The 3rd Seoul International LaborMedia 2001

Submitted by: LaborNet Korea 'NodongNet'
Dated: 29/6/2001

Monday, 12 November, 2001 /­ Wednesday, 14 November, 2001

Now organizing for the third time, the discussion roundtable of labor media activists will be held in Seoul once again. Please join us at LaborMedia 2001, as we call for suggestions, recommendations, proposals and opinions !

As the myth of dot-com industry reveals itself as another impetus of economic crisis, and as the activities using media technologies for the labor movement in different countries becomes more vibrant and diverse than ever, the working class viewpoint on challenges and potentials provided by new media technologies become critical for the progress of democratic labor movement as a whole. Based on this basic concern, the Korean progressive communication activists will hold the third international LaborMedia conference with the fifth Seoul International Labor Film and Video Festival during the coming November. With the initiative of "JinboNet"(Korean progressive network, http://www.jinbo.net) and "NodongNet"(LaborNet in South Korea, http://www.nodong.net) and the sponsorship of KCTU (Korean Confederation of Trade Unions', http://www.nodong.org), this conference will be one of the most important events for labor communication activists world wide to discuss the broad issues related to the challenge and the potential of new communication technologies following the acclaimed LaborMedia '97 and '99.

10 days of struggle, debate and festival

Around LaborMedia conference, there will be different kinds of events related with the labor movement in Seoul which will be great opportunities to share the experiences and make the concrete networks

  • Peoples Rally & March : On November 11th, the day before the conference, there will be an annual people's rally & march organized by KCTU(Korean Confederation of Trade Unions). The November thirteenth is the Jeon, Tae-il memorial day; who became the martyr of Korean labor movement after he had set himself on fire to protest the then president Park regime's failure to enforce its own labor laws. Therefore, peoples rally & march is held on the weekend around November thirteenth. And the biggest cultural event of labor cultural activist and workers will be held on the night before the mass rally. It will be a great opportunity to see and feel the impetus of the struggle of the Korean labor movement at one spot with more than 100,000 workers celebrating their own commemoration day and reinforcing the resolution for struggle.
  • LaborMedia Conference : Three day conference will be held with the participants from different countries who are active in the different labor communication areas. Considering the recent rapid development in the labor communication area, the discussion process apparently will be critical in developing another corner stone for establishing new strategies of international labor communication. (http://lmedia.nodong.net/1999/index_e.html)
  • Labor film Festival : Now with its fifth consecutive screening of the international labor video and films, there will be entries to the festival of around 30 films & videos from different continents. With the growing participation from the Korean rank and file workers not only as the audience but also as the producers, this year's festival will play a concrete role in organizing the international labor video and film activists. (see the festival directory at http://www.lnp89.org/)

In addition to these official programs, there will be various gatherings, lectures and meetings with the initiative of the participants and suggestion of the organizing committee. These programs will jointly make this coming November as the time of campaigning for the issue of labor communication.

Topics

Considering the development of the movement and the barriers to it, the following issues can be considered as some of the main subjects of the plenary, sessions and workshops

  • Strengthening the internal labor democracy and the use of communication tool
  • Information strategy for workers' international solidarity against the Neoliberalism
  • Establishing global LabourNet for global struggle
  • The internet governance : issue of dot union
  • The challenges of the internet webcasting system
  • The myth of dotcom economy and the growing struggle of the IT workers
  • Research on the use of ITC by the trade unions
  • Labor cartoon
  • The structure of labor database archive
  • Building the international networking of labor video activists
  • Labor radio broadcasting ; from micropower to public radio

The specific subjects will be determined through the discussion among the activists in different countries using newsletter and mailing list. Open discussion, concrete resolution !

Participatory organizing process

We hope the conference can be participatory and interactive during the whole preparatory process. There will be more updated and specific announcements and regular newsletters soon for all the activists who are interested in participating the conference and festival. We will be waiting for your messages on the issues that we will be focusing on, the presenters, the titles of the film and videos, and funding resources. Your suggestions and participation are an essential part of our organizing process !

Schedule

Seoul, Korea
2001.11.10/­11 : Peoples rally & march
2001.11.12/­14 : The third Seoul International LaborMedia 2001
2001.11.13/­18 : The fifth International Labor Video and Film Festival

Different category of participation The specific condition of the following different categories will be soon decided by the organizing committee.

  • Sponsors : Financial support for the conference. All sponsoring organizations will be fully credited in all the conference publications and media-coverage.
  • Endorsers : Institutional support for the conference. All endorsing organizations will be fully credited in all the conference publication and media-coverage.
  • Presenters : Those who will give presentations during the conference.
  • Participants : Those who will participate in the conference.

Urgent Call for financial support!

Although we have strong progressive labor movement and other resources and experience for labor communication activities, one last question remains ; that is money. The seed money will come from each member organization of Nodong Net, and there will be lots of skillful and committed volunteers for the event. Unfortunately, the budget for international guests remains uncovered by this whole efforts. Therefore, we hope all the comrades help us find the way to overcome this last obstacle. Please give us information for the possible financial supporters and please try to cover the cost for airline tickets. Contact us at :

NodongNet (LaborNet Korea)
tel : +82-2-774-4551
fax : +82-2-757-8627
e-mail : lmedia@jinbo.net

NodongNet Membership Organization

PS. Contact point of the labor film and video festival organizer

Those who want to participate in the festival or are interested in the presentation related with visual media, please contact the festival organizer.

Labor News Production
Myoung Joon Kim
fax : +82-2-888-5121
tel : +82-11-270-7150
e-mail : LNP89@chollian.net

Information mailing list

Those who want to get the updated information can use the web site and also the mailing list. Please contact us at lmedia@jinbo.net

LaborNet Korea 'NodongNet' http://www.nodong.net
E-mail: labornet@nodong.net