Navigators09

2009-06-04T15:25:00.001-07:00

One of the best Graffiti Ever :

signed Bansky :

2009-06-04T15:11:00.000-07:00

But what'is Graffiti...

Graffiti (singular: graffito; the plural is used as a mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property. Graffiti is sometimes regarded as a form of art and other times regarded as unsightly damage or unwanted.
Graffiti is any type of public markings that may appear in the forms of simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. Graffiti has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire[1]. In modern times, spray paint and markers have become the most commonly used materials. In most countries, defacing property with graffiti without the property owner's consent is considered vandalism, which is punishable by law. Sometimes graffiti is employed to communicate social and political messages. To some, it is an art form worthy of display in galleries and exhibitions; to others it is merely vandalism. Graffiti has since evolved into a pop culture existence often related to underground hip hop music and break dancing creating a lifestyle that remains hidden from the general public.[2] Graffiti is used as a gang signal to mark territory or to serve as an indicator or "tag" for gang-related activity. The controversies that surround graffiti continue to create disagreement amongst city officials/ law enforcement and graffitists looking to display their work in public locations. There are many different types and styles of graffiti and it is a rapidly developing artform whose value is highly contested, being reviled by many authorities while also subject to protection, sometimes within the same jurisdiction.

G 4 Change

2009-06-03T06:02:00.001-07:00

G 4 Change
Gneneratin, Graffiting, for Global concerns.

Aims and Objectives

- investing in the fact that graffiti is not well known in several countries whether as an art, or as an opinion making tool
- investing in the fact that several MENA countries lack facilities of fast internet connection, therefore, would rather function as an opinion leading or shaping tool with a on ground, offline tool working with it.
- Involving youth in social participation and raising their awareness through recruiting them as messengers as well as receivers of the message
- Training young people on online social media tools, as well as graffiti and other self expression tools.
- Raising awareness of social and global concerns for the public in the easiest ways
- Connecting graffiti artists in the region
- Uploading useful material for the artists and the activists on the online forum
- Organizing local campaigns on certain issues
- Organizing a regional campaign.

Description:
Short-term objectives:

The team will launch a network online, upon arrival to their countries, the participants will be promote the idea and see the possibilities of legalizing it with local municipalities and other governmental institution, as well as collecting data of interested people and inviting them to participate in the network.
The team members (or moderators of the project) will upload relevant content to the platform, start discussions, provide information of international graffiti artists, how-to tips and so on.
While the members of the platform are interacting with each other, the participants will organize their first event online, which is a training workshop of social media skills as well as graffiti skills.

Long-term objectives:
The participants of the first workshop will organize them selves if possible and create a local team. These local teams will meet regularly, in order to create local campaign where in coordination with local authorities, they will pain on certain walls different forms of graffiti. The only condition is that all graffiti content must have a social concern message, each depending on its country.
After completing the campaign in each country alone, one campaign will be launched where artist from all the other countries will visit one of the countries, and organize the event there in the same way.

Idea Analysis
SWOT

Strengths:
- - Artistic network
- -Connections with artists, journalists and activists
- - We promote cultural exchange
- - Innovative Idea
- - Young people like graffiti
- -A youthful tool to raise the youth awareness
- -concept appealing to young people
- - Our interests and passion for social activism
- - Press campaign to promote the event project
- - AFP
- -Alex Agenda, journalist and media for promotion
- - Our interest in art , the internet, and social media and compiling them
- - Each one of us has his own big network
- - We have an experience in using social media

Weaknesses: - We don't have experience in Graffiti.
- Very little people are interested in Graffiti.
- IT supports.
- Commitment (Distances between the group core members / the team will break / getting busy with our own work).
- No graffiti in some countries & bad reputation in others.
- Organizing ( broadcasting) the event online could be difficult.

Opportunities:- Funds and partnerships with USA and Europe.
- NGOs support: Safar funds; Anna Lindh…
- New ideas to involve youth.
- Promoting Grafitti & human rights in one project.
- Private sector & local art association support.
- Learning from previous experiences in Beirut (Farah Alataa).
- Lots of locations or Grafitti activities.
- Partnerships with EU countries.

Threats:- Wrong perception about Graffiti
- Health issue with Graffiti
- For the social media part, internet can be an obstacle
- Lack of cooperation by governments and civil society.
- Other NGOs working with art
- Funding opportunities
- Legal problems with local governments

In the coming week, the group will discuss these ideas in further and develop and concrete action plan. The team will also discuss ways of overcoming the threats and enhancing the strengths.

Four other things we squeezed out of our mind

2009-06-03T01:33:00.000-07:00

Other ideas on the way

Human rights awareness through twitter
The idea is basically about developing a network that starts from YLVP networks on twitter. Once the network is reaching a certain number, a campaign start date will be assigned and a notification will be sent to all participants of the network to participate.
The participation is through picking a line from the Human Rights Declaration, and twittering it on a massive scale. Each participant is free to pick any line and promote it on his/her network.
The campaign repeats every while with a larger number of participants, and new lines picked.
Other campaigns could be massive reporting on human rights violation.

Wiki Network
Is a project based on creating a group of young people basically starting with the YLVP network, that support and enhance and cooperate the existing network working on translating Wiki into Arabic.
The group is planned to help the existing network in translating the available content, contacting Arab authors to add to the content in Arabic, and then translating the new added content to other languages if possible.
The group would also work on typing paper books into digital format and working into translating it.

Promoting online forums
The project is about promoting online forums to university students and other educational and youth institutions through on ground visits or through social media tools.

Petition station
Due to the fact that the petitions is one of the most reliable way of activism in several MENA countries, this project is meant to create a network of activists online, provide them with easy tools of writing petitions. Once there is a violation or any other need for a petition in any of the member countries, one of the members creates the petition, and sends it to all members in the respected country and in all the other member countries. All network members are requested to sign the petition according to their believes, but are also requested to spread it in their country, print it out after collecting signatures, and finally faxing or emailing it to the country’s embassy.
This would work as a an awareness tool, as well as an opening leading tool.

Mark said…..

2009-06-02T12:38:00.001-07:00

Mark said…..

The following sentences are quoted from the lecture of the famous MARKMEDIA:

1. "Yes going digital will fucken affects your life".
2. Mark is asking "Whom shall we trust?.
3. You have to separate what you hate from what you use.
4. You determine how to use it, never be a slave.
5. Technology isn't good or bad, it is what you do with it.
6. If you wish to be heard, first learn to listen.
7. No division between the digital world and the real life, it's all the life you are living.
8. The more people knows about you, the less you are in danger.
9. Openness would never hurt you as long as you know what you are doing.
10. Shit takes time.
11. It's a fucken good game.
12. No problem with connectivity, it is a problem with imagination.
13. Security!!!It is all based on your level of paranoia.
14. Come on, there is only 2 fucken ways either I have or I don't have.

Leader-ship

2009-05-30T04:45:00.000-07:00

Leader.. and ship..
The wind never comes as we wish, but it is up to sail with our ship in the best way, and reach the shore.

That was the vision that five people from different places had when they met in Stokholm a week ago.. That was and will be the vision they will adopt until they get to the shore.
With a variety of capacities, ranging from visual expression skills, to managerial and leadership skills, to communication skills.. and with a common interest in human rights and a concern towards the globe, and with a committment, this team decided to lead their ship together and deliver a product that will serve as a tool of communication, awareness raising, and capacity building.

The team saw this as a tool of widening their horizons on the individua level, where each member will be able to maximize his/her experience while at the same time sharing it. They also agreed that this could serve as a great chance for building a network that connects young capacities in the MENA region, as well as sweden, where an exchange of experience and best practice and even culture is possible.

The teams committment crystalizes in visualizing their upcoming idea as innovative, youthful, functions as a networking tool, as well as a connecting point between the online world, and the offline world, as it was important to consider that MENA countries and Sweden are not of the same level of technology advancement, therefore a real connection between the cyber world and the street is highly important.

Last but not least, the team differs in skills and intersts, which creates a beautiful shade difference, yet, the common fround they stand and work upon is their awareness and concern towards human rights. Therefore, adopting these conventions and beliefs is a priority in the team's coherence and comminication, and promoting them is one priority the team will work on.

The journey has just started, stay tuned.. on board.

Group Photo

2009-05-28T12:11:00.000-07:00

I think that was one of our common happiest moments

Welcoming

2009-05-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers

We would like to thank you for visiting the "Navigators 09" blog.Let me introduce the group "we are a group of young people from the Arab region & sweden who are trying to make that small,little tiny change in the world using social media.