Communication in the time of Wikileaks
From KLAMediaWiki
Date : 9 February 2011
Time: 16h 30
Place : Faculty of Science and Technology, UCAD Dakar
A seminar with Boaventura de Sousa Santos
Rita Freire from Ciranda speaks first, in Portuguese, to introduce the Wikileaks theme. She said that there is a dispute about information within the WSF. She raised the question: does the WSF have a concept of 'shared 'communication'. (The consecutive translation into French is difficult to follow. The amphitheatre of the physics faculty is filled with people, The temperature is high. )
Jamie (?) from May First / People's Link=
The second speaker was Jamie (?) from May First / People's Link : WikiLeaks has rised the consciousness of the value of information. Showed the weakness of our system and and resilience of our people.
When WL moved its server to Amazon the corporation was criticized by powerful political figures. And so Amazon took down WL. Other attacks folowed, their bank accounts were frozen etc.
We need to evauluete the decision of WL to move their site to WL. How can we, from the left build an internet that resists attacks from the system?
The counter-attacks against PayPal etc. were a kind of direct action. The mass-mirroring was an effort to produce a resistent internet.
It was a poor strategic choice from the side of WL to present it self as a journalistic organisation. They should have identified themselves with 'the movements'. The speaker criticized WL for being a very secretive organisation.
Main speaker: Boaventura de Sousa Santos
(At 18h, Boaventura de Sousa Santos, the sociologist and key speaker, had not yet arrived! He arrived finally at 18.17.)
WL is only a metaphor, he said. He pointed to the problematic rekations between WikiLeaks, the social movements (which are prepared fo social struggle), and the general public (which is not prepared.
We, at the WSF, should receive the WikiLeaks (the information from WL) before the grand media receive it.
We need to synchronize several "Cairos". We need a mechanism for receiving information from WikiLeaks which has not been treated by WikiLeaks. The Communication Commission of the WSF could have a meeting with WL to deceide which information is useful for the WSF.
After the speaker, at least ten persons from the audience commented and/or asked questions.
External link
Wikiliquidation of the Empire?, article by Boaventura dos Santos, January 2011
