Feminist International Radio Endeavour -FIRE
World Social Forum

 February  2002

Another World is possible. Another Communication is possible!
The World Social Forum Multimedia Initiative

Janauary 18, 2002
Journalists from community media, networks and associations from Latin America, Africa, North America and Europe will unite in the World Social Forum Multimedia Initiative to be held during the World Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil : January 31 - February 5, 2002.

Each day, radio broadcasts will be transmitted by satellite to some 2,000 community radio stations throughout Latin America via the Asociación Latinoamericana de Educación Radiofónica (ALER), to 35 community radio stations in South Africa via a partnership with the National Community Radio Forum (NCRF), and world-wide via Radio Netherlands. The team of
journalists will also web cast live in partnership with FIRE, Feminist Internet Radio Endeavor based in Costa Rica. Written features and reports will be distributed daily via the Latin American Information Agency (ALAI) based in Quito, Ecuador and Cybersolidaires based in Montreal, Canada.

Detailed programming information will be available on the World Social Forum (WSF) Multimedia Initiative Web site at (www.infoposible.org).

Journalists from Latin America, Africa, North America and Europe will cover this event in English, French, Spanish & Portuguese.

Audio programmes and feature texts and reports will cover the four themes of the World Social Forum : Production of wealth and social reproduction; Access to wealth and sustainability; Political power and ethics in the new society; and Bolstering civil society and the public realm.

This last theme is most closely linked to the democractic communication movement and its work to defend human rights. The WSF will hold workshops to address issues such as equality and diversity; media democracy; the global civil society movement; cultural production and cultural identity; migration (trafficking of women and children, refugees, economic migration, slavery, rights, etc.).

The WSF proposes that another world is possible as it brings together members of social movements world-wide. The WSF multimedia networking space will work to demonstrate that another communication is possible. With the goal of bringing information from a community-based perspective to the world, different media groups will share their resources and approaches to radio and print media on a daily basis. The WSF Multimedia Initiative acts in solidarity with other independent media initiatives covering the WSF.

The World Social Forum Multimedia initiative is a co-production between community media, networks and associations : ALAI -The Latin American Information Agency in Quito, Ecuador; ALER - The Asociación Latinoamericana de Educación Radiofónica in Quito, Ecuador; AMARC -The World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters and member stations from its Radio voix sans frontières anti-discrimination radio network: CNR-Peru, FM-Trinidad (Asuncion, Paraguay), KCSB-FM (Santa Barbara, USA), ONDA (Berlin, Germany),
Radio One (The Gambia), Soshangawa Community Radio (Johannesburg, South Africa), WORT-FM (Madison, USA); CUSO, an NGO based in Ottawa, Canada; FIRE - Feminist Internet Radio Endeavor based in Costa Rica; the NCRF - National Community Radio Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa, Radio Netherlands based in Holland, UDECA - The Unión Dominicana de Emisoras Católicas in the Dominican Repubblic; WACC - World Association of Christian Communication based in the UK.

The WSF-Multimedia Initiative is financially supported by COPLA-CIDSE members: Broederlijk Delen, Cordaid, Development and Peace, DKA, Misereor, Trocaire. Special thanks to Development and Peace.

Together, we are working so that another communication is possible!

For more information, contact:

International : AMARC, Elvira Truglia tel. (1-514) 982-0351 fax. (1-514) 849-7129 elvira.truglia@amarc.org

For Latin America : ALER, Luis Davila tel (593-2) 524358 / 559012 fax: (593-2) 503996 lucho@aler.org

ALAI, Sally Burch tel: (593 2) 250-5074 / 222-1570 / 252-8716 fax: (593 2) 250-5073 sburch@alainet.org

En Radio Internacional Feminista (FIRE), a María Suárez Toro en fuegocr@racsa.co.cr