Politics and practices of an autonomous technology: voices from the May First membership
This may be of interest: A recently released report by May First Movement Technology, "P *olitics and practices of an autonomous technology: voices from the May First membership*," based on extensive interviews, explores why and how social justice movement organizers and activists are building a sustainable and powerful alternative to corporate technology. At a time when public confidence in corporate technology is at an all time low, the authors ask: " *How could we design technologies in a consensual way, in order to support both people and our planet?"* The report attempts to answer the question, based on the 18 year history of May First Movement Technology and the reflections of staff and members. According to Alice Aguilar, the co-chair of May First and one of the authors of the report, "It's not possible to have a truly collective approach to technology without cultivating a radically inclusive space that is representative of our movements. For us, building autonomous technology and movement organizing go hand-in-hand - we can't win without understanding how inseparable they are." The report features interviews with organizers in the US, Mexico, Canada, the UK and Colombia engaged in working on issues ranging from media to abortion rights to community organizing. The content centers on the experiences of building collective technology, but also includes the challenges of organizing across borders and languages, creating inclusive and democratic processes and cultures, and integrating the diverse politics of the left. In other words, it's about the future of our movement. The report was written by May First board members Jes Ciacci, Estrella Soria, Alice Aguilar and Melanie Bush. The authors are available for interviews. Contact [email protected] for more information. The report is available here: English https://mayfirst.coop/en/post/2023/autonomous-technology Spanish https://mayfirst.coop/es/post/2023/autonomous-technology). The report explores questions such as: * How could we design technologies in a consensual way, in order to support both people and our planet? Is it really possible to collectively build our own Internet infrastructure? * *“Say briefly, speak slowly and listen profoundly” *This report is about collectively owned technology but really describes movement organizing in the 21st century!
participants (1)
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Melanie Bush