Before there were social media, there was Indymedia. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Independent Media Center, and to celebrate, Rice University Media Center invites you to spend your Friday at the 20th Anniversary Encuentro. Check it out beginning at 5:00 p.m. on November 30th.
Indymedia came to life amid clouds of tear gas, as hundreds of volunteer reporters documented protests against the World Trade Organization in Seattle, starting on November 30, 1999. That week indymedia.org received 1.5 million visitors. It was the first node in a global citizen journalist movement that encouraged people to determine what was news and report and comment on it themselves.
Part of Indymedia’s mission was the goal: “Don’t hate the media, be the media.” Its decentralized collectives used open-source software to build websites with open-publishing newswires where people could post-print, photo, audio, and video content. They also collectively produced documentaries, hosted radio shows, and published newspapers. Most have dissolved, but the principles and challenges they wrestled with remain relevant. Unfortunately, the lessons they offer tend to be overlooked… until now.
Celebrate this radical media movement with a 3-day Indymedia 20th Anniversary Encuentro. The title references a Spanish term for “convergence” used by the Zapatistas in Mexico who inspired Indymedia’s horizontal structure and much more.
On November 30th, XFR Collective will provide a free pop-up VHS and MiniDV digitization station on a first-come, first-served basis to participants who bring analog Indymedia materials! Honor one of America’s most successful grassroots media organizations during the Indymedia 20th Anniversary Encuentro! This event is free and open to the public. For more information, please visit www.indy20.dangerousmedia.org.
At Oxford at Country Club Apartments in Baytown, Texas, our goal is to help you maintain an enjoyable social life that balances out the daily demands of your already overloaded schedule. The first step? We keep you up-to-speed on the latest events happening in and around our apartment community.
Event Time/Date:
Friday, November 30, 2019—5:00 PM
Event Venue Location:
Rice Media Center
6100 Main Street
Houston, Texas 77005