Fats, Vitamins and Minerals

Dear friends,

As a follow-up  from the last NIPPS (National Intellectual Property Policy and Strategy) National Forum held June 17 organized by The Third World Network, there will be a Kuro-Kuro (small-group discussion) to those who are interested, on the Digital Workplace, 23 September, 2pm, at TWN/Tebtebba office, Rm 333, Eagle Court Condominium, 26 Matalino Street, Quezon City.

I will introduce the issues and initiate discussion on copyright and its effects on our use of digital technologies, and hope that people can also share their experiences and concerns on “the digital workplace.”

In that meeting, we will also be discussing the Statement on NIPPS, the draft is now available at the “Kuro’t Palaisipan” website http://www.korakora.org/kuro- I have also archived there the past Kuro meetings (in Manila, GenSan and Davao).

I would also be more than happy to discuss any work-related or personal issues regarding the ethics of technology use (whether for advocacy, personal purpose, business, etc).. If we can all throw in issues we’d like to take up in advance, all the better so I can prepare - just let me know thru .

Hopefully, we may also be able to discuss “An alternative primer on national and international copyright law in the global South: eighteen questions and answers” by Alan Story. Alan is chairperson of the CopySouth Research Group and Network and he has written an excellent Primer on Copyright Law, unmasking the dangers (economic and social) of the copyright regime as a one-size-fits-all formula for development in the global south.

Please email Elpidio Peria if you are coming, so snacks can be reserved.

Best wishes,
Fatima

I have written a short summary of the KURO gathering in General Santos City here http://www.korakora.org/projects/?q=node/206 , although actually intended for the WebSining website forums/blogs, I have decided to post it on Korakora Projects since the WebSining site is taking ages.

Hopefully, some kind of dialogue can ensue from reports of the KURO in GenSan and later, other places. As I’ve noted in the GenSan KURO summary:

From the above summary of the first KURO in General Santos City, it can be traced where issues and possible solutions (”algorithms” for sorting out the issues) may meet. The participants of the KURO and other concerned and interested individuals are invited to draw together “issues and algorithms” and perhaps design a problem solving methodology and describe the resulting / expected scenario/s.

If you would like to become involved in this KURO on-line, please let us know through the Korakora Projects Forums http://www.korakora.org/projects/?q=forum - and of course, let me know if you would like to become involved in the actual physical gatherings as well.

Photo by Kalimudan, 2006.

December 3, 2006 - day 3 in Brisbane and the day of the MAAP Symposium. The night before I finished writing comment/notes for my presentation, and hoped to rest early but it was impossible; my mind was still running about. I guess it was nearly 5AM when I managed to doze off. Past 8AM, Hwee Koon, MAAP’s exhibition support, rang - which was really a relief since I really needed to get up despite not getting enough sleep!

It was a wonderful surprise to have Hwee Koon come over (she’d be up and about as early as 6AM!). We just talked and talked and talked. Then around 10AM I took a quick shower and asked Hwee Koon if we could go look for a supermarket (I wanted to buy some food stuffs for family ). There was Coles along Queens Street, afterwards, we headed back to the hotel to drop off the groceries then headed off again to Queens Street foodcourt for lunch. Then we were off to Queensland State Library for the Symposium.

The Symposium was a wonderful opportunity to finally meet a number if people I’ve (virtually) known through my work from several years back. It was also the chance to meet new people who shared similar interests: there were some really good folks from Creative Commons Australia, RMIT in Melbourne, the State Library of Queensland and Brisbane Performing Arts.

My presentation for the Symposium may be accessed through the Korakora Main Website.

However, it seems that I have “forgotten” so much of my past work. I realized this after Julianne asked about my work and I started to talk about work that I have been developing for the past two years, when I could’ve talked about work that I have already done since 1999…

After the Symposium, it started to rain, a real downpour! I was told that it has been a long time since Brisbane has had such downpour (water restrictions are at level 4)… It was quite nice, the smell of rain.

Dinner was at a really good Indian restaurant - there were 16 of us, mostly people who were also at the Symposium. A really wonderful group of people …

Then hitched a ride back to the hotel with Julianne and Kath. Tomorrow, I’d have to check-out in the morning (since I was booked only for 3 nights, hotels being full because of some cricket event!) and check-in the other hotel (Sofitel) just across the street where Hwee Koon was staying.

November 16, 2006 - day 3 in General Santos City was a good rest after the Kuro and then off to Durian Garden in Polomolok with Cecile and Alma. Polomolok looked a really beautiful place although quite troubling to see so much agricultural land being used by large multinationals like Dole, DuPont and such… and the discussion over lunch about how the indigenous peoples communties were being destroyed and corrupted by foreign mining and its “benefits” like education and money.

Between Brisbane and GenSan, I felt how superficial our economic, social and cultural sovereignty was, although we do have so much richness in our communities … somehow, these were being taken away from us, commodified and perhaps we have reached a point wherein there is really not much choice anymore but to surrender our lands, our lives, our minds to the service of foreign interests ….

Ah, for the moment, I would just like to be happy to see Edward’s passport ….

November 30, I felt rather sorry having to leave when Alwin wasn’t feeling well. He has been staying in my room with my mom and Edward. Alwin wanted me to leave Edward behind but I told him Edward had to come with me so he could get his passport stamped. I did promise Alwin that I’d bring home a dinosaur for him. (I kept this promise of course).

It was about 4:30PM when I got a taxi. The driver previously was in Taiwan working in rubber tire factory. He said he had to quit (together with 6 others) after less than 2 years because he couldn’t bear the heat - he said it felt like his internal organs were being melted.

Rather heavy traffic but I got to the airport by 6PM (enough time for 8:40PM flight). On the way in a woman asked if I was muslim or Tausug. She is from Mindanao, on her way to the Middle East to work.

During check-in I was asked to remove all liquids and creams and such things from my handcarry bag. Some security guy also wiped all my bags with a small piece of paper (which they put in a machine that supposedly detects if there are any dangerous materials in the bags). Funny, it reminded me of the custom of shopkeepers touching over their merchandise with the money from the first sale for the day.

At Philippine Immigration I managed to get Edward’s passport stamped. The Immigration woman was in a rather bemused mood before I got to her because there was a couple before me (an big old Australian and a small middle aged Filipina) complaining with the fees they had to pay because the Australian guy had overstayed. Anyway, I was just so happy that the Immigration woman was amused enough to stamp Edward’s passport - and she even signed it.

I did get a bit of a shock on the way to Immigration because the security guy there who looks at everybody’s passport and boarding pass before being allowed into terminal fee counter and immigration greeted me “Merry Christmas” which clearly meant “where’s my money?” I told him “it’s too early for Christmas!” I was really pissed and ashamed.

Amnyway, after immigration was another security check, a long queue (the men’s queue was short but the women’s was like over 5x longer!)

I texted home that I was already in the airport waiting for boarding time (in about 2 hours). Flights to Guam, Kuwait and Korea were cancelled because of typhoon Reming which was coming in from the east towards the north. Our flight, which heads south, would take the south western direction to avoid meeting the typhoon head on.

Had dinner (goto (tripe) congee with egg) at Yen Ching Chinese fast food, quite expensive with a small bottle of mineral water (altogether PhP125). And then I was off…

December 01 I arrived in Sydney in the morning but wasn’t able to catch the flight to Brisbane, so just took the next one an hour later. Sydney Quarantine people let my cacao and tuna skin pops through without checking them out, which was a relief. However, I didn’t manage to get Edward’s passport stamped at Australian Immigration, though, because the Immigration officer looked really grumpy.

At Brisbane airport I changed US$100 and bought Air Train Tickets (AU$18, quite expensive but should be cheaper by 6 dollars at the stations!) to South Brisbane Station. From there was just a short walk to the Queensland State Library where I met Courtney from the AUT. It was 12:15PM when I got there, too early for the Artists Talks (1PM). We helped Kim prepare food for the talks, carry stuff to the auditorium.

Artists’ talks started a bit late, and later, the airconditioning in the auditorium started reaching freezing point so I really just had to go out! (And so did other people!) The Library building’s new so aircon and security systems were still a bit out of control.

Past 5PM, Kim helped me check into Rendezvous Hotel (at AU$156/night - whoah!). But it was a very cozy small hotel … and I was really really so tired…

Around midnight, I woke up and I went out to get some water and milk tea at 7-11 along Edward Street. Then walked over to Queens Street for a grilled chicken burger (Hungry Jacks, at around AU$4+) which was not really very eatable but all the better eating places were closed already. I was back at the hotel an hour later. I was quite surprised at how many people there were out in the streets past midnight - bars and night clubs had long queues of people waiting ….

I didn’t want to because I knew it would be expensive (but turned out to be quiter cheap, around AU$4), but I made a phone call to my ex-partner … I told him I missed him which was quite true, and which either meant that the better memories of our being together were weighing in or I simply didn’t like being in Brisbane … Although I have to admit that after a few more days, I felt more comfortable and happier being in Brisbane…

To be continued.

It was November 15, the day of the “Kuro Satellite Gathering.” Alma scheduled it from 1-5 in the afternoon, originally in a conference room at Lea’s Pension but, due to schedule conflicts, moved to a function room of Halina Restaurant just nearby. I finished the visual aid for my presentation (a very simple OpenOffice slide presentation). I guess I’ve never really been very good with making my own visual aids or multimedia presentations.

I had early lunch at Lea’s Cafe - chicken liver and some rice, really quite good, but such a huge serving so I wasn’t able to finish all of it. By around 12:30, some students working with the organizing team for the Kuro arrived and we all went to the Kuro venue.

The organizing of the Kuro c/o Kalimudan was just fantastic. The lecture on art and advocacy by Nestor (who came in from Davao City) was also very good (I wish there was more relaxed time to talk with him, but perhaps later when I get the chance to visit Davao). The level of interaction and discussion among the participants were so good that I felt rather jealous, somewhat wishing that I had a similar group of people here in Manila. I have been on numerous forums here and discussions have always been so restrained, very little interaction coming from the “audience” (indeed sticking to the role of audience rather than active participant). I suppose it might have to do with people’s living involvement with the issues (which are deeper in places like GenSan) and perhaps also might have to do with the format of the gathering. The Kuro was intended to be as unrestrictive and fluid as possible and Kalimudan made that not only a possibility but also a working success.

Some of the issues that came up in the open discussion was 1. use of pirated software and how it affects the creation and distribution of art; 2. unavailability of FOSS solutions for art, communication, distribution of art and media; 3. the problem of “art as entertainment” whereby art and artists are marginalized by their compartmentalization into the entertainment sector (perhaps problematizing the community’s own view of “entertainment” as trivial); 4. what does art advocate? The question of advocacy, for example the case of the photographer taking photos of poor people and entering the photo in a contest; 5. practical know-how on using the Internet to support artist’s works.

The issues raised are very important and I truly wish that it was more possible to draw connections between the issues and the topics taken up in the presentations. My handicap is that my understanding of the Bisaya language is quite poor (Bisaya, Tagalog and English were the languages used in the Kuro). Bisaya is a beautiful expressive language and I should learn it more …

Anyway, some photos that I took in GenSan are at the Korakora Small Gallery, together with photos taken by Alma/Kalimudan. We are still waiting to get the text written by the blogger and the transcriptions to be placed on-line but the problem is the NCCA website which is taking ages to set-up the WebSining Forums. Quite disturbing, these types of problems, which is why it is very important to nurture a small group of people who can truly work together and not let each other down…

I am still rather exhausted but at the same time energized by the trip to GenSan. Strange, but I think it is just being physically tired because of my physical weakness (but I think I was able to gain some 3 pounds in the last 3 months, thank goodness), and mentally and emotionally energized because of the experience in GenSan.

My first day in GenSan (arrived in the morning of November 14), it was Alma who met me at the airport. I still get the feeling of excitement of finally meeting someone I’ve been emailing for several weeks. I suppose the Internet and internet-mediated communication make up a great deal of my most valuable friends and contacts in the “real physical world.” Some of very good friends also come from electronic communications, the BBSs of the early 90’s, and our relationships are still here after the BBSs have disappeared. I never really liked anonymity on the Internet or the BBSs, so I do value real honest people I meet on-line (as I do in person).

Arriving at GenSan airport, there was one child begging at the airport parking. He wasn’t really just begging but was trying to help with the luggage and ask for money afterwards. I saw one other child at the eatery later that day and I wondered about the urban poor in GenSan. Perhaps they are not (yet) organized groups like in Manila. I truly hope GenSan never touches the levels of poverty and crime as here in Manila. Many years ago I saw how an elderly couple transformed in less than 2 weeks from being clean and just had to beg in the streets to be able to eat for the day to being really dirty, beaten down, skin darkened burned under the sun and the old man’s eyes taken out to conform to the organized syndicate’s business of begging.

Some 20 minutes drive from the airport in GenSan town center. I checked in at Lea’s Pension House (a rate of only 400 pesos a night, for a single room with aircon (which I hardly used) and toilet/shower). Lea’s have pretty good accommodation although I wasn’t really expecting anything too fancy since being outside hotels/accommodation is more important than being in it!!

It was around 9AM when I checked in and set a dinner date with Alma. I was able to rest till around 12:30noon which was very good since I still tire rather easily. I thought of having lunch at Lea’s Cafe but decided to go out since I needed to find a drugstore anyway (I forgot to bring my medicines).

I took the tricycle to Mercury Drug, but my med wasn’t in stock. They told me to go to the larger Mercury branch. I took another tricycle there- it was just nearby, facing Layon Beach. I was so happy to see how close the town centre was to the water.

After getting my medicine, I proceeded to the bank to get some cash where I also asked where I could get some lunch. The security guard pointed me to a pastry shop just next door but lunch wasn’t available anymore. I guess this was lucky because I was then pointed to the eatery just across the street - a place called Punla Eatery, specializing in beef dishes. I got the beef bopis which was really very good. Later I learned from Al Nezzar Ali that it was a very popular place especially for Muslims since they serve halal food there.

After lunch I took the tricycle back to the pension house and rested. It was around 1:30PM when I got back so there was plenty of time to rest and prepare a bit for my presentation tomorrow. Around 6PM, Alma arrived with Ali for our dinner date. It was so good to meet Ali, a very articulate Moro artist and educator. We proceded to the restaurant nearby and had seaweeds, fried hito, grilled tuna belly, clam soup, rice, kinilaw na tuna - a very good dinner. Cecile from FDC arrived. Some students who were attending the KURO tomorrow were also there. Meeting Alma’s team from Kalimudan, I felt that their work was very closely held together by a strong foundation of friendship. Later I learned that this was what was unique with Kalimudan - how they were able to integrate their friendships and work/advocacies together in a way that truly makes working together an enjoyable experience.

I suppose in GenSan, it is more visible how the culture of the place bears significance in the work-life of the people compared to those here in Manila where work, relationships, family and such things are more compartmentalized and segregated. I have to admit that right on my very first day in GenSan, I already felt more in touch with who I truly am.

To be continued.

Below are some questions that I have formulated in the framing / re-framing of a (Philippine) “digital art festival.”

In the context of Diwa, the inquiry underlying these questions is the formulation of the nature of knowledge / cognitive systems through which such concepts and observables as education / learning / behaviour, etc. is motivated. It is crucial, I believe, that we understand how their own local cognitive systems are structured (what are its principles and parameters, its values?), and only from there is it possible (and ethical) to ask questions that attempt to explore across the diversity things like: models of cooperation, develop strategies, engage diaspora communities, establish networks, investigate responses, etc.

Regards,
Fatima

1. What intellectual substance can the Philippines contribute to that body of creative practices called “digital art” or “new media”?

2. How does the Philippine experience (specific problems of the economic, political and cultural life across the country) relate to the ideas and methods of aestheticizing media and technology?

3. If the “festival” was to be conceived as a “process” rather than as an “event”, then what are the implications of such in terms of its topical and geographical scope, timetable, organization, funding, promotion, and evaluation?

4. What strategies responsive to and in congruence with local diversities and systems of knowledge must be developed in finding answers to these questions?

5. How do we know that these strategies are indeed “responsive” and “responsible”?

6. How do we know that the best of our intentions will not be corrupted in support of the very forces that have transformed cultures into global markets through “new media”?