China-Jamaica correspondence
From Cyberlaw
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Nesson here
Harvard Law School professor and cyberlaw and evidence expert Charles Nesson spoke with the Digital Media in Asia Project on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2006 at Harvard Law School. Professor Nesson led a discussion on how the internet, weblogs, and the media/entertainment/sports industries can be utilized to create international bridges between cultures, with focus on China and Jamaica. Among other possible initiatives he described a strategy of using a combination of football and music to promote connection.
When visiting Beijing last summer Professor Nesson met Jeremy Goldkorn and, watched the documentary that he and his partner had made, telling the story of an amateur football team comprised of African men who had come to Beijing to study and work and found connection playing football, AFRIKA UNITED.
In Jamaica in October for a Berkman Center CyberStrategy conference, Professor Nesson proposed inviting AFRIKA UNITED to come to Jamaica on a goodwill tour mixing, football, music and community development in venues around the island, with bloggers along from Bokee, telling the stories of the trip and generating media for a global Chinese and Jamaican audience. Here's audio describing and catching some of the excitement in the idea.
Xiao Wei Chen
Dear Professor Nesson,
One interesting aspect of your talk was the idea to produce Jamaican music and market it to the Chinese audience. I find that idea very challenging and interesting. Several issues came into mind from my experiences and knowledge.
1) Culturally, the Chinese are less open to new things than in the West. Musically, the Chinese listen primarily to Chinese artists, with some Korean and Japanese acts emerging in popularity among the youth. There is however, a mystical appeal for American culture among the youth. (I distinctly remember Britney Spears, Michael Jordan, and McDonald's as the most popular buzzwords) How will we market this completely new style of music to the Chinese people?
- With a film story that features a chinese jamaican heroine.
2) If the music becomes popular, how do we protect our intellectual property? From my experience working on the DMIA project, popular intellectual property is widely stolen in China and Hong Kong. There are, however, new distribution methods, like via cell phone, that have been fairly well insulated from piracy.
- we profit on opening the cultural connection from which many good things flow
If you have time, I'd love to sit down and talk to you about possible actions we can take. Please let me know what you think.
Sincerely,
Xiao Wei Chen
Rick Widmer
Good Morning Professor Nesson,
Rick Widmer here. Writing late on a Sunday/Monday morn.
THANK YOU FOR INVIITING ME TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CHINA-JAMAICA FOOTBALL PROJECT.
I continue to hunt around your eon page and wiki. Feel a bit like I am learning a foreign language.
I've read about Kevin, SET, Jah Cure, Wayne, JamaicaExpress...it all seems to be very interconnected. I like the positive energy, socially meaningful and creative aspects of the various projects. (Jamaica Express not-for-profit oral history of Kingston elders also sounds very special!)
How should I continue a dialogue with you about this C-J Football project. Comments on your eon page? Question-tool on wiki? Email or phone?
When do I get to meet Jah Cure?
Warmly,
Rick
- Rick Widmer writes again,
Thank you for meeting with me. My editing project has concluded and I have recently enjoyed a few days at home with my 2+ month son.
Today is the 23rd. Any info on the MOU front?
- The MOU was signed and celebrated.
Here are my ideas and questions for the next phase of this project:
1. I would like to view the Beijing football documentary that inspired you.
Can you link me to this?
- Jeremy Goldkorn is the link.
2. I would like to begin a conversation with Kevin Wallen and Jah Cure about the JAMAICA-CHINA FOOTBALL FRIENDLY project's goals and realities. Face to face? Online?
- every way you can
3. This is the place to collect our ideas?
http://hcs.harvard.edu/~cyberlaw/wiki/index.php/Connecting_Jamaica-China
- yes, make it your own, and come up to it through the rest of the wiki
4. Do we all want to do this event this year?
- sooner than that
5. Do we have explicit DCS support?
- let us put in a request for everything we need from DCS within a week
6. Mission Statement, Schedule, Participants, Budget?
7. Other ideas?
:<)
I am inspired by what I read of the work of SET. I am honored to participate in this project.
Warmly,
Rick Widmer
lakefilm
rick widmer
21 prospect hill avenue, #1
somerville, ma 02143
(617) 290 5404
Heart and Brain
Before we talk about everything, we need the facts, which would attract people, and which would clear people's mind.
China is the abbreviation of The People's Republic of China, established in October 1st, 1949. There are twenty-three provinces, five autonomous regions and four municipalities. The founding father is Mao Zedong, and current President, Chairman of Communist Party and the head of the Central Military Committee is Hu Jintao.
Jamaica, with the population of 2.7 million, was independent in 1962. Governor General Sir Howard Felix Cooke is the head of the executive branch, working in Kingston, capital of Jamaica. Its official language is English, global language in the current world.
One of the positive impacts of the event would further encourage more Jamaicans and Chinese to get to know each other more about the country, the people, and the similarity and the difference. Everyone is curious about the other side of the world and would very much "probe" what would be like in the other country. The event of art exhibition would just open a window to those curious people of each country so as to allow a slice of light shining through. The next step from my analysis would be the business groups visiting the other country in order to increase the bilateral trade partnership.
Learning each other to create a win-win situation by interaction between the countries, Jamaica would perhaps find a more realistic and practical way of booming its economy and China would expand its economic scope deep to the Caribbean countries. By exploring of the Internet, I learn more about cultural indifference, which is from culture to economy, from people to environment. It was really fun to see how the two countries would build their relationship in the way which bring the Chinese soccer team to play in Jamaica or vice versa, or bring the Jamaican musical artist to China or otherwise, as Professor Nesson said in his talk. It has started this century, and with hope lasts forever in terms of interaction between two countries.
Interaction between two developing countries with different cultures to improve correlations in the field of diplomacy, business, and culture. Jamaica is China’s largest trading partner in the English-speaking Caribbean with trade reaching the level of US$400M in 2004. Jamaica has recognized China’s full market economy status, which has paved the way for further development of bilateral trade.
Embassy of Jamaica, Beijing -- Bilateral Relations
Jamaica approved for destination status from China
Jamaica Woos Shanghai
Coffee Mill Opens in China
China Helps Jamaica Build Sports Complex
Jeremy Goldkorn
I am very interested in the project, and would have to help to organize things on the Beijing side.
Three things that I can do:
- With Luke Mines, who shot and cut African Boots, we could start filming the team in Beijing so that there is plenty of Beijing footage which is necessary to tell the story of Afrika United. Luke is an excellent cinematic story teller, knows the team well and should definitely be a part of this.
- Help write and produce film, web video etc. about the event.
- Coordinate the event with Afrika United.
I have CC'd Luke Mines and Sam, the team's manager on this email.
Anyhow, what is the next step?
Cheers,
Jeremy
Kevin Wallen - Charles Nesson - Rick Widmer
Instant Messaging between Kevin Wallen and Charles Nesson 3/24/06 relating to Jah Cure as SET Director of Sports and Culture
Kevin Wallen says: i think we try and spend as much time with him as possible in his capicity as director of sports and culture. we need to have him complete some task before he gets out
charley says: what task
Kevin Wallen says: perhaps a soccer match or a variety show of wome sort
charley says: would he work with a group up here to put together a visit to jamaica by afrika united and a chinese team to play amateur football with jamaican teams including one from gp, mix music and football
Kevin Wallen says:
yes
charley says: mix jamaica and china and africa
Kevin Wallen says: yes, however we need to do something that can materalize in the next month or two
charley says: let's do it
Kevin Wallen says: let's do it!
Nesson here:
Suppose we invite Afrika United to send its all stars to play six-man, and organize tourney in jamaica that include six-man competition with teams from all different constituencies in law enforcement, the Afrika United six-man team to be accompanied by a Chinese band, so that we play football and music together. Suppose we connect this effort with Eric Priest's work with DMX so that we use it to open a chinese market to jamaican music and a jamaican and diaspora market to contemporary Chinese music, the promotions joined.
Eric Priest
Absolutely interesting developments--I'm thrilled that this is snowballing after your presentation to our group. I saw the article Heart and Brain linked to about the art exhibition at the Jamaican embassy in Beijing. I think that would be a great idea to get the embassy involved. They would have every incentive to help with the event and would have the necessary political clout to push it forward. I think the event would draw interest from the Chinese media and would play quite well here.
By the way, would you think about including a couple of bands? I know at least one Chinese band that is really good and would probably love to do it (and would also love the exposure). Anything I can do to help you while I'm here?
One other thought--would you be interested in having a small group of Chinese footballers, perhaps from Afrika United's league, go along as well, and participate in a round robin? Just considering ways to increase local interest here...Perhaps you could make this a part of the "Destination Jamaica" campaign. Seems the timing couldn't be better:
-Eric
nesson here: Great suggestions. i love the ideas.
Sam Hwang
I think the goals of the Jamaica-China project are ambitious yet attainable. I agree with Professor Nesson wholeheartedly that creating a relationship between two developing countries by way of a common activity such as football or music could be a novel method to develop other types of relationships between the two countries.
As far as the idea of sharing football and music between China and Jamaica one idea I had was to try to set up a live video conferencing. Perhaps students from a Chinese university class can video conference with a Harvard Law School class and discuss music, football, and whatever else they find interests them. I think that travelling to each others countries is a great idea but this video conferencing is something we can do fairly cheaply that could be a very effective tool to start doing some of the things that Professor Nesson has in mind. I would love to set this up. What do people think?
nesson here: good idea. definitely doable. particularly interesting if it stays project focused.
Eric Priest
Had a great meeting last night with Jeremy et al. I've been going nonstop since then (and still am) but the upshot of the meeting is everyone's on board and excited about it. But we all think to make this work, and to garner attention in China, the involvement of the Jamaican embassy here is the key; it will be a real challenge to do otherwise. All agreed having Chinese soccer players and musicians involved would be key to prime Chinese interest.
So, in essence, the troops are marshaled, and now are just waiting for the high command to get involved and say the word.
-Eric
