MEDIA ADVISORY Wednesday February 17 Call (+61 2) 9560 3415 or (+61 2) 9310 2101 for further comment Mardi Gras forum to discuss GLBT & QUEER internet A public forum has been organised during the Mardi Gras festival month as a platform to launch discussion on our communities uses of and presences on the Internet. A number of speakers representing many years of both mainstream and queer net experience as well as various different interests are contributing to the forum. The GLBT and QUEER communities internationally has always had a significant web presence. Many institutions like the giant Queer Resources Directory and Australia's own QRD and Pinkboard have already been established. The recent announcement by the US groups Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and Digital Queers that they would be combining their resources as part of a refocusing on the net as a campaigning tool shows us one way to go. But there are many ways and the forum will be an opportunity to explore them. Many Sydney based queer netheads have been discussing Internet development for our communities both online and off for some time. There are already a number of successful community focussed initiatives. The forum is aimed at finding how we can collectively better use the new hypertextual possibilities. SPEAKERS Jillian Hayden A founder of the internet content creators 'Multimedia Check Out Checks', Hayden is a digital artist. She is the curator of MG99 exhibition 'soft where hard dither(ing)'. Paul Kidd aka cyberspunk. Paul is the founder of OzPoz, the Australian mailing list for HIV+ gay men, and has an enormously popular personal website The House of Love. Roseanne Bersten Co-founder of local pioneers Digital Queers. Founding editor of internet.au magazine, currently editing Computer Choice magazine Larry Singer Creator of Australia's most popular gay site, Pinkboard (more hits than the NSW Government). Larry will be talking about 'community vs commerce'. Glenn Vassallo Co-founder of Digital Queers, Glenn is a senior manager at Microsoft and most recently known for his rejection for Mardi Gras membership as an out and proud bisexual. Paul Canning Paul runs a number of community mailing lists and has designed community based web projects with PRIDE, the AVP and reconciliation groups amongst others. Chris Albone Co-founder of queer.org.au, hosts of the Australian Queer Resources Directory and over 100 mailing lists. Thursday February 25 7pm @ Chrissie Cotter Gallery Pidcock St Camperdown [see http://sydney.citysearch.com.au/E/V/SYDNE/0000/06/82/ for venue details] for further information email: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] Call (+61 2) 9560 3415 or (+61 2) 9310 2101 for further comment LL.NB Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
