COUNTERCONVENTION.ORG LAUNCHES WEB-BASED PROTEST TOOLS JUST IN TIME FOR THE RNC

by CounterConvention.org Collective Thursday, Apr. 15, 2004 at 8:04 AM
info@counterconvention.org New York City

New York City is gearing up for massive protests around the Republican National Convention slated for August 29th through September 4th. Everyone from community based organizations to unions to faith-based-groups to global justice activists is preparing for this epic event. CounterConvention.org is a website designed to help facilitate communication and resources for all those opposed to the RNC.

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In what could be one of the largest U.S. political demonstrations
in years, hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country
are expected to converge on midtown Manhattan in protest of the
Republican National Convention this summer.

For the past several months dozens of groups have been meeting to
discuss strategy and logistics for protesting the Republican agenda.
Instead of planning a traditional demonstration, CounterConvention.org
has built a sophisticated website designed to coordinate the organizing
efforts of others.

"Everyone from unions to church groups to community based organizations
is planning something in protest of the Convention and the Republican
agenda. People across the country are planning on coming to New York by
the thousands, so on-line coordination is absolutely crucial," says Amanda
Hickman, one member of CounterConvention.org.

The website includes a directory of local and national groups organizing
around the convention, a calendar of upcoming events, legal information,
posters and materials, and housing and transportation resources.

According to William Etundi, "The CounterConvention.org website is designed
to help connect organizers and activists with people interested in being
involved, especially those that may have never attended a political event
or demonstration."

Because security and ease-of-use are top concerns, the CounterConvention.org
team built their own website system from scratch. According to Mark Libkuman,
"We really need a backend system that makes it easy for people to list an event
or resource, but also allows a team member to review those listings before they
appear on the site." The custom designed software that powers the
CounterConvention.org will be released under an open source license to the public
in order to be used and modified for future organizing.

The website was designed and built by a collective of organizers and activists
with a history of working within the New York social justice community. "We are
an open collective, committed to building a website that reflects the incredible
organizing work going on in all kinds of communities in New York City," says
Amanda Hickman.

CounterConvention.org team members attend meetings daily with organizations throughout
New York City and across the country to listen to the needs of organizers and plug
them into the tools available on the website. Over 100 of these groups are listed on
the website.

"The energy around the Republican Convention protests is like nothing I've ever seen,"
states William Etundi. "It is going to be a real test for on-line coordination, one I
think will prove that web-based protest organizing has come of age."

URL: http://www.counterconvention.org