Navigating Changes In Community Media

Last week, I gathered with others by the mighty Mississippi River and attended the 2007 Alliance for Community Media International Conference & Exhibition that was held in Minneapolis, Minn.

This four-day event is held in a different city every year, and is organized by the Alliance for Community Media, a national organization that supports and promotes community media around the globe. My fellow staff members, MATV station manager Terlonzo Amos and MATV Education Coordinator Lindsay Alaimo, joined me.

Pam Colby, who is the executive director of the Minneapolis Telecommunication Network (MTN) and Mike Wassenaa, the executive director of the St. Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN), hosted the conference. It was through their leadership along with the committee members of the ACM and the many volunteers from the Twin Cities area that made the conference such a worthwhile event.

I had never been to the city and found it to be a wonderful and vibrant Midwest metropolis, full of great places to eat and interesting destinations to visit. As a former art student at Massachusetts College of Art, I was blown away at seeing the collection of modern artwork at the Walker Art Center, which as a student, I had only seen as reproductions. To see the originals in all their colorful and contemporary glory was quite an experience for one who enjoys paintings and sculpture from the 60s and early 70s.

Outside the Center is the largest collection of public art in the nation. This sculpture garden was filled with contemporary sculptures that were amazing in the depth of their inclusion. There were the massive works by Henry Moore, Alexandar Calder, and Sol LeWitt, as well as the pop art presence of Claus Oldenburg, whose giant spoon and cherry fountain was a delight to view. We were so impressed; we ended up coming back for a second viewing after the last day of the conference.

But the goal of the conference is more than seeing the sites. There is a reason that people who are involved in community media get together from around the world every year. It is to share knowledge, build relationships, gather energy and more importantly, celebrate the work that people who are involved in community media do. Whether they are volunteers, staff, board members or people just learning what public access is all about, each of us was there to take workshops, see demonstrations and network with others who do the same thing. It was both energizing and inspiring and as always, a chance to see old friends from around the country that you see just once a year.

The four-day event began as it always does with the passing of the “Kia’I I Kaleo drum,” or “pahu,” which is a Hawaiian term meaning “protecting the voice.” This sacred symbol was presented at the 1994 conference and has been passed on to each conference host since that time. The saying, “Kia’I I Kaleo e ho’omau ke aka” is roughly translated as “Protect the Voice, Perpetuate the Vision” and is a very appropriate representation of the mission of the people who participate in community media.

The workshops that were presented varied from new media issues and media policy to collaborations and development of programming, training and content development. There were tracks on technical issues and management as well as civic involvement and community building that media centers are currently committed to be part of.

There was plenty of youth involvement, which to me is of personal interest. Throughout the conference, a “Kids’ Video Camp” was held; at the closing, they presented a video that the youth participants created during the four-day event. The completed production was both impressive and enlightening in the way that the kids expressed their voice and criticized the adults and the way they interact with youngsters their own age.

I came away from the workshops with a renewed commitment to promote this wonderful resource that is available to every resident in Malden. Community media is about protecting the voice of the average citizen and to give them access to the tools that share that voice. Our job at MATV is to share the knowledge of the ever-expanding technology and give the right to use that equipment that makes it all possible. A conference like this only enhances the devotion that people make to building the connection between diverse groups and individuals who come together to build a community.

The conference ended as it always does, with the beating of the sacred drum of communication. This time it was the sound of local Native American musicians from a Minnesota tribe who came together to share in the celebration of the fact that, whatever the means, human beings have a driven need to communicate with each other.

Community media is that resource, and this conference proved once again that democracy is stronger when ordinary citizens are given the means to express themselves and are able to contribute to the discussion.

I left Minneapolis with a renewed sense that promoting ways for people to communicate and share their diverse ideas makes for a stronger community and brings people together. What better vision to have then to promote understanding and facilitate the growth of knowledge for using the new media that is developing every day?

MATV is committed to protecting that voice, and we invite you to join us in this mission, so that you too, are heard. Come down to MATV, “Malden’s Media Center,” and join with others in building community and sharing your right to be heard. Join MATV, where members make it happen.