invitations! - Community Media gathering in India

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Note: forwarded message attached.Shikshantar: The Peoples' Institute for Rethinking Education and Development21 FatehpuraUdaipur, Rajasthan, INDIATel:91-294-245-1303Fax:91-294-245-1949www.swaraj.org/shikshantar

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Note: forwarded message attached.Manish JainShikshantar: The Peoples' Institute for Rethinking Education and Development21 Fatehpura, Udaipur, Rajasthan, INDIATel: 91-294-245-1303Fax: 91-294-245-1925Web: www.swaraj.org/shikshantar

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hi dear swapathgamis - please forgive me if you've received this already. i'm forwarding this on from shammi! hope some of you can be there to learn and share! love, shilpa Dear Friends, We are having a gathering around community media in Nasik, co hosted by Shikshantar and Abhivyakti (details below and attached). We have also been working on food for some time and seeing its connections with our health(body, mind and spirit) and the health of the planet. The least processed the food is the least is its impact on the environment. Our kitchen is going to be zero waste, will not bring any plastics and compost all the wet waste. One day we are also thinking of experimenting with a 50 mile meal where we will try to get all the ingredients from within a radius of 50 miles. Just to give the idea briefly, for us healthy food, means interesting salads, oil free dishes, sweets without sugars -- all least cooked and not processed. For example making curd with peanut milk, making aloo tikki without oil, Pineapple kheer with sabudana in place of milk, moong dal halwa with coconut milk instead of ghee,etc. The food is made with lot of love and effort and tastes good. Some of you have been part of the cooking and have enjoyed the food. We are also experimenting and making our practices in the kitchen as another form of community media. We are inspired by the spirit of ¡langar¢ where cooking is a big part of the ritual of Gurudwara. We could have some sessions/discussions on community media along with the chopping and peeling etc. Also requesting people to bring their own recipes and improvise then on some principles of healthy cooking. I am reminded of the wedding

in our families where we as kids used to sit together to peel peas and sing at the same time. We would like to invite any one who is interested in being a part of the community kitchen or our 'sanjha chullaha'. Best WishesSunny, Manoj, Ganesh and ShammiAbhivyakti <abhivyakti wrote: <learningsocietiesconference >"Abhivyakti" <abhivyaktiTue, 22 May 2007 14:58:56 +0530[learningsocietiesconference] Community Media gathering in India Community Media: Reclaiming the Power of Expressions and Dialogue Dear friends, We would like to invite you to a gathering to explore, "Community Media: Reclaiming the Power of Expressions and Dialogue". It will be a four-day long

gathering to regenerate our creativity, local expressions, and build a network of community media co-creators. The event aims to generate dialogue amongst practitioners, artists and organizers to deepen our collective understanding around various aspects of Community Media and what needs to be done to nurture its practice in the larger community. In coming together, we hope to explore questions like: § How is Community Media different from Development Communication or Social Marketing approaches? § What can we do to make our life vibrant and free from the dehumanising and alienating global media/economy/larger system? § What does it mean to “root” ourselves and media in the community? What does “independent” media mean? § What is the meaning of lok vidya and lok samvaad? How can we revive and replenish local cultures and their diverse productions? § How can we sustain and nurture a myriad of community media in our localities? Apart from engaging with such deep-rooted questions, we will also spend time creating different forms of community media together: storytelling, posters, masks, comics, murals, songs, dance, theatre, music, zines, newspapers, photograph, film, puppetry, cooperative games, critical media awareness exercises, etc. In order to bridge the artificial boundaries that have been created within the field of media, we will showcase our creations and dialogue on their meanings, processes of creation, and how multimedia creations can be shared. The dialogue will enable us understand our inner world, the subjective domain from where the creative spark ignites, and what we can do to strengthen it. It will encourage us to revalue our own experiences and relationships. We will also devote our energies to reflect on how our efforts and expertise could nurture each other and a larger community over the long-term. For example, we hope to be able to put together a directory on Community Media, which can be shared widely throughout India and South Asia (especially with those who are seeking to connect to new learning opportunities). We will also encourage the formation of communities of practice, who can meet periodically and collaborate together on shared initiatives. We invite you to join this four-day event with your insights, experiences and creations. Please join us in starting a creative movement to counter the merciless and hegemonic power of the mass media! Together, we will weave a strong web of belonging, rootedness, inspiring expressions and co-learning for swaraj to emerge in our communities! We are organizing this event in Nashik, Maharashtra, from

June 15-19, 2007. In the spirit of community media, we are not taking any funds from donor agencies, government bodies or corporations. We hope to run this event on our own collective resources. We will be able to host your food and stay in Nashik. We have some limited travel assistance available. Our working principle is please contribute whatever you can plus a little more. We would appreciate it if you could review the attached background note and registration form. Please do confirm your participation with Nitin (abhivyakti (AT) sancharnet (DOT) in) at the earliest.

Eagerly awaiting your response, Sujata Babar, Abhivyakti, Nashik (abhivyakti (AT) sancharnet (DOT) in). Manish Jain, Shikshantar , Udaipur (manish (AT) swaraj (DOT) org) Additional email addresses for confirming your participation: gmandekar70 , sumiba_r Confirmation of your participation will help us to make in logistics. We will inform you the details of the venue after receiving your confirmation. Please communicate with us as early as possible.

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