[Fsf-friends] Tactical Media Lab... (see Free Software references below)

[Frederick Noronha]

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Dear All

Below is a report of the Tactical Media Lab at Sarai which was held=20
on the 14, 15 16 of November. Feedback welcome. Also available online=20
at www.sarai.net/events.htm

best
M

Tactical Media Lab @ Sarai

On November 14 - 16, 2002, Sarai hosted the South Asian Tactical=20
Media Lab (TML), one of a chain of such events, that are taking place=20
in different parts of the world (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Cluj, New=20
York, Delhi and Sydney) as a run-up to the fourth Next 5 Minutes=20
Conference (N5M4) in Amsterdam in 2003.

Over three hectic days free software enthusiasts, programmers,=20
graphic designers, filmmakers, artists, activists, members of NGOs,=20
telecommunications experts, students and media practitioners from=20
Mumbai, Dehradun, Kolkata, Dacca, Kathmandu, Tehran & Delhi shared=20
ideas, experiences, problems and grievances, explored varied uses of=20
tactical media, discussed strategies, designed posters and websites,=20
disbanded opinions and formed new ones through panel discussions,=20
presentations, installations, workshops and a film screening.

The event lent itself naturally to the crystallization of a loose=20
coalition of tactical media enthusiasts in the Asian region. From the=20
very begining it was positioned as being a 'process' in the course of=20
which the participants would uncover the energies of a network ...=20
after three days this network was brimming with ideas of many=20
possible collaborations to counter everyday local situations. We hope=20
to sustain these energies in the months to come.

Day 1 of the Tactical Media Lab at Sarai, November 14, 2002

The first day began with a very well attended public conversation=20
between Shuddhabrata Sengupta from Sarai and the TML's "Mystery=20
Guest" - David Barsamian. David Barsamian , the founder and director=20
of Alternative Radio,
an independent, award-winning, weekly radio program produced in=20
Boulder, Colorado, is well known in Delhi through the publications of=20
his interviews with Noam Chomsky, Edward Said and Eqbal Ahmed.

Barsamian, who happened to be visiting Delhi at the time was invited=20
by Sarai to open the Tactical Media Lab, which he did with a very=20
inspiring invocation to media activists to be positive, energetic,=20
creative and humorous and not turn into moaners with dwindling=20
audiences!

The conversation with him led to a very lively discussion in which=20
the question of "free speech", particularly in conflict ridden=20
societies like South Asia's was actively discussed. The TML got off=20
to a very active and lively start as a result of this and
through the next few days the importance of free expression, new ways=20
of reaching the public domain and the necessity to be inventive and=20
creative recurred several times in the conversations and=20
presentations.

The afternoon of the first day featured presentations by the people=20
at Sarai working on the Cybermohalla (Cyber Neighbourhood) Project.

Shveta Sarda, Ruchika Negi, Joy Chatterjee and Ashish Mahajan from=20
Sarai, with Azra Tabassum from the LNJP colony Cybermohalla=20
Compughar, talked about the processes involved in setting up digital=20
media labs using free software in the LNJP squatter settlement and=20
the Ambedkar Nagar Resettlement Colony in Delhi.
Issues of access, technological flexibility, creativity and different=20
ways of looking at the city were discussed. Shveta presented some of=20
the work done by the Cybermohalla project, Joy and Ashish spoke of=20
the software and hardware configurations involved in operationalizing=20
each lab, Ruchika read from the journal that she is keeping of her=20
interactions with people on the street, and Azra spoke of how the=20
process works to steadily remove layers of fear in terms of her=20
engagement with the urban environment.

Following this, Pradip Saha, Managing Editor Down to Earth magazine,=20
spoke briefly about using humour and  subversive fun as an essential=20
element in designing an effective communication strategy by activists

This intervention was followed by  a panel composed of Shekhar=20
Krishan, PUKAR , along with Sanjay Bhangar from Indymedia, Mumbai;=20
Arun Mehta, telecommunications engineer and Internet activist; Partha=20
Sarkar of the
Bytesforall Network, from Dhaka, and Shilpa Gupta, from the Open=20
Circle Artists' Collective in Mumbai.

Each presentation featured candid discussions on the possibilities=20
and limitations of media activism in South Asia. While the panelists=20
were often of the opinion that, barring very specialist fora, online=20
discussion lists have not taken off as expected in South Asia, they=20
emphasized the need to develop effective communication strategies=20
that engaged with public concerns in a demonstrably public manner.

The Indymedia Mumbai group spoke of their efforts to involve=20
communication students in the university to develop an effective web=20
presence, especially in the context of online actions commemorating=20
the anniversary of the Bhopal Disaster of 1984, in tandem with the=20
World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, earlier this=20
year. Arun Mehta spoke of the feasibility of low-cost and low-tech=20
strategies for radio as a tool for building sustainable, community=20
controlled communications networks in the rural areas of Orissa in=20
Eastern India. Gaurab Upadhyay from Bytesforall, Kathmandu,=20
intervened with his experience of alternate radio networks in Nepal=20
and discussions revolved around how to use the technology, and=20
available networks, to suit urban conditions.

Partha Sarkar spoke about the experience of building the Bytesforall=20
network, which he initiated from Dhaka, together with Fredrick=20
Noronha, who is based in India. Bytesforall has now grown into a=20
pro-active South Asia wide network for people interested in the=20
social usage of information and communication technologies. He led us=20
through the evolution of Bytesforall as an online forum where=20
technicians, activists, and people interested in the issues of=20
development network and brainstorm together. He also pointed out how=20
discussions on Bytesforall have, by being focused on concrete and=20
practical issues, and by discussing all matters in a spirit of=20
knowledge-sharing as peers, have so far managed to transcend the=20
fractious 'political' barriers that exist in South Asia.

Shilpa Gupta from the Open Circle collective talked of public art=20
intervention experiments that she and some members of her group have=20
been involved in, especially the Aar Paar Projects that brought=20
together artists from India and Pakistan for exchanges of portable=20
art objects and posters which were then exhibited in tea stalls,=20
grocery stores, and other public spaces. She also spoke about the=20
another artist-led initiative called "The Reclaim Your Freedom Week"=20
earlier this year in response to, and in protest against, the=20
violence in Gujarat in March 2002.

The discussions that followed the presentations focused on the need=20
for creating an active discursive community of artists, practitioners=20
and others that could step out of the "responding to events" syndrome=20
that seems to characterize much of artist/practitioner inspired=20
activism, in order to move towards more sustained forms of=20
public-practitioner interfaces that draw on the energies of everyday=20
forms of resistance and communication. Event-centred protests, often=20
take on a "token" character, even as they sap the energies of the=20
artists/practitioners/activists who get involved, and also lead to=20
hierarchies of people who "deliver a message" as opposed to people=20
who passively "receive a message".

Day 2 of the Tactical Media Lab at Sarai, November 15, 2002

The second day was devoted to Free Software. The morning session=20
started with a general presentation on Linux, its ideas and practices=20
by Kishore Bhargava from Linux Users Group, Delhi. This was followed=20
by a presentation of Knopik and LAP (Linux Access Project) by Supreet=20
Sethi from Sarai.

A lot of pertinent issues and queries were raised on the=20
implementation, usage and the philosophy of the projects. Arun Mehta=20
from www.radiophony.com demonstrated the software that has been=20
developed for Stephen Hawkings=20
(http://indataportal.com/software/hawking.htm)which was written in=20
visual basic and he made a public request to the audience to render=20
the same on a Free Software platform.

The second half of the day concentrated on the localization efforts=20
within the Free Software /Open Source platform. Ravikant, from the=20
language programme of Sarai, briefed the audience about the problems=20
non-English users face - related to fonts, encoding standards,=20
keyboards and web design. Gaurab Upadhyay (bytesforall, Kathmandu)=20
and Arash Zaini from Linux Iran, talked of the progress being made in=20
localising Nepali and Persian respectively. Gaurab discussed the=20
differences between Nepali Devanagari and Hindi Devanagari and was of=20
the opinion that Unicode is so far the best available solution. From=20
the audience Niyam Bhushan clarified certain basic issue about fonts,=20
glyphs and typefaces. But the presentation that truly inspired=20
everyone was Arash Zaini's who has recently translated the KDE=20
desktop in Persian. (KDE is a Linux-based-programme package that=20
provides efficient mail handler, calendars and organisers apart from=20
the usual functions for browsing, editing, word processing, graphics=20
and games). After interactions we realised that with only slight=20
modifications the same desktop can be used for writing in Urdu as=20
well. Arash then took us inside KDE and showed how effortlessly and=20
flawlessly each of the applications worked. It was a revelation to=20
learn that only four people could create this in just four months. He=20
also fielded questions on the whole idea and process of translation=20
and the public reception of the package.

The concluding panel of the day was an open discussion on=20
'Collaborations and Contributions: Practitioners and Users in the=20
Free Software Movement - the making of a creative community'. This=20
discussion, attended by Raju Mathur, Leo Fernandes, Kishore Bhargava=20
and others from the Linux Users Group, Delhi; Sharad Kukreti from=20
Dehradun, Trevor Warren from Media Lab Asia, Mumbai, and other=20
participants, focused on issues of freedom and programming culture=20
and aroused strong reactions from both Free Software practitioners=20
and others in the audience. Critical debates in the international=20
Free Software/Open Source community were reiterated in local=20
contexts.. debates that were mirrored in the film, 'The Code: Story=20
of Linux', that was screened at the end of the day.

Day 3 of the Tactical Media Lab at Sarai, November 16, 2002

The third day of the Tactical Media Lab began with a session=20
moderated by Ravi Sundaram from Sarai on "ICT and Civil Society: Can=20
we think beyond the Development Paradigm". The participants in this=20
discussion were Leo Fernandes of the Free Software Foundation=20
(India), Trevor Warren (MIT Media Lab, Asia), Gaurab Upadhyay=20
(Telecom activist, Kathmandu), Arun Mehta (Telecom Activist, Delhi),=20
Jeebesh Bagchi (Sarai) and Shekhar Krishnan (PUKAR, Bombay)

The discussion focused on the problems of limiting software=20
interventions within a social frame strictly  of "instrumental" and=20
"developmental" paradigms. This was based on a critique of the notion=20
of "development" itself, and how it often perpetuated top-down models=20
of social processes.

The second session of the day was a presentation by Shaina Anand of=20
her Tellavision Project and the allied Chitrakarkhana.net website.=20
This project aims to document social and political processes in=20
Bombay, post September 11.

She showed footage from her film in progress and made a presentation=20
of the website and hopes to tie in responses from the film viewing=20
process on to the interactive parts of her website.

The discussion focused on what needs to be done to create a language=20
of image-making and viewing that ties into everyday concerns of young=20
people in a way that reflects their lives and conditions, rather than=20
reproduce a "political" rhetoric that might serve also to alienate=20
and distance large numbers of people, while speaking only to the=20
converted.

The final session of the day was a round table on the need for a=20
network of new media networks in Asia. The participants from Iran,=20
Bangladesh, Nepal and various parts of India, spoke of the need to=20
carry the energies that they had discovered through their meetings=20
into the future. Plans were made to set up a Tactical Media Asia=20
discussion list hosted by Sarai, and everyone was keen to initiate a=20
cluster of collaborative processes, like for instance a free software=20
desktop in the Urdu language as a concrete instance of collaboration=20
between people at Sarai and the LinuxIran group.

The TML ended on a very positive note, with people taking away many=20
ideas for future collaborations, and everyone agreed on making a=20
strong Asian representation and platform at the next Next 5 Minutes !

WORKSHOPS:

Cybermohalla Workshops:
Leading up to the TML a series of workshops were conducted at the=20
Cybermohalla labs in the working class settlements of LNJP basti,=20
Central Delhi and at Dakshinpuri, South Delhi).

Workshop 01
November 1 & 2, 2002
Furthering the Cybermohalla experience of writing the city, this=20
workshop explored the insider/outsider binary, problematising it=20
through the sharing of daily encounters within the neighbourhood and=20
outside it, through life stories, stories about migration, work and=20
labour in the city, narratives of meeting spaces within the basti, of=20
contested spaces, the production of criminality. The primary forms=20
were writing and conversation.

Workshop 02
November 8 & 9, 2002
This was a fun, hands-on workshop with reels of paper, transparency=20
sheets, colour pens, crayons, scissors, pictures and glue, to produce=20
a wall magazine. Over twenty enthusiastic participants spent two days=20
writing, cutting and pasting material, working on their own and each=20
others' work. The theme for the wall magazine was 'water' - daily=20
routine around it, the material objects, related with it and=20
conversations around community taps. The idea was to explore forms=20
that would allow for a playful text-image relation and collaborative=20
work to create content for a common output, through the concepts of=20
hypertext and hyperlinking employed in print publications.
Emphasis was also on the design elements used to produce a=20
publication that would be reproducible through photocopying.

The content generated in the two workshops, along with other forms=20
that have been explored in Cybermohalla (mails, diary entries,=20
ethnographic notes, notes on conversations at the labs) was compiled=20
and circulated among visitors at the TML as a photocopied=20
publication, Cybermohalla Notebook 01.

Print & Web Design Workshop
November 14-16, 2002
The workshop, held on all three days of the TML, was conducted by=20
Pradeep Saha, Managing Editor Down to Earth  magazine and Mrityunjoy=20
Chatterjee from the Sarai Media Lab.

It was held at Sarai Public Access Zone using free software tools=20
like Open Office [text, vector image design & HTML editor], Gimp=20
[raster image editor] & Scribus [publishing layout software].

The workshop started with an introduction to Tactical Media and=20
different approaches to it. The fourteen participants - students,=20
filmmakers and activists - were shown flyers and broadsheets as=20
examples of tactical media and were introduced to varied print design=20
strategies and to web technology. After this the participants were=20
split into two groups and asked to design a campaign that could be=20
put to use outside the workshop area. As most of them were from the=20
Delhi University they chose to work on issues that are of immediate=20
concern to the student community - Sexual Harrassment & Communal=20
Violence.

Throughout the workshop participants discussed ideas and strategies=20
and on the final day Shuddhabrata Sengupta talked briefly on visual=20
rhetoric and other tactical principles.

At the end of three days each group designed a website and a print=20
campaign. People from both groups presented their work, describing=20
them and their experience in detail to all those who had assembled=20
for the TML.

The first group designed a poster campaign on 'Sexual Harrassment in=20
the City' while the second adopted a satirical position on communal=20
violence - 'How to Orchestrate Riots'. The websites were extensions=20
of the same ideas with more links and images.

The works were warmly appreciated. The participants too enjoyed the=20
process of making creative use of low-cost, easily available=20
materials and designing tools. Many of them were already making=20
posters for their campaigns, and the workshop opened up a wide range=20
of ideas and strategies and helped them to put these in perspective.

INSTALLATIONS AT THE INTERFACE ZONE

There were three installations(Video/sound, Flash/sound, HTML)=20
playing all through the Tactical Media Lab at the Sarai Interface=20
Zone giving visitors a virtual spatial sense of the city.

The works originated from the idea of quintessentially focussing on a=20
sound piece, i.e to make a psycho-geographic scape of various kinds=20
of urban networks, right from electronic communication portals like=20
the telephony networks,  internet cafes and call centers to more=20
physical networks like transport portals in Delhi, which would=20
include public transport portals like the Inter State Bus Terminus=20
and the railway station.  The idea was to make textural sound=20
recordings at these sites and then develop a panoramic navigational=20
sound scape of several of these co-ordinates in a non-linear pattern.

Installation 1. Traffic media: Modem Telephone Line Parenthesis
by Dylan Volkhardt, independent media artist in residence at the=20
Sarai Media Lab
The installation was an attempt to look at the (dis)location between=20
the liquid architecture (the sound scape) of the telephone=20
communication network and the physical aspects of labour and cabling.

The video was shot  just outside the CSDS where some cable work was=20
in progress. The installation, work on which finished just the day=20
before the TML, consisted of three  15" TV screens playing a video=20
loop at  different speeds. The sound track was a long loop playing in=20
the background all through the day, of locational sounds recorded at=20
PCO booths and call centres and worked on in the Sarai Media Lab.

Installation 2. Traffic media: Platform no 12
by Renu Iyer, Sarai Media Lab
This was a 2 minute audio/video scape  playing as a continuous loop=20
on a computer screen.  The video was a 4 box per frame flash movie,=20
shot at the New Delhi Railway Station.

The idea was to look at the Railway Station as an urban navigational=20
spatial network, and attempted to highlight our collective memories=20
of our fragmented everyday recordings of these sites. The soundscape=20
was a layered piece of recordings made at the Station, with ambient=20
sounds and conversations with travellers. Visitors could listen to=20
the soundtrack with headphones.

Regulars at the Sarai caf=E9, cast curious, at times even perplexed,=20
glances at the screen playing in the background and then went over to=20
engage with the works.

Installation 3. Dilliwale Kaun? Baharwale Kaun?
A web installation
by Syeda Farhana Zaman and Mrityunjoy Chatterjee
This is an HTML web installation of hyper-linked images and texts,=20
looking at the migrant communities in Delhi. The work is based on=20
photographic documentation  and conversations with emigrants living=20
in slums and in shrines in Delhi. It explores issues of citizenship,=20
of migration and of related harrassments and hardships faced by the=20
many Bangladeshi migrants on the streets of Delhi. Mrityunjoy=20
Chatterjee, from the Sarai Media Lab, helped Farhana convert=20
photographs and texts to build web-based narratives of the experience=20
of being an outsider.

The installation was available on a computer screen, as was the Sarai=20
digital Interface which is always available on the local network at=20
the Sarai Interface Zone.

Posters were also put up - made from photographs taken at the Delhi=20
Metro construction sites and  cyber cafes.

Installation 4. Weather Report
by Rustam Vania, Centre for Science & Environment, Delhi
The installation which takes a satirical look at the politics of=20
Climate Change was made for the World Climate Change Conference held=20
in Delhi in October 2002.
The panels were put up all over Sarai and the CSDS.


--=20
Monica Narula
Sarai:The New Media Initiative
29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110 054
www.sarai.net

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