Greetings to all, I've recently returned from the CTCNet National Conference, and what follows may require a little presumption on my part, but equal part humility.
I'm following through (ham-handedly amd belatedly) on commitments I made to others some two months ago, in a discussion and working group established at Open Space Austin at the end of April: to proceed in thought and action from a perspective of social and economic justice, and to raise this as an explicit topic and aim for our movement(s) In making this commitment to ourselves and to each other in our working group we hoped to raise the issue in the context of the CTCNet Conference. Timing was not on our side, but while there is always a sense of urgency when one raises the question of social justice, we also recognize that these are questions that require an effort over the longest haul. What will next year's CTCNet conference theme be? How can those of us who care about social justice issues best use our time between now and then so that we can share more than the truisms we know and affirm, and which of course bind us in a movement? I am not the most eloquent person on these topics. I offer my statement as an open invitation to discourse and strategic thought/action. I am happy to see the discourse and discussion proceed anywhere, and also in multiple environments and listservs. I have established a community on the DDN site so that we might have a common repository to pursue these matters. I selected the DDN site because of its diverse member base, and because of the explicit naming of a divide, however, I am not solely concerned with the digital when I open the question of social justice. The DDN is an open space for us to form communities and to promote dialogue on issues we care about. This function is very important for our movement. The online space I've opened for this is here: http://www.digitaldivide.net/community/justice There isnt much there. The discussion depends upon each of you as much as upon me. Let's begin. Let's join others promoting social jusitce. Let's network our movements: media reform, environmental justice, communication rights, digital literacy, access and equity. If I havent named your cause, you name it. Speak truth to power, speak with a generous heart. Speak in the context of a broad vision and follow that ambition with gusto. I dedicate this post to the working group at OSA: Ana Sisnett, Sue Beckwith, James Lau, Peter Miller, Michael Gurstein, Fred Johnson, and Jim Forrest And also to those with whom I've made common cause in Chicago and Illinois, who have shared in a commitment to social and economic justice through local and regional organizing. There are too many of you to name, only because I might leave someone out. Regards, Michael ______________________________________________________________ Michael Maranda President, The Association For Community Networking (AFCN) Acting Executive Director, CTCNet Chicago Chapter Co-Chair, Illinois Community Technology Consortium (ilCTC) Vice President, CAAELII Vice President, NPOTechs http://www.afcn.org http://www.ctcnetchicago.org http://www.ilctc.org http://www.caaelii.org http://www.npotechs.org _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
