eBulletin #10 March 2007
Dear Friends,

Hello and welcome to the Australian Centre for Democracy and Justice's 10th eBulletin

This is our first eBulletin of 2007 – a year that is shaping up to be a big one for Australia and the Australian Centre for Democracy and Justice.

Don't forget to keep up to date with all the latest at our website: www.democracyandjustice.org.

We'll keep these brief and only send them out when we've something to tell you. If you don't want to be on this email list please simply reply with "unsubscribe" in the subject. Feel free to circulate this eBulletin as widely as you see fit and if you're not on the mailing list but would like to be please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and let us know.

Contents:
  1. First forum for 2007: Community Media 101
  2. ACDJ endorse “Nuclear Fools Day” events
  3. ACDJ endorse the Melbourne Social Forum
  4. Membership
  5. T Shirts Now on sale!
  6. Other organisation's events

1. Forum: Community Media 101

The Australian Center for Justice and Democracy launches 2007 by presenting a series of three public forums to look at the issue of community media in greater depth.

Globally, media industries are conglomerating and rationalising operations for economic efficiency much to the detriment of the consumer and citizen, creating an oligopoly and reducing the number of voices hers. But the fight is not over. All over the world, community media is experiencing resurgence. Driven by Information and Communication Technologies that ease difficulty of use and cost are making it easier to make media. The question is “can it last?”

When: 6:30 for 7pm start Tuesday 20 March
Where: Our new venue! - Stork Hotel [504 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne]
Cost: $5 (free for ACDJ members)

Speakers:
  • Ellie Rennie is a Research Fellow in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (www.cci.edu.au). She is author of Community Media: A Global Introduction (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006). Ellie has also worked with the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia as a policy consultant in the area of digital television, assisting CTV stations to move beyond the ‘trial’ phase and into a permanent licensing framework. Her current research involves Australia’s emerging youth community radio sector and the social, educational and economic benefits of media participation. Ellie Rennie is involved in a number of community and academic associations, including the Community Communication section of the International Association of Media and Communication Research, Open Spectrum Australia, OURMedia/Nuestros Medios and the Wesley College Institute for Innovation in Education. She is based at Swinburne University of Technology’s Institute for Social Research in Melbourne.
  • Moderated by Terry Johal, ACDJ director and lecturer in the communications faculty at RMIT

This is the first in a series of three forums on Community Media that ACDJ will be running.

The second forum will be looking at the current state of community media in Australia, the challenges it faces and the place it needs to have in the mediascape.

The 3rd forum looks at the “future” of community media and its relevance if any but also looking at the offer that social networking and globalisation bring.

More details to follow.

2. ACDJ Endorse “Nuclear Fools Day” events

The Australian Centre for Democracy and Justice in proud to announce that it has joined with over 50 other organisations in endorsing the Palm Sunday Alliance's Nuclear Fools Day activities.

The list of demands are:
  1. Stop nuclear power in Australia: Renewables not reactors!
  2. Stop uranium mining: Leave it in the ground!
  3. Stop nuclear weapons: Put down that US nuclear umbrella!
  4. Stop nuclear waste: No waste dump in Australia!
The issue of Nuclear power is at a pivotal point with at least 20 years of amazing advocacy work in Australia now in jepardy. The event will be held matter of weeks before the pivotal Australian Labor Party (ALP) national conference on April 29 at which the ALP position on the uranium industry in Australia.

It is also bound to be a federal election issue later in the year.

3. ACDJ Endorse the Melbourne Social Forum

The Australian Centre for Democracy and Justice have endorsed the 2007 Melbourne Social Forum (www.melbournesocialforum.org) which will be held at CERES Environment Park on April 21 and 22.

We are encouraging everyone in Melbourne to get down and participate this fantastic event.

Keep an eye out for our workshop on Lobbyocracy: the hypocrisy of democracy.

4. Membership - SPECIAL OFFER

Thanks to our friends at Ocean Press and Husta La Victoria St Bookshop we have 20 copies of The Emerging Police State by William Kunstler to give to the next 20 people that join up as members of the Australian Centre for Democracy and Justice. This book, valued at $23 is available to memberships which start from as low as $20 a year.

Our Membership scheme is three tiered, with students/concessions being $20, full price/waged $40, solidarity/household/organisation $100.

OurCommunity.com.au kindly processes our memberships and you can sign up at their site: http://www.ourcommunity.com.au/membership/membership_details.form?membershipId=715

Alternatively you can print out a membership form at: http://www.democracyandjustice.org/images/Membership%20form.pdf and send it back to us.

Donations can also be made through the OurCommunity.com.au site at:
http://www.ourcommunity.com.au/acdj.

5. Australian Centre for Democracy and Justice T-Shirts now on Sale!

Sick of being a walking billboard for a nasty multinational corporation? Sick of wearing clothing made in conditions that constitute human rights abuses? Stuck for ideas for Christmas presents and don't want to give all your hard earned dollars to corporate bully boys that hardly need more money? Concerned about how attractive you are?

We've just the thing for you. Stylish, no-sweat, Australian Centre for Democracy and Justice T-Shirts. For a meager $25 (inc Postage and Handling) you can be the hippest person on the block and all money made goes straight to your favorite non-profit: The Australian Centre for Democracy and Justice.

Order forms are available at:
http://www.democracyandjustice.org/images/tshirts.pdf or just send us an email and we'll fix you up.

6. Other events and ideas

If you have any ideas for things that you would like to see the Australian Centre for Democracy and Justice do or forums you'd like to see us run then please don't hesitate to contact us. We're always looking for new ideas and new people to get involved in our work.

If you’d like your event included in this list please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with “eBulletin” in the subject.