OCI NOVOSTI is about to kick off as a Cultural Fusion Group [1] project led by the instructor and students of NGO Art Studio [2] in the Republic of Macedonia.

The project is beginning with a small print magazine to be distributed locally in Skopje. It will focus on the community and art scene through the eyes of artists working and studying there.

Fouad developed the concept as:

Television for Humanity [TV-4-Humanity] is a global humanitarian development initiative to establish a freely accessible new media based IPTV infrstructure based Channels deployed on Free & Open Source Software. We are sending out an appeal globally to support the establishment of this IPTV.

Everyday thousands of development community groups and organizations face the hardship of raising their voices globally. The channel will never charge for humanitarian development television material.

It stands as a wonderful example of Fouad's insight about how ICT [2] can be the bridge between projects, ideas, and communities around the globe.

When TV4Humanity launches this will be one of the first collaborations to create humanitarian content through the eyes of artistic communities. Oci Novosti means Eyes News in Macedonian.

The project serves multiple purposes, most obviously it informs and involves the community in the arts...

It gives voice to the previously voiceless...it involves the community in early phase projects addressing reforms based on transperency, integrity, reliable monitoring systems that support accountability of officials... it illuminates the community through new eyes for the global network when FOSS [2] can be leveraged to deliver ICT solutions for innovative projects such as those connected to Cultural Fusion [3].

The project can easily be replicated in other communites and again ICT/FOSS supported projects offer the ideal opportunity for distribution and collaboration planning/development.

Cultural Fusion promotes community renewal through art/creative expression that is aligned with sustainable enterprises. Each project is designed to be a pilot or demonstration project as part of the art series, while the final results are replicable community renewal and economic development models that integrate technology solutions to create virtual support networks.