entirely by volunteers, and is funded by donation. Later that evening they kick off their birthday fundraiser party in a venue south of the river.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PROGRAMME:
0900 - 1000 Indymedia / Alt Media Roundtable Discussion and Breakfast

1000 - 1200 Community and Alternative Media
Debate, strategy, organising and exchange around creating media alternatives in Europe and at different levels.

1200 - 1300 WSF and ESF Communication Priorities, Methadologies and Strategies
Social Forums use of commuication technologies and the relationship to wider movements around Communications Rights

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1400 - 1900 "How Direct Action Can Save the World": Schnews 10th Birthday Conference
Organised by  http://www.schnews.org.uk - the weekly direct action newsletter

Direct action works. Active, popular opposition to oppressive rulers has been the force of change throughout history. This conference provides an opportunity to hear about resistance first hand, find out how you can get involved, to discuss, plot, and organise serious resistance to the suicidal onward march of capitalism.

1400 - 1500 WORK: Our lives, their profits - how we fight exploitation
Anne Jones, mother of Simon Jones and campaigner for workplace safety; Edgar Paez, international secretary of Columbian trade union SINALTRAINAL

1500 - 1600 WEATHER: Climate change - capitalism's legacy to the world.
Speakers from Climate Change campaigns

1600 - 1700 WAR: The warmongers and how to oppose them.
Mark Curtis, director of the World Development Movement and author of Web of Deceit; Ewa Jasiewicz, human rights activist and journalist imprisoned by Israeli government; Jo Wilding, activist, writer and witness to the seige of Falluja

1700 - 1900 WINNING: How direct action can save the world.
Speaker on opposing the G8 visit to Scotland in 2005; SchNEWS?; Anne, Edgar, Mark, Ewa, Jo and everyone else!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WORKSHOPS AT:

The Bartlett School
Wates House
22 Gordon Street
London
WC1

(ten minutes walk from camden centre - rooms capacity 40-50 people)

1030 - 1200 Indymedia Women Workshop (Room 129)
Women only workshop. A space for discussion and collaboration for women activists working on Indymedia.

1200 - 1400 Resisting the Clash (Room 129)
Actions against false 'cultural' divisions, proposed by grassroots speakers from Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel

1400 - 1600 Community Media Strategy Workshop (Room 101)
Building on the previous two days of communications rights discussion to develop common strategies.

1400 - 1600 Activist Research and Copy-left (Room 129)
Examining the potential of research, from and for, social movements. Open research for free use.

===================================================================================

LINKS AND CONTACTS:

EFCR website:
 http://www.efcr2004.net

EFCR contact:
info@(nospamplease)efcr2004.net

Indymedia UK Network:
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk

IMC Media Centre organising wiki website:
 http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Local/UkImcEsf

Indymedia mailing list:
 http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-esf

Autonomous Spaces and Initiatives:
www.altspaces.net

Official ESF website:
 http://www.fse-esf.org

Unofficial ESF website:
 http://www.esf2004.net