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Submitted by Knight0440 on Wed, 2012-02-08 07:24

Meetings

The R-IMC collective meets every Thursday of the month from 7pm-9pm at the Flying Squirrel Community Space located at 285 Clarissa St. The 7pm-8pm hour will be a work session; develop IMC articles, video, audio and other story ideas. From 8pm-9pm we'll jump into an hour editorial meeting.

The 1st floor of the Flying Squirrel Community Space has a wheelchair accessible ramp and door on the side of the building. One of the downstairs bathrooms is ADA compliant.

Anyone interested in participating in, or learning more about the IMC is encouraged to attend. We're a friendly bunch, and we'd be happy to answer any questions you might have about getting involved.

Meetings usually consist of a discussion of recent events of interest, potential workshops or benefits to sponsor, reports on progress from working groups, website and feature ideas, and discussion of strategies for the future. Most importantly, however, the content of our meetings is dictated by the participation and interest of its members. If you have questions, please email us! RochesterIndymedia@rocus.org!

 

Indymedia Principles of Unity

[THIS IS THE CURRENT DRAFT OF THE PRINCIPLES OF UNITY. WE WILL SEND FUTURE DRAFTS AS THEY ARE AVAILABLE.]

Source: IMC documentation project

To All Local IMC's:

The following document is a draft of the Principles of Unity for the entire IMC network. This document was based on principles culled from 18 months of at large interaction on the IMC Process list serve. Those principles were discussed and debated among approximately 70 IMC members from around the world at the Press Freedom Conference in San Francisco on April 27-29, 2001. A working group was formed to present the draft document to all of the local IMC's for feedback.

Although this post is in English, the document has been sent to translations and other languages will be posted as soon as they are available. If you have a specific language request, please let us know.

We are hoping to reach network-wide consensus on this document by mid-July. In order to do that, we ask that one spokesperson from each local IMC facilitate this effort by presenting this document to their group, gathering feedback and reporting that feedback to us (e.g. one spokes from IMC Boston sends one email to the Unity list with concerns, objections or suggestions raised by that local). PLEASE SEND ALL CONCERNS, OBJECTIONS OR SUGGESTIONS TO IMC-UNITY (at) INVITRO.CAT.ORGSTOPSPAM.AU BY JUNE 15, 2001.

After June 15, the working group will spend two weeks incorporating the local feedback and will repost the document on June 30, 2001. Final comments from local IMC's should be sent to the above address by July 15. Spokespersons from all IMC's will meet via IRC (and telephone when necessary) for final consensus within the week following (exact date to be announced). The results of that meeting will be posted by the Unity working group by July 25.

This document is a work in progress and an attempt to state the basic principles for which we all stand. As such, please take time in your local meeting to read, debate and discuss it. All bracketed items are part of the priciples of unity but have been specifically identified as in need of further definition, clarification and "wordsmithing." Please feel free to contact the working group with any questions. We welcome and look forward to your input.

PRINCIPLES OF UNITY

1. The Independent Media Center Network (IMCN) is based upon principles of equality, decentralization and local autonomy. The IMCN is not derived from a centralized bureaucratic process, but from the self-organization of autonomous collectives that recognize the importance in developing a union of networks.

2. All IMC's consider open exchange of and open access to information a prerequisite to the building of a more free and just society.

[3. All IMC's respect the right of activists who choose not to be photographed or filmed.]

4. All IMC's, based upon the trust of their contributors and readers, shall utilize open web based publishing, allowing individuals, groups and organizations to express their views, anonymously if desired. **see appendix: Open Publishing document —> still in proposal phase, at this address: lists.indymedia.org/mailman/public/imc-communication/2001-April/001707.html lists.indymedia.org/mailman/public/imc-communication/2001-April/000874.html

5. The IMC Network and all local IMC collectives shall be not-for-profit.

6. All IMC's recognize the importance of process to social change and are committed to the development of non-hierarchical and anti-authoritarian relationships, from interpersonal relationships to group dynamics. Therefore, shall organize themselves collectively and be committed to the principle of consensus decision making and the development of a direct, participatory democratic process] that is transparent to its membership.

7. [All IMC's recognize that a prerequisite for participation in the decision making process of each local group is the contribution of an individual's labor to the group.]

8. All IMC's are committed to caring for one another and our respective communities both collectively and as individuals and will promote the sharing of resources including knowledge, skills and equipment.

9. All IMC's shall be committed to the use of free source code, whenever possible, in order to develop the digital infrastructure, and to increase the independence of the network by not relying on proprietary software.

10. All IMC's shall be committed to the principle of human equality, and shall not discriminate, including discrimination based upon race, gender, age, class or sexual orientation. Recognizing the vast cultural traditions within the network, we are committed to building [diversity] within our localities.

 

Mission Statement

The Rochester IMC is a non-commercial, democratic collective of Rochester area independent media makers and media outlets, and serves as the local organizing unit of the global Indymedia network.

Rochester IMC Principles of Unity

  1. We strive to provide an information infrastructure for people and opinions who do not have access to the airwaves, tools and resources of corporate media. This includes audio, video, photography, internet distribution and any other communication medium.

  2. We support local, regional and global struggles against exploitation and oppression.

  3. We function as a non-commercial, non-corporate, anti-capitalist collective.

Rochester IMC involves volunteer participants and allied collectives organized along anti-authoritarian principles of open and transparent decision-making processes, including open public meetings; a form of modified consensus; and the elimination of hierarchies.

Rochester IMC participants shall not act in a manner that endangers, intimidates, or physically harms any member of the group, including by sexual harassment or acts of violence. Indymedia members shall strive to act in a respectful manner to other members of the collective as well as the public.

Goals

  • To encourage a world where globalization is not about homogeneity and exploitation, but rather, about diversity and cooperation.

  • To cover local events that are ignored or poorly covered by corporate media.

  • To provide edited audio, video, and print stories of the above on the internet for independent media outlets and the general public.

  • To facilitate the networking and coordination for the coverage of local events as well as gather information about events to cover.

  • To provide links to alternative media, activist, and research groups.

  • To seek out and provide coverage underscoring the global nature of people's struggles for social, economic, and environmental justice directly from their perspective.

  • To offer community classes for training in internet and media skills.

  • To encourage, facilitate, and support the creation of independent news gathering and organizations.