C O M M U N I T A S
Miami Neighborhoods’ Digital Civic Engagement Project
Communitas is a Latin word that refers either to a creatively organized community
in which all people are equal or to the very spirit of that community.
Communitas is a multimedia and multiplatform “broadcast events” project that gives ordinary
Miami residents news that makes a real impact on their daily lives. Communitas is built around our
flagship radio show, Miami After Dark, which now plans to expand the frequency, quality and reach
of our unique news and information content to local cable TV, streaming video, social media,
interactive websites and mobile apps.
Communitas would like to expand our program content to include the stories of ordinary Miami
residents. We want to allow average Miami citizens to decide what they want to say to a broader
audience – opinions, diverse views, values, and so on. We’ll tell stories of brave business owners,
immigrants, volunteers and other unsung heroes of our community.
We plan to use inexpensive digital media – local cable TV, Youtube / Vimeo and social media to
broadcast new video content of a wide cross section of Miamians, stories seldom heard or seen on
traditional radio or commercial broadcast TV. All of our FREE media content is available to anyone
wishing to listen or watch online, on the air, or to download at your convenience.
Communitas is a new project created by a group of Miami neighbors who believe that the more
people see themselves and their neighbors on video screens, radio and on social media, the more
they will feel like they “belong” to their community. And the more they feel that they belong, the
more likely they are to contribute to their community by participatory activities that benefit
everyone: voting, volunteering and modeling these attitudes for their children and friends.
Communitas gives equal footing to many voices, not only political candidates, but also the
questions and opinions and experiences of ordinary citizens. Communitas exploits the power of
Internet radio, local access cable TV, Youtube, Vimeo and many other platforms to broadcast you
and your neighbors throughout South Florida. Communitas brings together candidates and citizens
at town hall meetings and other events, and then broadcasts live and recorded discussions and
debates to your laptop, mobile cellphone, pad or any other device.
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C O M M U N I T A S
Miami Neighborhoods’ Digital Civic Engagement Project
Communitas is the brain child of a diverse group of individuals, local scholars, husbands and
housewives, elderly residents, young people, snow birds and new migrants, talented musicians and
visual artists and techies who have joined together to tell their stories, and to motivate their fellow
Miamians to make a difference by VOTING, VOLUNTEERING and by an INTENTIONAL REVIVAL of our
shared historical, cultural and ethnic Miami neighborhoods.
Miami Communitas Local Broadcast and Internet Radio:
1. Miami After Dark Radio (Current Events, Culture
and Bipartisan Politic Debates) The Miami After Dark Radio
Show is a one-hour long format talk show focused on
current affairs related to urban living, entertainment and
civic discourse. Broadcast Location: 880 AM (Miami, FL)
Website/Show Archive: www.MiamiAfterDark.net
Miami After Dark is hosted by Bob Powers, an active
resident of Miami, having held key leadership positions with
a number of prestigious city-based organizations. A trusted
voice albeit loud voice in the City of Miami has earned Mr.
Powers many commendations such an appointment to
serve on various public service boards with the City of
Miami and Miami-Dade County.
Pictured above, Bob Powers, Host: Mr. Powers previously served as the chair of the Miami Bayside
Foundation where he reorganized the board and established a $1 million dollar endowed Minority
Students Scholarship Fund for the Business School of Miami Dade College and similar annually
endowed Minority Student Scholarship Funds for two hundred thousand dollars for Florida
International University and for two hundred dollars for Florida Memorial University, to assist
marginalized ethnic and gender minority students to attend and complete university courses.
Mr. Powers is a founding member and former vice president of operations for the MiMo Biscayne
Association, which represents the historic district along Biscayne Boulevard from NE 50 Street to NE
70 Street. He has served as a board member on the Bayfront Park Management Trust and Citizens
Transportation Advisory Board.
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2. Communitas Radio (A lively weekly forum of culture,
concerns and issues of all Miamians, including “Anglo”,
Latino, Creole, Jewish, LGBQT and African Americans
engage with local politics)
Miami After Dark and Communitas Radio executive
producer is Hector Roos. He is an avid proponent of the art
of good living and social media entrepreneur. Hector
founded his consulting firm Thor Media LLC with marketing
specialty
focused
on
strategic
consulting
(www.ThorMedia.us).
Pictured at left, Hector Roos, Executive Producer.
Listeners can have a chat with Hector on Twitter
@HectorinMiami
Communitas Interactive web site, Youtube Channel, Vimeo
and multilingual blogs:
1. Trade recipes, share holidays and festivals,
recollections of Miami ‘Through the Years’
2. Animated interactive Children’s Portal, “I live in
Miami”
3. Annual writing prizes for original “Fan Fiction” of
families and neighborhoods who built Miami
4. Miami’s Religious and Ethnic Landmarks Amateur
Photo Gallery (Communitas on Pin Interest, Tumblr and Instagram)
Rosa Palomino, Contributing Producer,
right.
The creative team behind Miami After Dark
and Communitas Radio is not complete
without Rosa Maria Palomino.
Rosa is an educator by day, media
personality and community advocate by
night. Let her experience as a world traveler
describe and paint the picture of what
Miami can and should be.
Radio listeners can have a chat with Rosy on
Twitter @RosaMPalomino.
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Miami Communitas Social Media, Youtube, Vimeo and Local Cable / PBS-TV:
International film curator, filmmaker and historian,
Dr. Mark Woods (Florida International University,
University of South Wales, Cardiff) will lead the
expansion of the Miami Communitas Social Media,
Youtube, Vimeo and PBS-TV project.
Pictured right, Dr. Mark Woods
The planned expansion of Communitas includes a
clever “transmedia” integration of purpose-built
blogs, social media pages and websites, online
videos, local broadcast and Internet radio and
exciting ‘town hall’ meetings and volunteer led
potluck dinners and business fairs combined with
original fan fiction, local ‘Hero’ life story
folksonomies and interviews help to forge a deeper
sense of community and shared destiny for all
Miamians and this leads to greater, more
meaningful civic engagement.
The outcome of this multifaceted project will be greater and more meaningful civic engagement,
support and understanding for the unique heritage and current needs of Miami’s diverse
neighborhoods, increased volunteerism and more motivated, informed voters in future elections.
Miami Communitas Social Media, Youtube, Vimeo and PBS-TV:
1. Miami Pioneers – Over 100 original interviews with 4 generations of ‘Heroic’ Miamians –
“The Extraordinary Life Stories of Ordinary People” (Produced for local municipal TV and
online social media (Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo).
2. Courageous Women of Cuba – The Untold Story of the Families of the 1965 Cuban Boatlift
(with support from FIU - Center for Cuban Studies and produced for PBS-TV, local municipal
TV and online social media (Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo).
3. Anne Robinson – the daughter of a Jewish and Roman Catholic family who changed the
history of Miami, one neighborhood at a time (Produced for local municipal TV and online
social media (Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo).
Communitas as a concept brand unites the constituent parts of the project, which seeks to bridge
between user-created narratives about life in Miami in the past, and today. Communitas creates a
platform for otherwise “marginalized” voices across a variety of media used by all ages, races and
economic groups. Communitas focuses on local issues and the needs of local people in Miami.
Communitas is a unique community media project designed to create, nurture and maintain longterm civic engagement by the citizens of Miami, Florida. Communitas is a low-cost, sustainable and
self-perpetuating transmedia and multiplatform project that consciously employs local Miami
talent and neighborhood expertise across a wide range of languages, ethnicities and age groups.
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C O M M U N I T A S
Miami Neighborhoods’ Digital Civic Engagement Project
With year-round, live-streaming on the worldwide web of Miami Communitas events sponsored
by Communitas and held at local Miami museums, universities, high schools, and community
centers along with our annual non-partisan Your Vote Matters campaigns and neighborhood
‘Meet Your Candidates’ pot-luck dinners and Online / Call-In Question Time.
A sample of our past shows can be listened to FREE of charge here:
Miami After Dark – Episode Guide / Online Archives
Ep 1 – Primary Election Voter Guide with Grace Solares and Charles Corda - 8/14/14
Ep 2 - City of Miami District 5 Talk with Jacqui Colyer, Schiller Jerome and Ronald St. Pierre 8/21/14
Ep 3 - Miami Then and Now A Look At City Development with Grant Stern, Andrew Frey and Rosa
Palomino - 8/28/14
Ep 4 - City of Miami Police Budget with Al Crespo - 9/4/14
Ep 5 - A Miami Budget Talk with Al Crespo and Peter Ehrlich - 9/11/14
Ep 5 - Overdrive: Solutions to Miami Budget - 9/11/14
Ep 6 - City Manager Danny Alfonso - 9/18/14
Ep 6 - Overdrive: City Manager Danny Alfonso - 9/18/14
Ep 7 - Grace Solares and Dr. Greg Bush of the Urban Environment League - 9/25/14
Ep 8 - Amendment 2 Talk with Steve Berke and Billy Corben - 10/2/14
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Ep 9 - #ElectionFL: Billy Corben, Bill Wohlsifer and Will Abberger - 10/9/14
Ep 10 - Eddy Gonzalez for Property Appraiser - 10/16/14
Ep 11 - Miami Park Closures and Election Review - 10/23/14
Ep 12 - Election Re-Cap: Amendments and Questions - 10/30/14
Ep 13 - The Future of Obamacare Part 1 with Attorney William von Sydow - 11/6/14
Ep 14 - Miami Art Basel 2014 - 11/13/14
Ep 15 - Miami Historic Preservation - 11/20/14
Ep 16 - The Holiday Episode with Mayor Tomas Regalado and More - 11/27/14
Ep 17 - Jean Sfez of UrbanEco & Carlos Garcia of Roll Back Tolls - 12/4/15
Ep 18 - Dr. Robert Malone and Civil Rights Atty Michael Joseph - 12/11/14
Ep 19 - Human Rights Activist John Suarez on US-Cuba Relations - 12/18/14
Ep 20 - Talking Miami in the New Year 2015 - 12/31/14
Ep 21 - Miami Urban Neighborhoods and Less Parking - 1/8/15
Ep 22 - Miami and Cuba News with Billy Corben - 1/15/15
Ep 23 - Open Gov & Civic Tech Consultant Sarah Schacht - 1/22/15
Ep 24 - Plan Z for Miami with Bernard Zyscovich and others - 1/29/15
Ep 25 - Miami Women in Politics with League of Women Voters - 2/5/15
Ep 26 - Miami's $90 Million CRA Grant to World Center with Frank Schnidman
Ep 27 - Save the Coconut Grove Playhouse and Miami's Historic Preservation Movement
Ep 28 - Miami CRA w/ Prof. Frank Schnidman and Brad Knoefler
Ep 29 - The Underline: Miami's First Linear Park with Meg Daly and Ralph Rosado
Ep 30 - Is Miami-Dade County #ReadyforRaquel with Raquel Regalado
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