Date: October 2nd 2008

Dear Readers, Friends, Associates etc...,

it was a while since our last mail, and we were active as usual. Today i want to share some impressions with you, what means working inside SLUM-TV.

We were really lucky that we had the first of our two international Workshops, the one with Hans Bernhard from UBERMORGEN.COM, held in an internal and productive situation.
Our members, made outstanding, intriguing , project proposals. More about that work, you can read at Hans Bernhard's report, online here:
http://www.slum-tv.info/?p=109

The workshop was very good, as here in Nairobi, its very difficult to avoid certain ngo perspectives/aesthetic , and also only to generate, to re-articulate the aesthetic of the poor, what is somehow expected in the eyes of the developed world, or possible funders, Hans was more than a help. You know, if you turn here your tv on, often you see, quite poor videos, paid by big international NGO'S, and these images produce an certain aesthetic, and is the only form, social or political content can enter the mass medias. Quite understandable, that you'll try to produce something similar as you see, that such things can be sold. Once, again Thanx to UBERMORGEN.COM.

You'll probably detect that we had to remove some videos. What happened, certain material, appeared on the national TV, and caused problems between the Police and certain criminal inhabitants of Mathare. For a while, we were locally in the Focus of attention, even some members had to hide, as it was believed, that we sold that incriminating material to the TV Station. Our clear policy is, that such things, with SLUM-TV will never happen. Our mission is to provide Comedies and selfmade newsreels, to the people of Mathare, made by people from Mathare! In the end it turned out, that the material was shot by one investigative Journalist, working for that TV Station
himself.

In the next days, we'll meet with some elders from Mathare, as they respect our work, and are willing to cooperate. This will or can also help us, to spread the News, that the material was not ours. As we operate by now, only with one camera, and one computer, both run almost 24 hours a day since one year, and we have 20 members, its hard to control everything.

As we are not yet able to pay, really good wages, as producing for SLUM-TV means also earning some money, our members use the equipment to earn money, by filming Weddings, Birthdays, Funerals etc. to earn additional money.

We hope now, that we'll have additional funds soon, to invest in new equipment. We have a new office, on the border of Mathare and Eastleigh, bought new chairs and other office equipment.

Next week, we'll have another international workshop starting, with Jaume Nualart, (http://www.nualart.com/) to enable our members to publish on our blog by them own. We'll try to equip our office with internet, but internet is quite pricey in Nairobi. Another task of the workshop, main task is also to introduce them into subvideo http://www.subvideo.tv/ . An software developed by Jauma, and part of our coproduction and cooperation, which will also leave an deep impact on our web presence in the next months.

Next month, SLUM-TV will be presented at two international Film Festivals. One in Canada, one in
Europe. Luckily one of our Trustees, Biki Kangwana is in Canada, and we hope that he'll be able to present us there. The other Festival in Europe, we prepare something special. It will rock! so visit our homepage in the next weeks, or more in the next newsletter.

for SLUM-TV

alex

ps: the internal workshop was accompanied by a successful and well attended presentation in the Goethe Institute Nairobi.
Images from the presentation will follow as soon we have a descent internet connection. BTW hope this mail reaches you!