reclaiming spaces: project

Background Paper for INURA Retreat 2009

1. PURPOSE
“reclaiming spaces” started as a small project promoting campaigning and exchange on action across Europe. While that focus had been too large and while we experienced the below listed deficits, we today think that the best response to movements’ needs and the best added value for international networking will be practical on the improvement of communication tools and, within this, a concentration on the development of specific and manageable, basically journalistic products.
At the same time, through developing the project and co-working on concrete products, we hope to build an international collective of co-workers, which step by step can develop to an independent networking force, which will provide urgent international services and build capacities for improved international experience exchange, networking, campaigning, consultancy and advocacy.
The specific approach of our journalistic project includes an orientation on open debates and discourses from movements for movements in a spirit of solidarity and respect for each other. We do not intend to build another “international alliance” which would compete with the existing ones. In spite of that we want to provide communication services and spaces of reflection for all netorks and movements struggling for the right to housing and city.

2. SITUATION

• Across Europe and globally a lot of social movements are struggling against the urban consequences of neo-liberalism, of financial driven globalisation and the resulting crisis. In order to learn from each other, to understand the global context and to develop adequate & targeted international strategies they need tools for exchange, communication, research and common analysis.
• European and international networking for the right to housing and land, dedicated to direct action, to critical scientific research or lobbying is developing. None of these networks however is building a real umbrella for all. None of them so far has developed satisfying international impact.
• Effective international campaigning and networking needs a couple of basic elements:
  • a broad basis for understanding each other and acting in solidarity respecting differences, consultations on common goals and methods,
  • an identification of short term objectives and targets,
  • information on common enemies and challenges,
  • stages to influence public opinion,
  • a strategy towards broader alliances and influencing decision makers, and of course social rooting and mobilization.
• The development of these elements requires specific tools, services and skills:
  • good methods of exchange, of consultations and of political analysis,
  • methods to organize action and pressure,
  • methods of practical research,
  • media for internal and external communication.

• Some international networks have developed some of these elements but it seems that none of them in the field of urban issues have achieved a real integration. Most of it is hardly more than a forum where people meet to exchange views. Few have an orientation on specific protest action. “Campaigns” are mostly general public awareness campaigns with very general slogans, but without specific targets. In many cases the organization is very much orientated on events, one after the other, of course with many good reasons and full of views and analysis , but without building a real “learning” community, which develops the necessary analysis and rooting to improve the impact of action.
• Scientific communities have developed some broader continuity in international cooperation, but they do not have systematic international relations to local social movements and international research seldom is orientated on serving movements and their policies.
• Among the most missing services are well done international communication tools and media. While networks and movements spread their specific information to their environments, there is no online forum which is orientated on linking all. While movements and networks spread their news sporadically according to their rhythms of action or arbitrarily there is no regular international news service specialized on urban social movements. While lot of the distributed stuff basically is composed by calls for action, general solidarity claims in urgent cases or events, international reports on action or on conferences appear seldom and hardly ever in an updated form. While researchers and authors publish in-depth analysis on urban transformations and movements in - mainly - academic form, there hardly is an international media unit serving the movements and focused on journalistic back ground reporting on those developments which are urgent to know for activists and campaigners and which can as well build a basis for external media work.

3. Proposal for reclaiming spaces magazine

Principal concept
- Practical focus on the production of a (maximum) quarterly magazine (plus specific formats for specific needs) , by an independent international group of editors and authors.
Target group of the publication: Multiplicators like urban activists, organizers, campaigners, researchers, journalists, progressive politicians in various cities and countries; related (international) networks and organizations; specialized journalists, artists, media,
Print Format: The magazine can be produced in A4 for PDF. Prints depending on resources. For special purposes we even should be able to produce mass newspapers, booklets, flaers or posters.
Languages: Basic language normally is English. Abstracts in other languages, if possible. Multilingual or translated issues if needed and if we have the capacities for translations..
Thematic issues: Each issue should have a specific thematic focus with international relevance (best a theme with stories from diverse cities), accompanied by some regular services (event calendar, news, announcements)
Each issue can and if possible should be linked with a specific environment of action and/or cooperation.
Web-integrated production: The thematic focus of each issue can be prepared by using a thematic blog on the “reclaiming spaces”-website. There, the main questions and tasks can be addressed, provisional contributions can be drafted and discussed, material for later editing can be collected. At the same time the thematic blogs can work as tools for debates. Through this method parts of the production can be very transparent and a fast publication of ideas and news will be guaranteed.
The blogs can even work as specific tools for generating more participation in the project, since it offers specific spaces for participation with limited engagement. Even in case we could not manage to publish a PDF magazine we would have some publication. However, the blogs should not replace the magazines, which should be more elaborated and edited.
After publishing a magazine issue the thematic blogs can be restructured and updated according to the magazine issues and be maintained for debates and updates of the themes.
Decentralized editing teams for thematic issues: Each thematic issue (= the blog and the magazine) should responsibly be coordinated by a specific group of editors and producers. It will be practical if a core of each of these specific temporary groups concentrates in a specific city. But the editing team in each case should include persons from other countries at the same time.
General coordination of the project: An international steering committee of people based in local movements or projects should care about continuity and standards, take central decisions on further developments, seek for funds and organize physical meetings.
Reference points: It will be better for transparency and rooting if we ill be able to base our cooperation on active reference points in a number of cities or metropolitan regions. In this case, these reference points would care for representation in the steering committee, act as permanent correspondents and the could develop specific tools for rooting in their regions and languages.
Design: The regular magazine should have labeled design, which is simple and orientated “professional” news-magazines with quite good pictures and graphics. The lay-out should be optimised for paper-saving hardcopies and productivity. It is not a piece of art.
Special issues - i.e. newspapers, booklets, flyers - can be diverse and even experimental.
Publishing: Each magazine issue will be downloadable as PDF from reclaiming spaces web-presence. There, the articles will be presented as HTML as well.
If we can finance and if we have a “market” for that we will even print. Central printing at a place with low printing costs will make this more easy.
Fund raising: We do not have an financial funds for this project so far. Even in longer term, in order to keep independence we should be able to do a core of the work in any case without any external resources.
Basically, writing and editing is voluntary work, but after the first issues we should try to get some funds to pay - with priority - collective meetings, copies, technical work including proof reading and translations, coordination of an issue, maybe some specific travel.
Possible sources for fund raising are progressive foundations, related mass organizations, the EU, private donators…

4. Develop by doing!
Instead of starting endless discussions it is better to start work on the planning and realizing of firsts numbers. Most problems will be solved or clarified through doing. By doing we even would build first groups of co-workers.

Knut Unger
07/09/09

Posted on June 9th, 2009 under Magazine •  Print This Post • RSS 2.0 feed • You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed