**Call for Participants - Extended Deadline** The News about Networks Workshop by the Govcom.org Foundation, Amsterdam Supported by the Ford Foundation's portfolio in media policy and technology, part of the Media, Arts and Culture Unit, New York. A co-production with de Balie Center for Politics and Culture, Amsterdam. Dates: 10-14 November 2003 Location: de Balie, Amsterdam Deadline for applications: 14 September 2003 Send application to: participant@issuenetwork.org Workshop website: http://www.issuenetwork.org Who should apply: Advocates & Academics Participant acceptance notice: 19 September 2003 Application details below. Introduction. The Govcom.org Foundation, Amsterdam is organizing a workshop for researchers, advocates, and grassroots organizers in the field of media democracy, communications rights, and media policy. The Govcom.org Foundation, Amsterdam, is dedicated to creating and hosting political tools for the Web. Over a five-day period, the workshop will provide an immersion experience in Govcom.org's work in a media laboratory, where all participants will be invited to use state of the art information tools created by govcom.org and its collaborators. The participants also are invited to present and share their own tools and knowledge. Much of the workshop will revolve around using the Issue Crawler, server-side software, developed with OneWorld International (London), Aguidel.com (Paris) and Recognos (Cluj-Napoca) that locates, analyses and visualises networks on the Web. Some of the questions one may ask are: --What are my networks? What is my relative standing within these networks? --Which types of organizations and agendas dominate these networks? --Do the organizations in these networks recognise each other's work? Do they (instead) rely on news coverage as a sign of recognition? --Which parts of the networks hold together if one takes out funders? Do they hold together if one takes out other agenda-setters, be it (big) media or intergovernmental organizations? --How relevant is media coverage to the overall effectiveness of my organization? Do NGOs take up issues depending on the press coverage of the same issues? To answer these questions, we will undertake network location exercises, and enquire into the extent to which the networks we find are dominated by the agendas of (big) media, funders, intergovernmental organizations and/or NGOs. Workshop Substance. One of the greater paradoxes, even tragedies, of NGOs these days is a continued reliance on measuring the value of their activities by press appearance. Despite the rise of independent and internet forms of 'news', many NGOs still rely on (commercial) press coverage as demonstrable evidence of organizational or individual worth. At the same time, reliance on the press, and a media strategy, may raise questions about integrity and authenticity. The workshop takes up some of the larger dilemmas inhering in activist and NGO activity today: the extent to which NGO work is driven by the coverage of its work. Similarly, and related to the question of coverage is another potential impact of the news on NGOs. Do NGOs take up issues depending on the press coverage of the same issues? In asking the extent to which NGOs are beholden to the press, both in terms of self-representation and in terms of issue selection, we also would like to know whether it matters. That is, is coverage of itself or of its issues related to an NGO's standing in its network? The networks may have other means of distributing standing, and other ways of choosing issues. Indeed, we may find that NGO standing and issue selection has little to do with the leanings of the press. The Network News workshop is dedicated to understanding relationships between network work, issue work, and news work. To this end, we will grapple with some methods and techniques in tracking the resonance of issues in the news, of network issues in the news, as well as the resonance of news within issue networks. The lead question for the workshop reads: Is NGO standing - in its networks - significantly related to its appearance in the news? To answer this question, a number of exercises are to be undertaken. 1. Network location. In which network or networks does the NGO appear? 2. News-in-the-network. Is news (and, more importantly, newsworthiness) a significant feature within the network? 3. Standing and coverage. Is an NGO's relative standing in the network related to its practice and display of newsworthiness? Are NGOs driven towards seeking coverage by the network? 4. News strategies. Is newsworthiness an organizational feature to be recommended to actors in the network? Or is it futile? The workshop will also feature the introduction of an automated news monitoring system, using RSS (rich site summary) technology. Press trackers, under development by anderemedia.nl and govcom.org at issuenews.org, capture streams from leading news organizations. At the workshop we would like to analyse these streams for NGO and NGO issue mentionings (or anything else one may wish to track). In doing so, we will be able to perform a second check about the extent to which organizational and issue standing within the networks we find may be related to press coverage. Format of the workshop. The format of the workshop intersperses the following: 1) Introduction and Software Training 2) Talks and Demonstrations by the Participants and Cartographers 3) Software Use and Feedback on Findings 4) Designer Map-making 5) Individual Analysis and Presentations of Results 6) Discussions of texts from the Reader 7) Public Presentations A presentation - The News about Networks - will be made upon conclusion of the workshop, on Friday evening, the 14th of November. The presentation is held at de Balie and is open to the public. A public debate will take place on Wednesday evening, the 12th of November. Though as of yet unconfirmed, the public debate is expected to feature a presentation on one of the more advanced forms of information politics, 'Pre-mediation'. Applying the notion to the Iraq War, we are interested in understanding the extent to which the premediation of the Iraq War - summed up in the concept of PreWar - produced a sense of war's inevitability. The media laboratory has facility for laptops with cabled ethernet connectivity. Wireless network to be confirmed. Application Details Please apply. To apply, please send a biographical sketch, a one-page description of the questions and themes you would like to see addressed at the workshop as well as the answers to the questionnaire below. Please send these 3 items to participant@issuenetwork.org by 14 September. Space is limited. The answers to the questionnaire allow for the advance mapping of the issue areas, as well as advance issue news monitoring. The criteria of acceptance to the workshop is the mutual fit between the applicant's analytical desires and expectations, and the capacities of the analysts on hand. The workshop is free of charge. Participants should cover travel and accommodation expenses. We can help you find accommodation. For accommodation and other queries, write to Catherine Somze, Govcom.org Workshop Producer, catherine@issuenetwork.org. The Ford Foundation has made available five Workshop Fellowships for US-based participants. Application information is available at http://www.issuenetwork.org/node.php?id=25. Questionnaire All workshop participants are asked to submit answers to the following questions. 1. Name your issue/research area(s), e.g., Climate Change, Media Justice, Indigenous Rights, Ancient Forests, Spectrum Policy, low-power FM. 2. Name the most significant organizations per issue area(s), along with their Web addresses (URLs). Please separate URLs with a comma, and use 'deep pages' wherever possible, i.e., http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/campaigns/intro?campaign%5fid=393... (the Greenpeace Ancient Forests page), instead of www.greenpeace.org 3. List the most significant sub-issues, terms, slogans, individual names per issue. 4. List the 3-5 most important conferences in each issue area, for the past year, the current year and next year, along with the web addresses (URLs). 5. List the 3-5 most significant web-accessible documents in the issue area(s). Provide the exact web addresses for each document. 6. List (no more than 10) the organizations in that issue area(s) that you have had the most direct email contact with in the past 6-12 months. 7. List the most significant news sources for your work and the web locations for these sources. *Please return the answers to the questionnaire to participant@issuenetwork.org. We kindly request that you return the answers in English as well as your own language. Questionnaire en Franais Tous les participants à l'atelier sont priés de répondre aux questions suivantes. 1. Désignez votre(vos) question(s)/domaine(s) de recherche, par exemple, Changement Climatique, Justice Médiatique, Droits Indigènes, Forêts Primaires, Politique du Spectrum, radio FM de basse fréquence. 2. Désignez les principaux acteurs/organisations dans le cadre de (chacun de) votre(vos) domaine(s) de recherche, plus leur page Web (URLs). S.V.P. séparez chacune des URLs par une virgule et faites usage de 'deep pages' à chaque fois que cela est possible, par exemple, http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/campaigns/intro?campaign%5fid=393... (la page de Greenpeace Ancient Forests), au lieu de www.greenpeace.org 3. Établissez pour chaque question(s) une liste des questions subsidiaires les plus importantes, ainsi que des termes, slogans et personnes. 4. Établissez pour chaque domaine recherché une liste des 3 à 5 conférences les plus importantes de l'année en cours, l'année précédente et l'année à venir, plus leur adresse électronique (URLs). 5. Établissez une liste des 3 à 5 documents les plus importants dans votre(vos) domaine(s) de recherche, accessibles sur Internet. Ayez l'obligeance de fournir une adresse électronique exacte pour chacun des documents. 6. Établissez une liste d'au plus 10 organisations dans le(s) domaine(s) recherché(s) avec lesquelles vous avez eu les contacts e-mail les plus directs durant les 6 à 12 mois passés. 7. Établissez une liste des sources d'informations les plus importantes dans le cadre de votre travail et de la localisation Web de ces sources. *Ayez l'amabilité de faire parvenir les réponses au questionnaire à participant@issuenetwork.org. À votre convenance et/ou en accord avec le contenu de certaines réponses, celles-ci peuvent être adressées soit en Anglais, soit dans votre propre langue. Cuestionario en Español A todos los participantes del taller se les pedirá que contesten a las preguntas siguientes: 1. Nombre o defina su(s) pregunta(s) o campo(s) de investigación, por ejemplo, Cambios Climáticos, Justicia en los Medios de Comunicación, Derechos Indígenas, Bosques Primarios, Política Espectral, radio FM de baja potencia. 2. Nombre las organizaciones más significantes en (cada uno de) su(s) campo(s) de investigación, junto con su dirección Web (URLs.). Por favor, separe las URLs con coma y use, cada vez que le sea posible enlaces directos, como por ejemplo: http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/campaigns/intro?campaign%5fid=393... (the Greenpeace Ancient Forests page), en lugar de www.greenpeace.org 3. Componga una lista de las preguntas subsiguientes mas significantes, así como de términos, lemas y nombres de personas relacionados con su(s) pregunta(s) inicial(es). 4. Liste de 3 a 5 conferencias más importantes (en cada uno) de su(s) campo(s) de investigación para este año, el precedente y el próximo, junto con, para cada una de ellas, su dirección Web (URLs). 5. Liste de 3 a 5 documentos más significantes en (cada uno de) su(s) campo(s) de investigación y accesibles a través de la Web. Provea una dirección Web exacta para cada uno de estos documentos. 6. Componga una lista de no más de 10 organizaciones en el campo de investigación con las cuales haya tenido los contactos electrónicos, via email, más directos en los últimos 6 a 12 meses. 7. Liste las fuentes de información más significantes para su trabajo y la locación electrónica de cada una de ellas. *Por favor, mande las repuestas al cuestionario a participant@issuenetwork.org. Le pedimos que mande las respuestas en Inglés o, si es preciso, en su propio idioma. Fragebogen auf Deutsch Alle TeilnehmerInnen des Workshops werden gebeten folgende Fragen zu beantworten. Der nachstehende Fragebogen: 1. Nennen Sie ihr(e) Themen- und Forschungsgebiete(e), wie zum Beispiel, Klimawandel, Pressefreiheit, Regenwald, Spektrumpolitik. 2. Nennen Sie die bedeutensten Organisationen für jeden Themenbereich gemeinsam mit deren Internet Adressen (URLs). Bitte trennen sie die URLs mit Strichpunkt, und geben Sie wenn möglich Unterseiten (deep pages) an, wie zum Beispiel, http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/campaigns/intro?campaign%5fid=393... (die Greenpeace Urwald Seite), anstelle von www.greenpeace.org 3. Listen Sie die bedeutensten Unterkategorien, Begriffe, Slogans, Personen pro Themenbereich auf. 4. Listen Sie die 3-5 bedeutensten Konferenzen in jedem Themenfeld des letzten Jahres, des laufenden Jahres, sowie des kommenden Jahres mit Web Adressen (URLs) auf. 5. Listen Sie die 3-5 bedeutensten im Internet abrufbaren Dokumente pro Themenbereich auf. Geben Sie bitte die exakte Web Adresse für jedes Dokument an. 6. Listen Sie Organisationen (nicht mehr als 10) in diesen Themenfeldern auf, mit denen Sie den häufigsten E-mail Kontakt in den letzten 6-12 Monaten hatten. 7. Listen Sie die bedeutensten Medienquellen für Ihre Arbeit und deren Web Adressen auf. Bitte senden Sie Ihre Antworten zu den Fragen an participant@issuenetwork.org. About Govcom.org The Govcom.org Foundation, Amsterdam, is dedicated to creating and hosting political tools for the Web, at http://www.govcom.org. Its director is Richard Rogers (rogers@hum.uva.nl), also of the University of Amsterdam. The workshop is co-organised by Noortje Marres (marres@dds.nl), University of Amsterdam. Govcom.org workshop producer is Catherine Somze (catherine@issuenetwork.org). The designers are Marieke van Dijk and Auke Touwslager of anderemedia.nl. Principal affiliates and analysts are Andrei Mogoutov (Ecole des Mines/aguidel.com), Andres Zelman (Thinkamalinks), Greg Elmer (Florida State) and Astrid Mager (University of Vienna). The Workshop is part of the Social Life of Issues Series, number 8, http://www.govcom.org/workshops.html. For viewing and navigating, the maps from previous workshops may require an svg plug-in, available, for example, at http://www.adobe.com/svg. Govcom.org also has developed the Web Issue Index of Civil Society. It is a downloadable quicklaunch application and interactive screensaver that shows the rise and fall of attention to important social issues by select civil society actors, previewed at http://www.infoid.org.