To commemorate the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, The Flood and aftermath that continues to plague The Greater New Orleans Area, local citizen journalists will host the first Rising Tide Convention on the weekend of August 25-27, 2006.
Our mission is as follows:
… a gathering for all who wish to learn more and do more to assist New Orleans’ recovery from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (and Rita). We will come together to dispel myths, promote facts, share personal testimonies, highlight progress and regress, discuss recovery ideas, and promote sound policies at all levels. We aim to be a “real life” demonstration of internet activism as the nation prepares to mark the one year anniversary of a massive natural disaster followed by governmental failures on a similar scale.
While momentum gathers and plans are put into action, please visit the Rising Tide wiki to learn more about our issues and to contribute ideas. If you are a New Orleans blogger (you don’t have to live in New Orleans to be one), please add your name, blog URL, location and email address to the existing list.
Note that one does not have to be a blogger to attend the conference or participate in its setup. In fact, we encourage anyone who cares about New Orleans and the surrounding area – media, artists, filmmakers, musicians, teachers, activists, tour guides, community associations, residents, former residents, visitors – to take part in this grassroots effort. If you are such a person, please add your name and contact information to this list.
We are looking for sponsors and advertising outlets – any help of this kind is greatly appreciated.
This is a true community effort, not about one person, group or medium. Already, we’ve managed to pull physical, intellectual and technological resources from seemingly disparate sources because everyone involved has one goal in mind – that which helps advance the cause of New Orleans. Be a part of it!
For a reading list, I’d recommend Jed Horne’s recently released “Breach of Faith.” I’m about halfway through it and it’s riveting.