Local empowerment is the most important movement in the world today, since it involves local application of global concepts. Political, social and media strategies force us to see the perspectives in contemporary creation using these definitions. The purpose of this presentation is to publicise work from Latin America which operates on these three levels. We can thus analyse and consider strategies for having populations work together that are normally isolated from each other (groups from different continents, for example). How can they be grouped together? What for? To what extent is language important? Is it more important than the mass media? These will be the subjects of this public debate.

JOSE CARLOS MARIATEGUI (LIMA, 1975)

Scientist and media theoretician. Chairman of Alta Tecnología Andina (ATA), an ONG involved with development and research in arts, science and technology. Resident at the CICV in France. Member of the Philosophy and Scientific Thought programme at Universidad Cayetano Heredia. Since 1998, general coordinator of the Festival Internacional de Video/Arte/Electrónica in Lima, Peru. Member of various committees on virtual reality, interaction, computers and artificial life. Member of the Cultural Diversity Committee of the Inter-Sociedad de Artes Electrónicas (ISEA), the International Programming Committee (IPC) of Isea 2002, Nagoya,
Japan and the Official Jury of the 13th Videobrasil (Sao Paulo, 2001). Corresponding Editor of Leonardo Electronic Almanac, published by Leonardo magazine and MIT Press (2002). Member of the National Cultural Committee, a high level committee answerable to the Office of the President of the Republic of Peru (2002). He has participated at various conferences and published a number of papers in Peru and abroad.