[Needtoknow] Mexico Solidarity Network Acts: Chiapas Media Project Promedios: Spring '07; etc..

[james m nordlund]

Mexico Solidarity Network Acts: Chiapas Media Project Promedios: Spring
'07; etc..

MSN Job Opening in Chicago
Job Opening

The Mexico Solidarity Network has a job opening for an activist/academic. 

The successful candidate will have: 
-         extensive experience in community-based and grassroots 
organizing in the US context, particularly in immigrant and undocumented 
communities, 
-         at least a masters degree, preferably in the social sciences,
-         knowledge of Mexico’s social, political and economic context,
-         ability to travel,
-         Spanish fluency and the ability to teach in English and Spanish,
-         a political orientation that is anti-capitalist and a strong 
commitment to fundamental political change in the US and Mexico.

The position involves community-based organizing with immigrants, 
undocumented workers and jornaleros in Chicago.  The Mexico Solidarity
Network 
recently opened a community center in Albany Park, a barrio on the north
side 
of Chicago.  The job opening involves organizing a program of popular 
education and community-based political projects as part of an unfolding 
project tentatively called the International Autonomous University for
Social 
Movements.  The University is built around a community-based program of 
education/organizing that includes directly affected communities (mainly 
Latinoamerican immigrants) and university students.  The work of the 
university will include: a language/culture laboratory based around ESL
and popular 
education models; theoretical classes that address social movement theory 
and practice; community-based research and formalization of popular 
knowledge which will form the basis of local political programs; and
skills 
development including media skills, organizing techniques, popular
education 
skills, cultural work, etc.

The successful candidate will

-         have a strong ethical commitment to anti-capitalist, fundamental

social change that reflects itself in a strong work ethic,
-         be flexible, creative and accountable working within a 
collective that currently consists of five full time staff.

The job will be based in Chicago, with occasional travel to Mexico.  The 
position includes health insurance and four weeks paid vacation per year. 

Starting salary is $25,000 with a raise to $30,000 after six months.  The 
Mexico Solidarity Network can provide transitional housing for up to 
several months in Chicago for successful candidates moving from other
cities.  
Interested candidates should forward a resume and writing sample 
(something less than 5 pages that will give us an idea of your political 
orientation) to MSN at MexicoSolidarity.org.

The Mexico Solidarity Network maintains offices in Chicago, Washington,
DC, Ciudad Juarez and Chiapas.  Our program includes:

-         a study abroad program focused on Mexican social movements that 
prepares young activists for work in the US and Mexican contexts,
-         solidarity programs with the Zapatistas, ex-Braceros, and 
women’s organizations struggling against the femicides in Chihuahua and
Ciudad 
Juarez,
-         community centers in Chicago and Washington focused on 
organizing undocumented workers.

For more information on the Mexico Solidarity Network, please see our web 
site at www.mexicosolidarity.org.   




Chiapas Media ProjectPromedios - Spring tour 2007
PLEASE PASS ON TO ALL LISTS!!!!
CHIAPAS MEDIA PROJECT/Promedios SPRING TOUR 2007

Chiapas Media Project (CMP)/Promedios seeks university, cultural and 
community-based sponsors to host screenings 
on our Spring Tour 2007. The tour will feature videos produced by 
indigenous video makers from the states of Chiapas, Mexico. Dates are
scheduled on 
a first come, first-served basis and fill up fast, so please contact us
as soon as possible.

CMP/Promedios is an award winning, bi-national partnership that provides 
video equipment, computers and training enabling marginalized indigenous 
and campesino communities in Southern Mexico to create their own media. 
CMP/Promedios is currently distributing 24 indigenous produced videos 
worldwide.

Aasia Mohammad Castaneda, US Coordinator, will present the videos.

Presentations last between one-and-a-half and two hours, include video 
screenings and a discussion on the role of indigenous media and 
self-representation in the context of the current socio-political
situations in Mexico 
and Latin America. A Q & A session follows the video screening. 
Presentations can be done in either Spanish or English. Sponsors need to
provide a 
video projector, a VCR with audio system and comfortable seating.

CMP/Promedios asks for an honorarium based on the means of the host 
organization to help continue the work of the CMP/Promedios. Press kits
are 
available that include articles on CMP/Promedios, bios, photos etc. Please

check our web site: www.chiapasmediaproject.org for more information.

For further information, please call us at 773-504-4144 or e-mail us at 
cmp at chiapasmediaproject.org

SELECTED PAST PRESENTATIONS
___________________________________________________________________________________

CMP/Promedios have presented their videos at numerous universities, 
museums, and film and video festivals around the world. CMP/Promedios have
done 
presentations at

Yale University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia 
University, Eastside Café (Los Angeles), Make the Road by Walking (New
York), 
Harvard University, La Trobe University, Melbourne, National University 
(Bogotá, Colombia), Sundance Film Festival, Smithsonian National Museum of
the 
American Indian, Museum of Modern Art, NYC, Margaret Mead Film and Video 
Festival and the Intl. Human Rights Film Fest in Buenos Aires among
others.

REVIEWS
__________________________________________________________________________________
"The Chiapas Media Project is remarkable! This project is a rare and 
powerful example of how indigenous people are using the weapons of
technology 
and trans-nationalism to make their voices heard and advance their 
struggles. Not only are their videos wonderful teaching resources, but
their 
presentations inspire students and faculty alike to rethink old ideas
about 
indigenous cultures, and forge new ties of solidarity."
Maria Elena Garcia, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Sarah Lawrence 
College

CMP videos inform and inspire--the videos are gems. CMP presentations are 
lively and instructive, going beyond the background we need to understand 
the videos to provide hard-to-get updates on contemporary rural Mexico. We

hear the wonderful stories behind the videos and learn about the process 
whereby video makers and communities interact to shape video story and 
imagery.
William H. Fisher, Associate Professor of Anthropology, William and Mary 
College

The CMP presentation led our students to a place where idealism and 
courage confront injustice. It is evident that the CMP videos and the 
discussions that followed have had a long-term impact; students refer to
the 
Zapatistas repeatedly. In times when young people can be overwhelmed with 
feelings of insignificance, we are grateful for the opportunity to
challenge the 
cynical world fostered by commercial media.
Janice Windborne, Ph.D. Dept. Media, Journalism & Film, Southwest Missouri

State University

The films have a powerful human component that you just can not get from 
secondary sources about the injustices occurring in Chiapas and Guerrero. 
Bringing the event to the Fresno State campus provided a setting for 
exposure and learning that otherwise would not be present. Its artistic
and 
informative.
Maria Sofia Corona-Solyluna, Fresno State M.E.Ch.A/USAS

CMP documentaries are an essential point of entry into the world of 
indigenous resistance. CMP videos accomplish their goal of telling the
story 
from the perspective of the indigenous by implementing the concept of 
autonomy in their approach to video production. These documentaries are an

irreplaceable guide for understanding the autonomous movement and why it
is a 
workable alternative to corporate controlled globalization.
Glen David Kuecker, Assistant Professor of Latin American History, DePauw 
University
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CURRENT VIDEOS AVAILABLE FOR SCREENINGS:
***videos are now available for purchase at www.chiapasmediaproject.org***

The Land Belongs to Those who Work it
(Tzeltal and Spanish with English Subtitles, 15 minutes, 2005)
The video discusses the situation in the town of Bolon Aja'aw, located in 
the north of the state near the famous Agua Azul river system. The federal

government sold the land in Bolon aja'aw to a private company to create an

eco-tourism center without the permission of the community members. The 
video documents a meeting between
Zapatista authorities and Mexican Government functionaries, and offers a 
critical look at the practical implications of so-called eco-tourism.

We are Equal: Zapatista Women Speak
(Spanish and Tzeltal with English subtitles, 18 minutes, 2004)
Zapatista women speak about what their lives were like before the uprising

in 1994 and how their lives have changed since. A very upfront and 
critical look at gender relations within the Zapatista communities - how
far 
women have come and how far they still need to go.

Eyes on Whats Inside: The Militarization of Guerrero
(Tlapaneco and Spanish with English subtitles, 2004)
Inez and Valentina, two indigenous women from the montaña region of 
Guerrero were raped by Mexican soldiers. Eyes on Whats Inside looks at the

economic, social and political factors that lead to these rapes. The 
Organization of Indigenous People Me'phaa (OIPM) share their story but it
is really 
the story of many indigenous
communities in Guerrero. Discussed are the destabilizing effects of the 
military presence on indigenous communities, and how the increasing 
poverty/marginalization of the population has contributed to the formation
of 
armed guerilla groups and the presence of narcotrafficking. The Mexican 
Constitution lays out the internal role of
the military and Guerrero presents a clear example of how the military 
acts outside of its constitutional mandate.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Chiapas Media Project/Promedios de Comunicacion 

Distribution Commission for the Coordinator for Latin American Indigenous 
Film and Communication (CLACPI)/Comisión de Difusión y Distribución de la 
Coordinadora Latinoamericana de Cine y Comunicación de Los Pueblos 
Indigenas (CLACPI)

Mexico/Chiapas:
52-967-67-81742
US:
1-312-504-4141
promediosmexico.org
www.clacpi.org 

Mexico Solidarity Network http://www.mexicosolidarity.org

__________________________________________________
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