wfn.org | RCCongress 2010 Update #5 July 7 2009

[George Conklin <gconklin@igc.org>]

> Religion Communication Congress 2010
> April 7-10, 2010 | Chicago

> Issue: #5 July 7, 2009

> In This Issue
> Interfaith Youth to headline closing
> Online registration open
> Exhibit at RCCongress 2010
> Meet Tim Frakes, Workskop Leader
> Good Communications Practice Tips
> Save $25 Early Registration Discount

Register by January 15, 2010 for $25 off individual registration.

See the RCCongress 2010 Registration web page for more information.

> Early Registration Deadline: January 15, 2010
> Help spread the word

RCCongress 2010 will help prepare you for the next big thing. Writing
this in July of 2009, we may not even know the next technological
breakthrough or developing trend, but those who have been asked to
lead workshops and make presentations will sure to be on the cutting
edge of it. Be there and tell all your friends and colleagues.

The more who are there, the greater the Congress will be. We have
communities on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning and Flickr.
Join Our List
Join Our Mailing List
Interfaith Youth to headline closing program at RCCongress 2010

Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) will share with RCCongress 2010
participants a multi-voice, interfaith, spoken-word performance that
illuminates the religious experiences of young people in contemporary America.

IFYC builds mutual respect and pluralism among young people from
different religious traditions by empowering them to work together to
serve others.

Eboo Patel is the founder and Executive Director. He was recently
appointed by President Obama to the Advisory Council of the White
House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
Registration booklets in the mail;
Online registration open

Registration booklets have been mailed to communicators from mailing
lists compiled by the RCCongress 2010 planning committee.

If you do not receive one please go to the web site. All of the
registration information is online including PDF versions of the
booklet and registration form. Print the brochure to share with your
colleagues or forward this e-mail to them.

Help us spread the word about attending the  exciting and enriching
events of RCCongress 2010.

> Get extra mileage: exhibit at RCCongress 2010

> Early bird deadline September 1

The early registration deadline for exhibitors to participate in the
Resource Plaza is fast approaching: September 1, 2009. If you are
planning to exhibit at RCCongress 2010, have that staff discussion now.

Why exhibit in the Resource Plaza? Having a booth will let over 1,000
communicators from around the world know what you are doing-opening
the doors to new partnerships, networking and clients. You can sell
products directly from your booth (some paperwork required). It will
provide a great home base for meetings and connecting with new friends
and colleagues.

RCCongress 2010 will allow two exhibitors per booth into the workshops
and plenaries for free. No banquets or meals are included. Individual
banquet and meal tickets will be available for additional purchase.

Reserve by September 1 for best rates; final deadline is December 1.

Please forward this to any and all friends, business contacts or
associates who may be interested in exhibiting at the Congress. The
more exhibits the better. It increases the value of the Congress for
everyone and offers multiple learning and networking opportunities.

Tim Frakes: Chicago-based videoproducer on 'seminal moment'

> RCCongress 2010 Workshop Leader

Tim Frakes"This is a seminal moment in non-profit faithbased
communication," Tim told RCCongress 2010 recently. "Traditionally, the
doors of communication have had huge price tags on them - licensing
fees, buying air time. Now, with high speed Internet, posting video
and audio messages for free, it has completely changed the game and
how we can communicate to audiences directly. Now, the pastor, priest,
rabbi or imam can talk to people directly in homes, cars, cell phones."

Tim Frakes is a 25-year veteran of video production around the world
for faithbased and other clients, including a 15 year stint as
principal videographer for Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Tim's seminar at RCCongress 2010, "Video in a Web 2.0 World" (it may
need to be 3.0 by then) will be one way to keep up.

Tim said church leaders and communicators have been called upon to
completely rethink communication. A lot of church leaders are still
thinking in terms of 20th century model. Changes will only increase
and quicken. "Today with Facebook and Twitter and so on, you have
networked groups of people. What has changed is it is no longer us
talking to them, it is them talking to each other about common faith issues."

> Good Communications Practice Tips

> Don't get caught by false information

There is still no substitute for old fashioned research and fact
checking. Most of us rely on quick Google searches or Wikipedia peeks
as we write, compile, produce, compose, construct whatever media we
work in, even though we KNOW we shouldn't rely 100 percent on one source.

An AP story in May covered (with relish, no doubt) the story of a
young Irish student who hoaxed the world media with a fake quote. When
French composer Maurice Jarre died March 28, Shane Fitzgerald of
Dublin quickly posted a poetic but phony quote on Wikipedia and dozens
of journalists used it. Administrators at Wikipedia soon caught the
fabrication but not before a number of journalists cut and pasted it.

So before you sign off an article, ad or blog post, do one more check,
make one more phone call, proof it one more time.