OPENING PLENARY
Registration Opens
Stop by the registration table at WHYY to check in, pick up your name tag, and grab your program guide. PhillyCAM will be there to answer questions, help you navigate the schedule, and get you oriented for the day. Whether you pre-registered or are signing up on-site, this is your first stop to access all that the conference has to offer—panels, workshops, MakerSpace, and more.
9:30 AM @ WHYY
Speaking Truth, Building Power
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM @ WHYY
This facilitated conversation will connect the dots of this political moment and discuss the impact the attacks on free speech are having for journalists, content creators and the public. Free speech isn’t reserved for certain viewpoints meant to protect only the rich and powerful. With free speech and press freedom in danger across the country, it’s more urgent than ever to understand what’s at stake—and what we can do about it.
This panel explores the essential role of public access, community media, and independent platforms in safeguarding local information and uplifting community voices. We will discuss strategies and share examples of how public, community media, independent media support free speech by providing local information, community voices and tools for defense and resistance.
We will look at the importance of being media literate around media ownership and how to envision a media future that protects everyone’s freedom and promotes free expression. Our panel of journalists, media-makers, and community leaders invite you to imagine—and activate—a more just and democratic media future.
PANELISTS
Vanessa Maria Graber
FREE PRESS, Journalism and Media Education Director @newsjawn
Cherri Gregg
WHYY, “STUDIO 2” Co-host; Civil Right Journalist
Michael Coard
WURD Radio Host; Attorney; Phillycam Member
Jasmine White
Alliance for Community Media, Board Chair
LUNCH
12PM
LUNCH 12PM
Makerspace
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
@ PhillyCAM Community Room
Step into the MakerSpace—an interactive zone at the heart of PPMF 2025 where creativity meets community. Drop in to get hands-on with DIY electronics, test out media-making tools, and explore how tech, storytelling, and self-expression come together. Record your own story, make a zine, connect with local resource tables, and try out audio and video equipment in a low-pressure, collaborative environment.
The MakerSpace is a place to experiment, create, and use your hands to build something real.
Soapbox Letter Pressing | @ PhillyCAM MakerSpace | 12:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Come and create your very own unique hand printed posters with The Soapbox Community Print Shop! Join us for an exciting activity where you'll have the opportunity to work with a traditional letterpress technique, using a Provisional press. Under the guidance of our skilled instructor, you'll learn the art of letterpress printing and create your own print with a design set by our instructor. Each participant will leave with a one-of-a-kind poster to take home and display. Don't miss this chance to explore your creativity in a welcoming community setting!
BuildABridge Songwriting Workshop | @ PhillyCAM MakerSpace | 1:45 PM - 3:15 PM
Join BuildaBridge Teaching Artists Lizzy de Lise & Tony Flagiello for a music-led exploration into writing, singing, looping and communal performance. While BuildaBridge is best known for using art-making as a tool for healing and hope-raising for youth experiencing adverse conditions, this workshop is an opportunity to experience BuildaBridge's approach to wellbeing through art-making on your own terms.
Beyond the Bars Open Jam 1200 PM - 130 PM
Join Beyond the Bars in our Second Floor Studio for an Open Jam where folks are encouraged to join in on a continuous jam led and maintained by Beyond the Bars teaching artists. Come play our synths, maracas, guitars, and more within a collaborative sonic art creation space. Grab some percussion instruments and shake ‘em! Find some strings and strum ‘em! Hop in front of a mic and unleash your speech!
Data Blocking with Iffy Books | @ PhillyCAM MakerSpace | 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Charging your phone in a public place can be stressful. What if someone is collecting your metadata for marketing purposes? What if they’re copying your files or installing malware? A USB data blocker can help! It’s a little adapter with the data terminals left disconnected, so you can charge your phone anywhere without fear. This is a relatively quick soldering project, perfect for total beginners looking for a useful craft. We’ll have soldering irons and supplies to share.
MakerSpace FM Radio Workshop | @ PhillyCAM MakerSpace | 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Our beginner friendly workshop will teach attendees how to build a small FM radio transmitter while (hopefully) breaking the assumption that you need an engineering degree to start building your own electronics. In addition to teaching technical skills, we will be offering a brief political context of radical radio organizing, past and present, and how people can start to think about building their own communication networks to keep themselves and their neighbors safe. Understanding radio is a great first step in demystifying networked communication.
This workshop can accommodate 5-10 participants and requires them to commit to the full hour-and-a-half time block in order to see it to completion.
FEATURING
BLock 1
1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
Framing the Story
Facilitated by StoryCorps, this dynamic panel explores how narrative choices in media either reinforce harmful stereotypes or create pathways for understanding. The goal is to connect responsible storytelling to the broader free speech conversation for everyday Philadelphians, including content creators and media makers.
@PhillyCAM Main Studio
Dreaming, Media, and Liberation
In partnership with Philadelphia Youth Media Collaborative (PYMC) and Philadelphia Student Union (PSU), this workshop guides participants through rotating writing prompts, and an ongoing community zine activity, to explore freedom dreaming — a practice of imagining beyond the present, rooted in the wisdom of thinkers like Octavia Butler and Robin D.G. Kelley. By creating space for youth voices and collective storytelling, this workshop uplifts media-making as both a creative act and a tool of liberation.
@Independence Free Library
Kelvin Phillips
Chris Norris
BLock 2
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Radical Learnings from Kiyoshi Kuromiya
A media presentation and discussion about the life and activist media work of Kiyoshi Kuromiya, a pioneer of freedom of speech on the internet, who focused on the spread of information about HIV/AIDS.
Panelists: Keith Brand, Glen Holsten, Rex Yin
@PhillyCAM Main Studio
Bridging Blocks Censorship, A Global Issue
WHYY’s Bridging Blocks brings their model for fostering civil dialogue and understanding between diverse communities. This is an interactive session to learn how to share space with people from different backgrounds without feeling judged. No code-switching necessary.
Facilitated by: Brisa Luzzi Castro and Tony Cuffie
@Independence Free Library
Tony Cuffie
Brisa Luzzi Castro
Rex Yin
Keith Brand
BLock 3
3:45 PM - 5:00 PM
Free Speech in Action
@PhillyCAM Main Studio
A discussion on navigating censorship, surveillance, and political repression through innovative storytelling and production techniques. Projects include Trans Academy, an online space for trans-identifying people and their allies; Madre Tierra Philly, a multiplatform media for the Latinx community; and Albustan News, covering Philadelphia’s Southwest Asian and North African Communities (SWANA).
FEATURING
Nisa Qazi
Al-Bustan News
Kayla Locks
TransAcademy
Arianne Bracho
Madre Tierra
gabe castro
Moderator