COMMUNICATIONS & ARTS

For there to be effective resistance + resilience, there needs to be means for sparking action and generating transformational and revolutionary energy. In addition, there has to be means for vital information to be circulated.  With so much of the mass media, internet, education, and popular culture controlled by big corporations, and the ease of which disinformation can spread, there is a significant need for resources to help our communities gain media literacy and build alternative media outlets and community-supported advocate-reporters.  The arts also provide an emotional and even spiritual power to social movements.

• Local media – Telling our own stories, and telling them in locally-rooted ways, is critical to the growth and success of social movements, resistance groups, and resilient communities.  Robust, democratic local media is the glue that holds these efforts together and helps them move forward. Today, our own media channels are far easier to establish and maintain — but these outlets will face attack and be starved of resources compared to corporate media. Trusted news sources will need to be created in certain places and when they do exist, they’ll need to be nurtured and protected.
• Alternative/independent media – Beyond the local scope, there are regional, national, and international independent or alternative media outlets doing their best to gather, share, and follow up on important issues affecting our society. Some specialize and some are general; some use video, some audio, some print. The specific media outlets that we have gathered here connect strongly to our vision for societal transformation and community resistance + resilience.
• Social media – Social media is shaping and misshaping the real world on a daily basis. We cope with it, navigate it, and sometimes even find ways to harness its frenetic energy to our benefit. It is an edifice, whether you love it or hate it, that needs to be understood and if possible pointed in beneficial directions vs. being consumed for the sake of consumption.
• Media literacy – Our world has quickly gone from what was dubbed the age of information to what has become an age of disinformation. Through both large corporate owned media outlets and the countless solo “news” platforms that exist, discerning the facts and the truth has never been more complicated. Just as we all need to find our trusted sources, we also all need help in navigating the media landscape and understanding everything from advertising to social media, corporate ownership, government propaganda, public relations methods, product placement, indoctrination, and more.
• Creative arts & activism – The arts have been closely linked with activism for as long as people have organized and advocated for change. There are important strategic ways in which to heighten this alliance and use it to bring meaning, connection, and commitment to community resistance + resilience efforts. This includes partnering with individuals and organizations using the arts as powerful tools for transformation.