FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Brandi Collins, 510.698.3800 x409
The Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net), a project of the Center for Media Justice, is pleased to welcome The Institute of Popular Education of Southern California (IDEPSCA) as a Los Angeles anchor. MAG-Net is a local-to-local advocacy network of over 100 grassroots community organizations working together for media change to end poverty, eliminate racism, and ensure human rights.
“In Southern California – as is the case in the rest of the United States- digital communications have become an ever-present part of everyday life,” says Betty Yu, National Organizer for MAG-Net. “Unfortunately, a major digital gap exists between the haves and the have nots, and Latino communities especially are paying the price. It’s crucial that grassroots organizations working with Latinos, immigrant and communities of color are able to access and use digital communications to bridge that socio-economic gap and uplift the communities. In this spirit, we are truly excited to add a Southern California chapter, and to welcome IDEPSCA to the MAG-Net family as a regional anchor.”
IDEPSCA is a non-profit community-based educational organization that works with immigrant families: day laborers, household workers, adult learners, parents, youth and children to develop and promote self-sufficiency. In 2008, IDEPSCA, in collaboration with the University of Southern California, developed Mobile Voices - a platform for immigrant and low-wage workers in Los Angeles to create stories about their lives and communities directly from cell phones. Since then, a group of day laborers, household workers, IDEPSCA community organizers, Drupal Programmers, and USC researchers and volunteers created what has been awarded the 2010 best Mobile Content in the World Summit Award in the category of M-Inclusion and Empowerment. The World Summit Award is the global flagship imitative on e- and m-content of the United Nations and its Global Alliance for ICT and Development (UN GAID), held in collaboration with UNESCO and UNIDO.
Winning the M-Inclusion and Empowerment award truly reflects the essence of IDEPSCA. “Since our inception, IDEPSCA has stood for building a stronger and inclusive force to transform society,” says Marlom J. Portillo, Executive Director of IDEPSCA. “Through MAG-Net, we envision weaving together IDEPSCA’s and MAG-Net’s mutual goal of creating a network of organizations that share similar visions of social and media justice by working with oppressed communities that are technology deprived.”
November 17th, will mark the official launch of the Southern California regional branch of MAG-Net. MAG-Net, CMJ, and IDESCPA will be hosting the first annual Media Justice Academy, a strategic convening and skills building training academy. This one-day event will help develop the communications leadership and practices of grassroots leaders from LA. Participants will gain skills in basic strategic communications, justice messaging and frames, collaborative practice, and online advocacy and communications. The November 17th event will take place from 10am-4pm at the California Endowment, located at 1000 North Alameda St # 250, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Please contact Betty Yu at betty@centerformediajustice.org for more information.?
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Founded in 2002, the Center for Media Justice is a dynamic progressive communications strategy and media policy tank for grassroots organizations serving communities of color and America’s poor.
Contact: Brandi Collins, 510.698.3800 x409
The Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net), a project of the Center for Media Justice, is pleased to welcome The Institute of Popular Education of Southern California (IDEPSCA) as a Los Angeles anchor. MAG-Net is a local-to-local advocacy network of over 100 grassroots community organizations working together for media change to end poverty, eliminate racism, and ensure human rights.
“In Southern California – as is the case in the rest of the United States- digital communications have become an ever-present part of everyday life,” says Betty Yu, National Organizer for MAG-Net. “Unfortunately, a major digital gap exists between the haves and the have nots, and Latino communities especially are paying the price. It’s crucial that grassroots organizations working with Latinos, immigrant and communities of color are able to access and use digital communications to bridge that socio-economic gap and uplift the communities. In this spirit, we are truly excited to add a Southern California chapter, and to welcome IDEPSCA to the MAG-Net family as a regional anchor.”
IDEPSCA is a non-profit community-based educational organization that works with immigrant families: day laborers, household workers, adult learners, parents, youth and children to develop and promote self-sufficiency. In 2008, IDEPSCA, in collaboration with the University of Southern California, developed Mobile Voices - a platform for immigrant and low-wage workers in Los Angeles to create stories about their lives and communities directly from cell phones. Since then, a group of day laborers, household workers, IDEPSCA community organizers, Drupal Programmers, and USC researchers and volunteers created what has been awarded the 2010 best Mobile Content in the World Summit Award in the category of M-Inclusion and Empowerment. The World Summit Award is the global flagship imitative on e- and m-content of the United Nations and its Global Alliance for ICT and Development (UN GAID), held in collaboration with UNESCO and UNIDO.
Winning the M-Inclusion and Empowerment award truly reflects the essence of IDEPSCA. “Since our inception, IDEPSCA has stood for building a stronger and inclusive force to transform society,” says Marlom J. Portillo, Executive Director of IDEPSCA. “Through MAG-Net, we envision weaving together IDEPSCA’s and MAG-Net’s mutual goal of creating a network of organizations that share similar visions of social and media justice by working with oppressed communities that are technology deprived.”
November 17th, will mark the official launch of the Southern California regional branch of MAG-Net. MAG-Net, CMJ, and IDESCPA will be hosting the first annual Media Justice Academy, a strategic convening and skills building training academy. This one-day event will help develop the communications leadership and practices of grassroots leaders from LA. Participants will gain skills in basic strategic communications, justice messaging and frames, collaborative practice, and online advocacy and communications. The November 17th event will take place from 10am-4pm at the California Endowment, located at 1000 North Alameda St # 250, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Please contact Betty Yu at betty@centerformediajustice.org for more information.?
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Founded in 2002, the Center for Media Justice is a dynamic progressive communications strategy and media policy tank for grassroots organizations serving communities of color and America’s poor.