[MM] April 16
FlipTheSwitch Meeting Minutes
Saturday, 16th of April 2011
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Meeting started at 4 PM:
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Photographer present at the meeting.
Started out by giving out suggestions for the future actions to take. The first phase is the Grassroots Activism actions, which consist of spreading awareness of the campaign and its origins and disturb the comfort zone of the people in charge. Within two or three months, masses would’ve been gathered and if the demands are not met, there would be a protest/demonstration. The second phase, full scale demonstration, is not going to be considered right now as it is not the best way to get the word out.
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The actual flyer:
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FlipTheSwitch.info
grassroots campaign for faster internet in Lebanon
Unlike other campaigns for faster internet in Lebanon, Flip The Switch is focused on actionable items that lead to immediate results, whilst working towards implementing the full vision of liberalizing the telecom sector in Lebanon.
Actionable Items
1- Turn on the IMEWE Internet Cable
2- Reduce Prices & increase Speed
3- Implement Telecom Law 431
Phase 1
- Grassroots Activism
Phase 2
- Full Scale Demonstration
Facebook: http://facebook.com/imewe
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Flip_The_Switch
Website: http://www.FlipTheSwitch.info/
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A brief sum up of the facts:
- The IMEWE problem is a stalemate between Ogero & MoT, particularly as to who will actually Flip the switch.
- We can get up to 10 times the bandwidth and capacity instantly
- Lebanon’s current bandwidth is 2.5gbps at the present time. first block of IMEWE provisioned at 30gbps
- There are 3 ways to get internet from the outside:
CADMOS from Cyprus : 40 GB | Unused
IMEWE (international, physically connected to Alexandria): 120 GB | Unused
Lines through Syria | pending implementation
- No country can shut off the internet off Lebanon, it would violate many international treaties
- The infrastructure is thus available, we only need good management
- Telecom law 431 creates entities to regulate the market and it has to be applied.
After that, the first phase was discussed more thoroughly. The main idea was that the movement is activist so it doesn’t disturb anyone, keeping it individual and independent without targeting anyone and keeping it civil. The DSL is going to be the target of this movement, since it covers 70% of the market.
There will be no demonstrations, on 1st of May, there is the possibility of organizing flash mob (info to be detailed).
Moving on, the projects we decided and people volunteered to take in charge a particular project.
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Projects:
1- Website Management: Samir Shaker https://www.facebook.com/samirshaker
Moophz Himself https://www.facebook.com/moophz
The project consists of running the blog and upgrading it.
2- Media Relations: Samer Karam https://www.facebook.com/KaramSamer
Shakeeb Al Jabri https://www.facebook.com/LeShaque
Sara Karam https://www.facebook.com/karam.sara
The project consists of getting in touch with the media and ask them to cover the movement
3- Mail & Letter Writing: Fadi Bizri https://www.facebook.com/fadibizri
John Laham https://www.facebook.com/jlaham
The project consists of writing mail & letters and sending them via the post to the different people in charge (MP’s, MoT, Ogero, and ISP’s)
4- Music Video(s): Moophz Himself https://www.facebook.com/moophz
Marc Fadel https://www.facebook.com/marcfadel
Maroun Najem https://www.facebook.com/nuoram
The project consists of making a song and its video clip to make it viral on the internet. Moophz Himself already has a recorded clip that we should find a way to spread.
5- Sticker Campaign: Samer Karam https://www.facebook.com/KaramSamer
Mohamad Chamas https://www.facebook.com/Mhamad.Cha
Samir Shaker https://www.facebook.com/samirshaker
Sara Karam https://www.facebook.com/karam.sara
The project consists of printing out stickers “I <3 IMEWE” ; “ I <3 Internet “ all over Beirut such as the Gemmayze campaign and such.
6- Online Banners & Badges: Tarek Koleilat https://www.facebook.com/SoOlDiEr
The project consists of creating online Badges & Banners and finding websites that would post it.
7- Technical advisor: Georges Jaber (providing facts & statistics)
Georges Jaber will be supplying facts, numbers, drawings so we could populate the site.
8- Blogging: Shakeeb Al-Jabri https://www.facebook.com/LeShaque
Mohamad Chamas https://www.facebook.com/Mhamad.Cha
Claude Jabre https://www.facebook.com/seajay
Fadi Bizri https://www.facebook.com/fadibizri
The project consists of writing articles and stories about internet in Lebanon as well as making interviews etc.. with people on the street.
9- Reaching the Diaspora: Sara Karam https://www.facebook.com/karam.sara
Andrew Nasrallah https://www.facebook.com/andrew.na
The project consists of reaching out to the immigrants and asking them to call the government in Lebanon to ask them about internet and such. Creating pressure.
10- Stencils & Graffiti: Nobody Volunteered Yet
The project consists of drawing graffiti and stencils all over Beirut to advertise for the campaign.
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The meeting ended at 5:50 PM.