JIGMOD Glossary

an Agenda provides general answers to "Who's doing what and when?", with two columns that respectively stand for any local team and the coordination team. From October 2005 to April 2006, six months are required for a significant mobilization. Back home

A Contact-person is someone who has expressed interest for participating in the JIGMOD. Some such partners have already proposed specific contributions (i.e.: being a local team representative, lecturer, promoter of a special action). The list of contact-persons and involved organizations will be updated until mid-March. Back home

The coordination team is simply a communication node, proposing a world-wide appointment between activists, providing a guide for setting local Information Sites, and sending tool-kits (i.e.: banner, leaflets, peasant seeds,...) to local teams. Back home

Demonstrations: So far, two continental demos are planned at different dates, in connection with the JIGMOD : the 8th of April at Chicago, and the 5th of April at Vienna. Back home

Guide to JIGMOD: If you're interested contributing to this special day, contact us first, mentionning your affiliation or field of interest. Although a single person may run an information stall downtown, a local team of joint activists will gain more impact, provided some preparation.

   Points to be addressed during a first local preparatory meeting
1/ possible content of your "Information Site"(especially the attractions that require to be planned long in advance : invited talks, musicians, ...), taking inspiration from what happened at 2005 and 2004 sites, plus the opportunity of an international video-conference
2/ possible locations for this content.
3/ local agenda until the "D" Day.
4/ Appointment of a contact-person who will play the "communication node" with the coordination secretary
5/ possible call for financial support (not absolutely necessary) from institutions and districts, based on the provided presentation

An Information Site is a place (public square, farm-yard, ...) where, the 8th of April, people will find GMO-related information. This may be limited to a single exhibition stall managed by one person. It may also comprise several organizations' information stalls and attractions (peasant food, conference, musicians, ...). One of the stalls may promote peasant / native seeds. See the current list of Information Sites in the International Program

Back home

The International Program, specifying the content of every Information Site, will gradually be completed until the "D" Day, and will be broadcasted through both national and local medias. Back home

Internet Video-Connection (from Ignacio of Berkeley)
  With the following setting, a few distant audiences can be linked so as to dialog which each other. Audiences located in other Information Sites would be able to follow the conference, but without interaction facilities.
The current version of (Macintosh) iChat fits four channels simultaneously, which means that four distant audiences can dialog at the same time. One needs:
1. Updated computer.
2. Access to the internet: good quality, reliable broadband absolutely necessary (a public institution would provide that, in an auditorium, classroom or similar, or else a local internet company could be lobbied for this pro-bono).
3. iSight camera with iChat software (about US$100- 120, if not already available).
4. Access to a Chat-compatible web facility, such as the Mac.com site (depends on the arrangements, but a US$100 subscription for a year is more than enough! Individuals or institutions may have pre-dating access to these in various parts of the world).
5. A computer projector, a screen and an audio system (amplifier and speakers) to connect the computer onto.

   With these 5 elements, four simultaneous conversations, real time and interactive, can be established between distant audiences. Back home

 International video-conference: Given the constraints of the Internet Video-Connection, a -say 2 hours- world wide conference can be considered between 4 quite distant speakers groups. Before this period of wide world-window, a narrower window may be opened over eastern countries, and then gradually shifted until mid-afternoon (Europe time). After the 2 hours world-wide conference, the window would be focused on the american continent.
  All these could be hosted by the constant presence of a panel of commentators and hosts, and could be continuously viewed (as in a normal TV program) if we could set up a central (or two or three) webcasting facility, so it would be available to anyone to watch live from anywhere in the world. Back home

A Local team is composed of activists who may belong to several Non Gouvernmental Organizations (NGOs). They are encouraged to hold joint preparatory meetings for their local Information Site to be ready the 8th of April 2006. Back home

Saturday the 8th of April 2006 is the date of the Joint International GMO Opposition Day (JIGMOD). Following an International survey, this date has been chosen in agreement with the first partners. It coincides with the BioTech Convention in Chicago, and the WTO verdict concerning the USA-Europe dispute on GMO trading. It may also coincide with the European Social Forum in Athens. Back home

The coordination Secretary receives emails, dispatches significant information towards the coordination team and towards contact-persons, updates the dedicated website.