The Next Five Minutes is a conference, exhibition and tv program taking place between 8th and 10th January 1993 in Amsterdam, that wants to leave behind the rigid dichotomy between the mainstream, commercial and national tv on one hand and marginal independent tv on the other. Although these differences may still be important, N5M wants to focus on tv-makers crossing the borders of tv-making and going into the spaces that the tv-world still has to offer.
ReadDerrick de Kerckhove is the former director of the McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology. He received his PhD. in French Language and Literature from the University of Toronto and a Doctorat du 3e cycle in Sociology of Art from the University of Tours. From 1972 to 1980 he was an associate of the Centre for Culture and Technology and worked with Marshall McLuhan for over ten years as translator, assistant and co-author.
ReadThe third edition of the Next 5 Minutes revolved around four core themes:
- The Art of Campaiging
- The Post-Governmental Organisation (PGO)
- How Low Can You Go? The Technical and the Tactical
- Tactical Education
Graz Edition: October 13 and 14, 2006
ReadThe European Cultural Backbone was founded as an initiative of 16 Trans-European Media Institutions. They baptize their baby with an extensive "We want Bandwidth" campaign, starting in a medium near you any minute. What to do with it and what to make with it?
Motivated by the theories of Richard Stallman, Lawrence Lessig, Geert Lovink and David Garcia, Brazilian Internet users, activists and artists are, more and more, developing attractive activism and tactical media projects.
ReadThe idea for the Art of Campaigning topic originates from the works of
the McLibel group [www.mcspotlight.org]. Their type of net.campaign
questions previous forms of activism, which was focused on the mass
media and their ability to influence public opinion, by staging direct
action (targeted at known media makers). Big NGO's such as Greenpeace
have built up experiences with this model for decades. The scenarios
they use have not changed much since the seventies. There is the usual
PR material: official reports, books, folders, flyers, magazine and
original video footage, shot on location. Campaigns are being planned
long in advance. The way of working does not differ much from a
campaign to launch a new product. Professionalism has taken over the
task of volunteers. Their role is being reduced to that of a local
support group, doing the actual grass roots work with the population.
