[-empyre-] Fwd: Re: PRNMS/education/ on -empyre- Aug 06

[Fatima Lasay <digiteer@ispx.com.ph>]

Christina,

It is very hard joining so many discussion lists, I try first here in my 
own country to get more discussion going, so more of my energy is here. I 
have Proyekto site of directory of Philippine electronic/digital media - 
http://www.korakora.org/projects/?q=node/81 - and support for new Video Art 
initiative by Visual Pond - http://www.korakora.org/projects/?q=node/76 - 
site is only documentation of experiences, ideas of mostly offline 
projects, like fuzzy logic exhibit in October - 
http://www.korakora.org/projects/?q=node/157 - and for possible Phil 
digital art festival next year (but I am having hard time for health reasons).

Below is my email to the group fw here as requested. Maybe this get through?

Regards,
Fatima


Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2006 22:50:06 +0800
To: Rob van Kranenburg <kranenbu@xs4all.nl>
From: Fatima Lasay <digiteer@ispx.com.ph>
Subject: Re: PRNMS/education/ on -empyre- Aug 06

At 08:52 PM 8/18/2006 +0200, Rob van Kranenburg wrote:
> Not only as a Dutch citizen ( albeit more time in lovely Ghent, Belgium), 
> with a very indecent, violent and undignified history of colonization- but 
> specifically because my expertise in this region is one of possibly 
> relevant only in dialogue.

Hi Rob,

Then why not focus on this history (and present institutions) of 
colonization, which has a fundamental role in the shaping of current 
issues, rather than trying to help us "over here"? Wasn't it this history 
of colonization and its consequences that likewise prevented myself from 
attending the summit in the US?

Like the US, Holland has numerous issues to deal with domestically, it can 
be very challenging being in Holland (just as being here in the 
Philippines) if one faces those issues squarely. It is your own experience 
in dealing with your own local issues that I would be more interested in 
knowing.

See a related comment I made on an e-art event by Dutch media activists 
(below). Contrast this with a theatre group in Beirut. 
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=74509

Then we can ask: I wonder, how such "int'l events" that receive funding 
from private institutions actually direct flows of knowledge and capital 
and to whose advantage. I wonder what kind of knowledge is generated by 
"Global WebJams" of the burning of Beirut by VJs and DJs based in the 
Netherlands, and what kind of ethical use of the "power of new media" is 
the call to "shout out for our friends in Lebanon and elsewhere to contact 
us if they want to join, share, participate in and contribute with their 
recent experiences and productions"If in the global electronic network, our 
brains are outside our skulls, then we are horribly vulnerable to global 
exploitation. These, what are now called "participation", "collaboration" 
and "new media activism", are in fact pseudo-games of non-participation.

I appreciate your work and enthusaism for the summit, and I feel sorry that 
I have not been able to meet you and the summit members there. But I 
continue my work with you and others in mind, because, as the cliche goes, 
we are all in this together.

Regards,
Fatima


Re: an e-art event on Lebanon's destruction
http://www.korakora.org/wordpress/archives/82

Although such e-art events are mostly well-meaning, I think that what is 
most needed now are stronger intrsopections and challenging of our own work 
and positions as creative practitioners. We have enough "events" and rather 
need deep processes of internal re-thinking. For instance, I would be more 
interested in how the Waag Society and Streamtime are addressing the 
problems surrounding Dutch 'tolerance' and policies on 'integration' of 
migrants especially those from Muslim countries and Holland's former colonies.

Indeed, as life and the physical environment influence each other across 
the globe, one might say that the burning of a Muslim school in Holland may 
manifest itself in the death of a child in Lebanon.

The pain of the world is as great as the pain within all of us. It is most 
difficult to heal first from within.

Fatima
--
The "call for interventions" for the "Global WebJam" is here. The text is 
reproduced below:

Global Webcast, Saturday, August 12 2006, 9-11 PM (CET) 
http://beirut.dischosting.nl | http://streamtime.org

Outraged at Israel's ongoing aggression on Lebanon - which since July 12 
2006 has killed over 900 people (mostly civilians), displaced nearly one 
million people (1/4 of Lebanon's entire population), and wrecked Lebanon's 
infrastructure and economy - we say: khalas! enough!

We call for an immediate end to the violence and destruction. We call on 
the international community to open its eyes - and on you to make your 
voice heard.

With our fellow activists, artists and other bloggers in Lebanon - and 
input from Iraq - we will produce a collaborative global webcast on 
Saturday August 12, from 9 to 11 p.m. Central European Time/10-12 p.m. 
Lebanon time

This unique free style web jam around 'frequently raised despair' will be 
produced at Waag Society in Amsterdam by Streamtime's Cecile Landman, Jo 
van der Spek, Geert Lovink and Jaromil in collaboration with Tarek Atoui, 
Nat Muller, Paul Keller and many others.

The Global Webjam will consist of an audio and video stream, and feature 
live interviews and conversations, video clips, cartoons and blog blurbs, 
soundscapes, DJs and VJs, a lively mix of information, art, protest, party 
and reflection.

http://www.korakora.org/wordpress/archives/82
---


Fats Lasay / Korakora http://www.korakora.org/
Projects http://proyekto.korakora.org/
Blog http://blog.korakora.org/
Diskusyon http://list.korakora.org/