[Air-l] Amsterdam Workshop Call - Deadline Extended

Thu Sep 4 10:26:01 PDT 2003

**Call for Participants - Extended Deadline**

The News about Networks

Workshop by the Govcom.org Foundation, Amsterdam

Supported by the Ford Foundation's portfolio in media policy and 
technology, part of the Media, Arts and Culture Unit, New York. A 
co-production with de Balie Center for Politics and Culture, 
Amsterdam.

Dates:                         			10-14 November 2003
Location:                     			de Balie, Amsterdam
Deadline for applications:    			14 September 2003
Send application to:          			participant at issuenetwork.org
Workshop website:				http://www.issuenetwork.org
Who should apply:             			Advocates & Academics
Participant acceptance notice:			19 September 2003

Application details below.

Introduction.

The Govcom.org Foundation, Amsterdam is organizing a workshop for 
researchers, advocates, and grassroots organizers in the field of 
media democracy, communications rights, and media policy. The 
Govcom.org Foundation, Amsterdam, is dedicated to creating and 
hosting political tools for the Web.

Over a five-day period, the workshop will provide an immersion 
experience in Govcom.org's work in a media laboratory, where all 
participants will be invited to use state of the art information 
tools created by govcom.org and its collaborators. The participants 
also are invited to present and share their own tools and knowledge.  
Much of the workshop will revolve around using the Issue Crawler, 
server-side software, developed with OneWorld International (London), 
Aguidel.com (Paris) and Recognos (Cluj-Napoca) that locates, analyses 
and visualises networks on the Web. Some of the questions one may ask 
are:

--What are my networks? What is my relative standing within these networks?
--Which types of organizations and agendas dominate these networks?
--Do the organizations in these networks recognise each other's work? 
Do they (instead) rely on news coverage as a sign of recognition?
--Which parts of the networks hold together if one takes out funders? 
Do they hold together if one takes out other agenda-setters, be it 
(big) media or intergovernmental organizations?
--How relevant is media coverage to the overall effectiveness of my 
organization? Do NGOs take up issues depending on the press coverage 
of the same issues?

To answer these questions, we will undertake network location 
exercises, and enquire into the extent to which the networks we find 
are dominated by the agendas of (big) media, funders, 
intergovernmental organizations and/or NGOs.

Workshop Substance.

One of the greater paradoxes, even tragedies, of NGOs these days is a 
continued reliance on measuring the value of their activities by 
press appearance. Despite the rise of independent and internet forms 
of 'news', many NGOs still rely on (commercial) press coverage as 
demonstrable evidence of organizational or individual worth. At the 
same time, reliance on the press, and a media strategy, may raise 
questions about integrity and authenticity. The workshop takes up 
some of the larger dilemmas inhering in activist and NGO activity 
today: the extent to which NGO work is driven by the coverage of its 
work. Similarly, and related to the question of coverage is another 
potential impact of the news on NGOs. Do NGOs take up issues 
depending on the press coverage of the same issues?

In asking the extent to which NGOs are beholden to the press, both in 
terms of self-representation and in terms of issue selection, we also 
would like to know whether it matters. That is, is coverage of itself 
or of its issues related to an NGO's standing in its network? The 
networks may have other means of distributing standing, and other 
ways of choosing issues. Indeed, we may find that NGO standing and 
issue selection has little to do with the leanings of the press.

The Network News workshop is dedicated to understanding relationships 
between network work, issue work, and news work. To this end, we will 
grapple with some methods and techniques in tracking the resonance of 
issues in the news, of network issues in the news, as well as the 
resonance of news within issue networks. The lead question for the 
workshop reads:

Is NGO standing - in its networks - significantly related to its 
appearance in the news?

To answer this question, a number of exercises are to be undertaken.

1. Network location. In which network or networks does the NGO appear?
2. News-in-the-network. Is news (and, more importantly, 
newsworthiness) a significant feature within the network?
3. Standing and coverage. Is an NGO's relative standing in the 
network related to its practice and display of newsworthiness? Are 
NGOs driven towards seeking coverage by the network?
4. News strategies. Is newsworthiness an organizational feature to be 
recommended to actors in the network? Or is it futile?

The workshop will also feature the introduction of an automated news 
monitoring system, using RSS (rich site summary) technology. Press 
trackers, under development by anderemedia.nl and govcom.org at 
issuenews.org, capture streams from leading news organizations. At 
the workshop we would like to analyse these streams for NGO and NGO 
issue mentionings (or anything else one may wish to track). In doing 
so, we will be able to perform a second check about the extent to 
which organizational and issue standing within the networks we find 
may be related to press coverage.

Format of the workshop.

The format of the workshop intersperses the following:

1) Introduction and Software Training
2) Talks and Demonstrations by the Participants and Cartographers
3) Software Use and Feedback on Findings
4) Designer Map-making
5) Individual Analysis and Presentations of Results
6) Discussions of texts from the Reader
7) Public Presentations

A presentation - The News about Networks - will be made upon 
conclusion of the workshop, on Friday evening, the 14th of November. 
The presentation is held at de Balie and is open to the public.

A public debate will take place on Wednesday evening, the 12th of 
November. Though as of yet unconfirmed, the public debate is expected 
to feature a presentation on one of the more advanced forms of 
information politics, 'Pre-mediation'. Applying the notion to the 
Iraq War, we are interested in understanding the extent to which the 
premediation of the Iraq War - summed up in the concept of PreWar - 
produced a sense of war's inevitability.

The media laboratory has facility for laptops with cabled ethernet 
connectivity. Wireless network to be confirmed.

Application Details

Please apply. To apply, please send a biographical sketch, a one-page 
description of the questions and themes you would like to see 
addressed at the workshop as well as the answers to the questionnaire 
below. Please send these 3 items to participant at issuenetwork.org by 
14 September. Space is limited.

The answers to the questionnaire allow for the advance mapping of the 
issue areas, as well as advance issue news monitoring. The criteria 
of acceptance to the workshop is the mutual fit between the 
applicant's analytical desires and expectations, and the capacities 
of the analysts on hand.

The workshop is free of charge. Participants should cover travel and 
accommodation expenses. We can help you find accommodation. For 
accommodation and other queries, write to Catherine Somze, Govcom.org 
Workshop Producer, catherine at issuenetwork.org.

The Ford Foundation has made available five Workshop Fellowships for 
US-based participants. Application information is available at 
http://www.issuenetwork.org/node.php?id=25.

Questionnaire

All workshop participants are asked to submit answers to the 
following questions.

1. Name your issue/research area(s), e.g., Climate Change, Media 
Justice, Indigenous Rights, Ancient Forests, Spectrum Policy, 
low-power FM.

2. Name the most significant organizations per issue area(s), along 
with their Web addresses (URLs). Please separate URLs with a comma, 
and use 'deep pages' wherever possible, i.e., 
http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/campaigns/intro?campaign%5fid=3938 
(the Greenpeace Ancient Forests page), instead of www.greenpeace.org

3. List the most significant sub-issues, terms, slogans, individual 
names per issue.

4. List the 3-5 most important conferences in each issue area, for 
the past year, the current year and next year, along with the web 
addresses (URLs).

5. List the 3-5 most significant web-accessible documents in the 
issue area(s). Provide the exact web addresses for each document.

6. List (no more than 10) the organizations in that issue area(s) 
that you have had the most direct email contact with in the past 6-12 
months.

7. List the most significant news sources for your work and the web 
locations for these sources.

*Please return the answers to the questionnaire to 
participant at issuenetwork.org. We kindly request that you return the 
answers in English as well as your own language. 

Questionnaire en Franais

Tous les participants à l'atelier sont priés de répondre aux 
questions suivantes.

1. Désignez votre(vos) question(s)/domaine(s) de recherche, par 
exemple, Changement Climatique, Justice Médiatique, Droits Indigènes, 
Forêts Primaires, Politique du Spectrum, radio FM de basse fréquence.

2. Désignez les principaux acteurs/organisations dans le cadre de 
(chacun de) votre(vos) domaine(s) de recherche, plus leur page Web 
(URLs). S.V.P. séparez chacune des URLs par une virgule et faites 
usage de 'deep pages' à chaque fois que cela est possible, par 
exemple,
http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/campaigns/intro?campaign%5fid=3938
(la page de Greenpeace Ancient Forests), au lieu de www.greenpeace.org

3. Établissez pour chaque question(s) une liste des questions 
subsidiaires les plus importantes, ainsi que des termes, slogans et 
personnes.

4. Établissez pour chaque domaine recherché une liste des 3 à 5 
conférences les plus importantes de l'année en cours, l'année 
précédente et l'année à venir, plus leur adresse électronique (URLs).

5. Établissez une liste des 3 à 5 documents les plus importants dans 
votre(vos) domaine(s) de recherche, accessibles sur Internet. Ayez 
l'obligeance de fournir une adresse électronique exacte pour chacun 
des documents.

6. Établissez une liste d'au plus 10 organisations dans le(s) 
domaine(s) recherché(s) avec lesquelles vous avez eu les contacts 
e-mail les plus directs durant les 6 à 12 mois passés.

7. Établissez une liste des sources d'informations les plus 
importantes dans le cadre de votre travail et de la localisation Web 
de ces sources.

*Ayez l'amabilité de faire parvenir les réponses au questionnaire à 
participant at issuenetwork.org. À votre convenance et/ou en accord avec 
le contenu de certaines réponses, celles-ci peuvent être adressées 
soit en Anglais, soit dans votre propre langue.

Cuestionario en Español

A todos los participantes del taller se les pedirá que contesten a 
las preguntas siguientes:

1. Nombre o defina su(s) pregunta(s) o campo(s) de investigación, por 
ejemplo, Cambios Climáticos, Justicia en los Medios de Comunicación, 
Derechos Indígenas, Bosques Primarios, Política Espectral, radio FM 
de baja potencia.

2. Nombre las organizaciones más significantes en (cada uno de) su(s) 
campo(s) de investigación, junto con su dirección Web (URLs.). Por 
favor, separe las URLs con coma y use, cada vez que le sea posible 
enlaces directos, como por ejemplo:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/campaigns/intro?campaign%5fid=3938
(the Greenpeace Ancient Forests page), en lugar de www.greenpeace.org

3. Componga una lista de las preguntas subsiguientes mas 
significantes, así como de términos, lemas y nombres de personas 
relacionados con su(s) pregunta(s) inicial(es).

4. Liste de 3 a 5 conferencias más importantes (en cada uno) de su(s) 
campo(s) de investigación para este año, el precedente y el próximo, 
junto con, para cada una de ellas, su dirección Web (URLs).

5. Liste de 3 a 5 documentos más significantes en (cada uno de) su(s) 
campo(s) de investigación y accesibles a través de la Web. Provea una 
dirección Web exacta para cada uno de estos documentos.

6. Componga una lista de no más de 10 organizaciones en el campo de 
investigación con las cuales haya tenido los contactos electrónicos, 
via email, más directos en los últimos 6 a 12 meses.

7. Liste las fuentes de información más significantes para su trabajo 
y la locación electrónica de cada una de ellas.

*Por favor, mande las repuestas al cuestionario a 
participant at issuenetwork.org. Le pedimos que mande las respuestas en 
Inglés o, si es preciso, en su propio idioma.

Fragebogen auf Deutsch

Alle TeilnehmerInnen des Workshops werden gebeten folgende Fragen zu 
beantworten.

Der nachstehende Fragebogen:

1. Nennen Sie ihr(e) Themen- und Forschungsgebiete(e), wie zum 
Beispiel, Klimawandel, Pressefreiheit, Regenwald, Spektrumpolitik.

2. Nennen Sie die bedeutensten Organisationen für jeden Themenbereich 
gemeinsam mit deren Internet Adressen (URLs). Bitte trennen sie die 
URLs mit Strichpunkt, und geben Sie wenn möglich Unterseiten (deep 
pages) an, wie zum Beispiel, 
http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/campaigns/intro?campaign%5fid=3938 
(die Greenpeace Urwald Seite), anstelle von www.greenpeace.org

3. Listen Sie die bedeutensten Unterkategorien, Begriffe, Slogans, 
Personen pro Themenbereich auf.

4. Listen Sie die 3-5 bedeutensten Konferenzen in jedem Themenfeld 
des letzten Jahres, des laufenden Jahres, sowie des kommenden Jahres 
mit Web Adressen (URLs) auf.

5. Listen Sie die 3-5 bedeutensten im Internet abrufbaren Dokumente 
pro Themenbereich auf. Geben Sie bitte die exakte Web Adresse für 
jedes Dokument an.

6. Listen Sie Organisationen (nicht mehr als 10) in diesen 
Themenfeldern auf, mit denen Sie den häufigsten E-mail Kontakt in den 
letzten 6-12 Monaten hatten. 

7. Listen Sie die bedeutensten Medienquellen für Ihre Arbeit und 
deren Web Adressen auf.

Bitte senden Sie Ihre Antworten zu den Fragen an participant at issuenetwork.org.

About Govcom.org

The Govcom.org Foundation, Amsterdam, is dedicated to creating and 
hosting political tools for the Web, at http://www.govcom.org. Its 
director is Richard Rogers (rogers at hum.uva.nl), also of the 
University of Amsterdam. The workshop is co-organised by Noortje 
Marres (marres at dds.nl), University of Amsterdam. Govcom.org workshop 
producer is Catherine Somze (catherine at issuenetwork.org). The 
designers are Marieke van Dijk and Auke Touwslager of anderemedia.nl. 
Principal affiliates and analysts are Andrei Mogoutov (Ecole des 
Mines/aguidel.com), Andres Zelman (Thinkamalinks), Greg Elmer 
(Florida State) and Astrid Mager (University of Vienna).

The Workshop is part of the Social Life of Issues Series, number 8, 
http://www.govcom.org/workshops.html. For viewing and navigating, the 
maps from previous workshops may require an svg plug-in, available, 
for example, at http://www.adobe.com/svg.

Govcom.org also has developed the Web Issue Index of Civil Society. 
It is a downloadable quicklaunch application and interactive 
screensaver that shows the rise and fall of attention to important 
social issues by select civil society actors, previewed at 
http://www.infoid.org.
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