Detroit is what the rest of the world has to look forward to. This panel will explain why there's hope in that statement, when you consider the growing community of citizen journalists, culture producers, technologists and small-business owners who are building a media-based economy at the city's grassroots. Neighborhoods are building mesh wireless networks to expand Internet access through community-owned infrastructure. Hackers teach residents how to build computers from salvaged parts and run them with open source software. Musicians use online distribution to reach global audiences, and party promoters give young people a reason to stay in Detroit. Detroit's emerging media economy is nurtured by its legacy of independent music and culture; by the culture of engineering, building and fixing instilled by our experience with the auto industry; and by the creativity and cooperation that comes out of necessity. For the past four years, the annual Allied Media Conference has helped foster Detroit's media economy, convening thousands of media-makers, activists, artists and technologists in Detroit every summer for a weekend of skill-sharing and strategizing. This panel will offer insights from AMC organizers, and other leading innovators in Detroit's creative culture of art and technology. We invite discussion about what the rest of the world can learn from Detroit and vice versa.
