Call for applications: MediaBarCamp 2013

The 6th International MediaBarCamp 2013 on the use of new online media opportunities and media activism development will take place on 9-12 May, 2013 in Lithuania.

The organiser of the event is Swedish International Liberal Centre (SILC).

The main GOAL of the MediaBarCamp 2013 is to share experience of internet use in different forms of projects. Presentations and work-groups will be arranged where all activists (media, civil, political etc.) аre invited to present their own online activities. In addition we will encourage you to learn from each other’s experiences with website funding topics (self-funding, external funding, crowd-funding, etc.).

Three main questions to be discussed during the MediaBarCamp 2013

1. What can advertising agencies offer to internet media (primarily Belarusian) and in what way can this be of interest to advertising agencies?

2. “The Children of the Captain Grant”: can a website survive without grants? Examples of an editorial office organisation with fundraising (crowd-funding, etc.)

3. Digital Rights – who owns the internet; what kinds of internet are to be found? The Universal Declaration of Human Rights says nothing about internet and digital freedom, but the modern digital era requires such rights.

 Target audience

+ An owner, a web editor, a news editor (that is not just a web administrator) is responsible for the content and structure of the website. Websites run by editors, not by only talented enthusiasts, can function better and faster, and thus more useful for users. In the history of the MediaBarCamp we have examples where people moved from individual to group projects and created new media-projects from scratch or joined the existing large projects. This time we would intend to concentrate on group web-projects managed by a small editorial office, rather than an individual.

+ Your website (blog, project) has approx. 500 visitors per day.

+ A website is NOT a 100% entertainment resource.

+ A website is absolutely NOT an online store.

 Requirements for applicants

1. A reference to the Application Call of MediaBarCamp 2013 on your website with an active hyperlink to http://mediabarcamp.com/ (banners can be found in MediaBarCamp web-page).

2. 1-2 participants from each project (unfortunately we are not able to accommodate the whole editorial office).

3. Your online edition/project presentation is to be up-loaded on: http://www.slideshare.net/ (You can refine and improve your presentation after you have submitted your application)

4. Presentation slides language: English.

5. Fill in an online application here: online MBC2013 application.

NB: This online application form is for you ONLY if you are NOT from Belarus, Russia or Ukraine.

DEADLINES

7. April, 2013 – closing registration for those who do not have visa

21. April, 2013 – final closing for registration

Other important information

MediaBarCamp is not a commercial event.

Participation is FREE.

Organisers cover all the participants’ logistics, visa and accommodation expenses.

The venue will be equipped with all IT, media, sound and Wi-Fi equipment.

Full participation (4 days) during the event is a requirement.

The translation assistance to/from English and Russian languages will be provided.

Logistics

Please ensure arrival in Vilnius before 13:00 on 9 May, 2013.

Departure from Vilnius should occur not earlier than 15:00 on 12 May, 2013.

Other transportation within Lithuania will be provided by organizers.

If due to bad transportation connections arrival/departure shall be a day before/after the event, please indicate it in your online application.

History

MediaBarCamp 2008 was concerned with all activities involving use of the internet for cultural projects. Almost nobody used Twitter in Belarus in 2009, and we were pioneers in popularising this “entertainment”. In 2010, we actively discussed how to use hashtags in the context of Twitter in Belarus. A well-known hashtag #electby is a distant relative of #mediabarcamp. In 2011, when virtually everyone used Twitter, we discussed possibilities and risks of Skype “transparency”. In 2012, we turned our attention to alternative directions and solutions in Internet development. Hitherto, the target audience of the MediaBarCamp was individual activists who were running their own internet projects, created blogs, provided information support to campaigns and actions. But it emerged that the rule “One man is no man” (with few exceptions, of course) applies to the internet as well. Consequently our theme for 2013 is the challenge of group-web projects.

Join us for MediaBarCamp 2013 and you will see and learn even more!

Any other questions?

We have the answers: http://mediabarcamp.com/

E-mail: mediabarcamp@gmail.com

Twitter: @mediabarcamp