LaTele - Catalonia, Spain

Description

Magnus Lawrie:

"In Catalonia, LaTele is a third-sector organisation of ’L’Assemblea per la Communicaci Social’ (ACS). ACS was established in 2003 with ”...the aim of creating television of social movements and to criticize and transform the dominant model of communication”. LaTele, self-described as ”the free television and television community of social movements of Barcelona” (LaTele 2011), broadcasts online and - since April 2011 - on TDT channel 37, to Barcelona and nearby. The emergence of this citizen television and campaign to ’occupy the waves’ is ”...creating channels of horizontal communication, collectively owned and managed by the organisations, groups and individuals involved in social criticism and transformation” (LaTele 2011), from which ’programming intiatives’ emerge.

From its position in the third-sector, ACS seeks changes in legislation relating to non-profit media:

”The current system of broadcasting only leaves space for public media controlled by political parties, media and private business controlled by a few business groups. We want to debate this model and participate in defining a new framework that leaves space for collective forms of communication and community, where citizenship is not just passive audience or consumer...” (LaTele 2011)" (http://ditch.org.uk/download/forms_and_modes_free_software_society.pdf)