Community Media Summit

The Benton Foundation, the Chicago Community Trust and the Chicago Media Workshop [sic] are co-sponsoring the first Community Media Summit June 14 and 15, 2007.

We're gathering to understand and examine the voices and content that make up community media and to imagine and explore the potentials of community media for serving basic human and community needs. We'll learn about how innovators in the fields of Community Development, Immigrant and Refugee Issues, and Creative Expression and Learning are creating and using community media. We'll also share experience from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Cleveland, and Detroit. Keynoters Richard Somerset-Ward and Julia Stasch will provide national perspective and Chicago's context for the Summit.

Who's coming? National leaders and practitioners will be presenting exemplary community media projects and comparing notes on lessons learned to date and challenges still to face. A diverse group of community media makers”from ethnic and community newspaper publishers to pioneers in the new arts of Internet-based storytelling - as well as nonprofit leaders and technologists, educators, journalists, philanthropists, and public officials are all expected.

We have two goals: first, recognizing a new practice taking shape on the ground in Chicago; second, helping to chart a course for practitioners that will strengthen this emerging field. We will be examining these issues across three themes: Community Development and Community Media, Immigrant and Refugee Issues and Community Media, and Creative Expression and Learning through Community Media. We'll also be sharing experience from other Midwestern communities: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Cleveland, and Detroit. Two keynoters, Richard Somerset-Ward and Julia Stasch, will provide national perspective and Chicago's context for the Summit

Location:

Columbia College
Chicago Film Row Cinema
1104 S. Wabash Ave.
Chicago, IL

Date:
Thursday, June 14 5-8pm and Friday, June 15, 2007 8am-5pm

Agenda:

Thursday, June 14

5-8 p.m. Joint meeting of WTTW and Chicago Public Radio community advisory boards

This open forum will both provide two federally-mandated consumer oversight boards a chance to meet to compare notes and an opportunity for input into the performance of the leading local public broadcasting entities.

Friday, June 15

8-9 a.m. Registration and networking
Continental Breakfast

9 a.m. Welcome by Charles Benton and Keynote address Richard Somerset-Ward

Content-setting to include definitions and direction of community media

9:30 a.m. Response panel

The Breakout Session Chairs; Charles Benton to moderate.

9:45 Q and A for Richard and respondents

10:15 Break

10:30 Breakouts

Room 1: Community Media and Community Development, moderated by Richard Mohammed

Room 2: Immigrant and Refugee issues and community media, moderated by Sandy Close

Room 3: Creative Expression and Learning through community media, moderated by Tony Streit

12:00 Lunch

1:00 Chicago Broadband opportunities keynote Julia Stasch

1:30 Respondents: Pierre Clark, Juan Salgado, and David Roche

1:45 Q and A with Julia Stasch and Broadband panel

2:15 Reports from breakouts; reactions from Richard Somerset Ward and Julia Stasch followed by Q&A

3:15 Break

3:30 Regional context and reactions from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Cleveland, Detroit

Moderated by Alyce Myatt

4:30 The future of community media - reactions from attendees

Moderated by Alyce Myatt

4:55 Closing remarks - Charles Benton

5:00 Adjourn for networking reception with speakers, panelists, and wine and cheese

Register for the Community Media Summit

Sound Partners for Community Health is a program of the Benton Foundation and funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Sound Partners seeks to increase public awareness of specific health issues and facilitate citizens' involvement in making decisions affecting health care by fostering partnerships between public broadcasters, community organizations and additional media entities. By utilizing a variety of programming and community engagement techniques, the alliances supported by Sound Partners helps equip individuals to participate in community problem-solving around local health issues.

Visit the project at www.soundpartners.org.