Alive in Baghdad Presentation / Q&A November 5, 2006

Brian Conley, Steve Wyshywaniuk and Steve Lieberman of the Alive in Baghdad videoblog are in town for the Vloggies. Tonight they'll present their project which is devoted to empowering Iraqi citizen journalists to share their stories with the world in personal, candid and non-bureaucratic ways. They'll give the background on how this project came to be, how Iraqis are empowered to contribute and show several videos from the project. They'll unveil their new expanded Alive in... project. Q&A will follow.

We'll have some light snacks and drinks. Bring stuff to share if you're feeling inclined.
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Alive in Baghdad was formed to counter the sound-bite driven, ‘Live From’ news model. Through the work of a team of Americans and Iraqi correspondents on the ground, Alive in Baghdad shows the occupation through the voices of Iraqis. Alive in Baghdad brings testimonies from individual Iraqis, footage of daily life in Iraq, and short news segments from Iraq to you.

In 2005 Brian Conley travelled to the Middle East for two months and spent three weeks in Baghdad. After a year of preparation for the trip, learning Arabic, and studying the history and culture of Iraq, he went to Baghdad to meet Iraqis. Initially Alive in Baghdad chronicled the voices of Iraqis, in order to provide a more intimate picture of Iraqi life.

After a second trip to the Middle East this summer, Alive in Baghdad provided video cameras, microphones, tapestock, and training to Iraqis living in Baghdad. Now these Iraqis are producing a weekly videoblog from Baghdad, on topics ranging from protecting their families from death squads, to what it is like to be an Iraqi Police officer. These Iraqis are Omar Abdullah and Isam Rasheed working full-time, Qasem Al-Dulaimi producing some video and a regular text blog, as well as a number of other Iraqis collaborating on a currently ad-hoc basis.

Steve Wyshywaniuk is a recent graduate from Philadelphia's Temple University with a bachelors degree in Film and Video Arts. He got involved with the Alive in Baghdad project last January when he met Brian Conley at the yearly National Conference for Organized Resistance, he has since helped out with editing videos and organizing the archive.

Stephen Lieberman went to Simon's Rock College with Brian, graduated in 2003 and started an ecommerce business. He is currently studying civil liberties, international law and US military policy at the University of Connecticut. He also runs a small recording studio part-time in Hartford and is working on his pilot's license. He is the Chief Operating Officer for Small World News under Mr. Conley.

Official Website: http://aliveinbaghdad.org