Allied Media Conference 2011 another big hit for Detroit
July 17, 2011
By DMEC Communicator
 |
| Attendees to a workshop at the 2011 Allied Media Conference |
The 2011 Allied Media Conference wrapped up yet another fabulous conference in June. Highlights at this years conference included cooking workshops, a how to build a radio series, the addition of an entire dance track, and the expansion of the child care track.
But the thing that makes the Allied Media Conference special and different than other conferences is the emphasis on organizing being done in Detroit by Detroiters. This year's line-up of Detroiters included workshops designed to show connections between environmental justice and media justice, bus tours of the computer centers created by the Detroit Digital Justice Coalition (DDJC), and a Digital Justice Coalition meet up of digital justice organizations from across the country.
This year's AMC also saw the culmination of work started by the DDJC at the AMC two years ago. The Detroit Media Economy Collaborative (a project of the DDJC) saw two of its three programs (Detroit Future Media and Detroit Future Media Youth Network) start up in the first half of this year, and both programs had a presence at the AMC.
Future Media students from all four classes (graphic design, web, audio, video) led a skill share lab where conference attendees learned how to manipulate photos using computer software, shoot video, record beats and create websites.
Instructors for the Future Media program presented at a workshop that highlighted multiple ways to use popular education in the classroom. Detroit Future Media students from the graphic design class also demonstrated their entrepreneurial skills by selling several of the t-shirts they designed.
The Detroit Future Media Youth Network also made its debut, holding a workshop on networking that was standing room only (see here for more details).
The most exciting aspect of the AMC, is as usual, the energy of the participants. Seeing workshops on networking in Detroit crowded with people eager and willing to make change supports what organizers in Detroit have been saying for a long time: Detroit is actually rich in resources and more than capable of creating the changes it needs. As conference attendee, Mandy Van Deven states, (http://www.alternet.org/vision/151487/who_says_media_is_dead_5_takeaways_from_progressive_journalists_and_activists_at_the_allied_media_conference?page=entire) “Anyone lamenting conventional media’s expiration would do well to attend the summer conference and experience firsthand the excitement of a metaphorical phoenix rising from the ash.”
