WAM! Report...

WAM! 2008 ended today, and it's late but I just wanted to say what an amazing experience it was. I was completely unprepared for just how incredible the conference was going to be. It was just mind blowing to see so many people- over 600 of us- so excited about activism and looking to learn from each other. I'll have a more detailed discussion of the particular sessions I attended after I've gotten some sleep, but can I just say how incredible it was to hear Helen Thomas and Haifa Zangana speak? Thomas is legendary, and it was really good to get a chance to hear her talk about the shift in the ways that the media deal with presidents, especially given how many presidents she's covered. And Zangana? I couldn't stop taking notes on the things she was talking about, and about how much life in Iraq has changed since the "liberation". She's a powerful speaker, and her descriptions and comments really highlighted the biased presentation of the situation in Iraq, and how the voices of women who are living in Iraq are being ignored and silenced by this administration. I'm going to look, but I'm pretty sure that her speech was recorded.

There were just so many great things happening, and so much energy at the conference. I met a number of fellow Michiganders, including Nadia Ann Abou-Karr, from the Allied Media Conference. I've heard nothing but great things about AMC, and I was really sorry to have missed it last year. It's very exciting to have such an important conference right in my own backyard, on the campus of Wayne State. So, just to get the word out, now- the conference is June 20-22. So, mark your calendars, people.

And, of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't say at least something about my own session. It went really, really well. Naomi put together an amazing Power Point presentation for us. Anyway, it was great. The turnout was great, and it was a nice mix of people who knew a lot about gaming, and people who knew almost nothing but were interested or knew people who are really into gaming, and wanted to know about the discussion. We actually stayed a half hour past our end-time answering questions and talking to people about our session.

Anyway, I'm exhausted, and it's late. I'll have a more thorough and less rambling post later.