hegemony rules

One of my professors is working with public libraries across the country to create a day of panels, roundtables, art events, etc. that will promote civic engagement and deliberation around local community issues. These events are scheduled to happen on September 11, 2004, and David has asked for everyone's help in getting the word out. Here's his description of The September Project:

On December 18, 2001, by a vote of 407-0, Congress designated September 11th as Patriot Day. We believe the most patriotic gesture citizens can make on this day is to come together in public places like local libraries. Through talks, roundtables, deliberations, and performances, citizens will participate collectively and think creatively about our country, our government, our community, and encourage and support the well-informed voice of the American citizenry.

Public libraries provide all citizens open and free access to information. Almost all communities in the US have at least one library. There are over 16,000 public libraries in the US, and that's not including university libraries, K-12 libraries, and church libraries. In other words, libraries constitute an already existing national infrastructure. Moreover, 96% of all public libraries in the US are wired, partly due to the Gates Foundation's successful library initiative. Therefore, libraries also constitute a national and distributed media infrastructure.

The September Project has three goals:

1. to coordinate with all libraries -- public, university, research; local, national, global -- to foster multiple public spaces for citizens to come together and participate in events on September 11, 2004;

2. to work with all modes of media -- popular and alternative; streaming/digital media, radio, television, print -- in order to transform local conversations into national and international interactions;

3. to continue doing this annually and internationally on September 11th. The aim of The September Project is to create a day of engagement, a day of community, a day of democracy. Our goal is to foster a tradition for citizens around the world to recognize and give meaning to September 11th.

We invite you to visit our web site http://www.theseptemberproject.org and to get involved. Although our initial organizational strategies have been focused primarily on the US, our aim is international. Thank you for your time,

david silver
http://www.theseptemberproject.org

As Studs Terkel notes in a recent interview with Clamor Magazine, creating hope is all about the creation of dialogue: "...it’s a question of people just gathering and most of all thinking for themselves. People could call a meeting, about anything, peace, the environment, civil liberties, but it could be about stoplights, kid crossing the streets. It could be any issue that becomes a community issue."