Ithaca Update #4
Hello,
24 hours from now we'll be welcoming the first of you to arrive. Here's a
breakdown of the weekend beginning with that moment.
5-11pm Welcoming Center - At the Tompkins County Workers' Center, 115 The
Commons (Martin Luther King/State St). The WC is upstairs from Autumn
Leaves Used Books. There will be signs.
At 8:30, Shira Golding of Ithaca, NY and Captain Number One of Athens, GA
will be performing followed by open mic
We are asking everyone to bring some vegetables for the kitchen. There
will be cutting boards and knives at the welcoming center for you to prep
cut the veggies to save the Saturday kitchen folks some time.
We will have an orientation brochure with maps and local info and you can
get more information about your housing situation as well if need be.
We're asking for a $10.00 donation to help cover costs for the weekend.
Noone will be turned away for donating less than this and, of course,
noone will be turned away for lack of funds. Any money we get that goes
beyond our costs will go to support comrades entangled in the legal
system.
We'll be providing everyone with 6 meals and housing, plus space for events.
Saturday: NEAN Assembly Day One
8:30 - 9:45 Breakfast at the TC Workers' Center
10:00 - 11:30 Introduction
11:30 - 1pm Open Space
Open Space is a conference facilitation method being appropriated out of
the corporate world by social movements everywhere. Basically, we'll have
a board with locations and timeslots and whoever wants to will put topics
and questions for discussion into the locations and times. People will go
to what they feel passionate about. This is a networking, discussion and
think tank space not a decision making time for NEAN affairs. There will
be 3 time sessions, each a half hour long and 10+ available locations.
We are asking that folks consider using at least some of the Open Space
time as think tanks to clarify relevant info for agenda items and
brainstorm some possibilities for how to handle the problems that need
solving (see below for meeting agenda; a good example would be the desire
some have expressed for streamlining NEAN communications and quick
response decision making - these questions could be fleshed out and
solutions brainstormed during an open space session).
1 - 2pm Lunch at TC Workers' Center and outside in the sun (hopefully sun!)
2 - 6pm Meetings
2 - 2:30pm Reportback from IMF/World Bank actions
2:30 - 3pm Reportback from Jericho Movement 10th Anniversary March
3:05 - 5pm Discussion on needs to streamline NEAN communications,
questions re: our endorsements policy, and NEAN's abilities to do quick
response consensus of affiliates (please be sure to check out the note
about this in the section on Open Space above)
5:05 - 6pm BAAM proposes an all NEAN month or day of outreach in our
communities. Here's what they have to say:
We propose that NEAN groups organize bursts of anarchist outreach events
throughout the NE this coming October. These events will focus on
answering the following questions: how can anarchy and anarchist
organizing benefit the community and what do we have to offer each other.
Activities such as skillshares, panel discussions, games, really really
free markets, and entertainment with an emphasis placed on
community-specific needs and projects as well as the utilization of local
resources (speakers,
performers, presenters, etc) as opposed to outsourcing is suggested. The
course of events can span any amount of time, from one day to the entire
month. A brochure or calendar could connect activities spanning the NE.
Events should be welcoming and inviting to members of the extended
community
and not focused on or directed towards the Anarchist community.
7:00pm Dinner and a movie in TC Worker's Space. The film is being brought
by Syracuse folks and is footage from the recent Greek Uprisings.
After the movie: Games and fun followed by Campfire and Talent Show at
farm. Think of what you might want to do for the talent show...
Sunday: NEAN Assembly Day Two
8:30 - 9:45am Breakfast at TC Workers' Center
10:00 - 1:00 pm Meetings
10:00 - 11:30am POG presents
Sharing Experiences and Best Practices: Radical Publications
Several groups affiliated with the North East Anarchist Network (NEAN) are
publishers of radical newspapers, newsletters, zines or other
publications. These publications provide anarchist organizations an
opportunity to share their analysis on current events, publicize actions
and events, and report back on anarchist new items without being forced to
navigate the filter of the corporate media. Anarchist groups have also
effectively used publications as organizing tools, opportunities to
crystallize their analysis, and reach out to new audiences.
That said, publications of any sort are expensive and labor intensive and
circulation levels are often low. Audiences for these publications are
often limited to traditional radical communities. Critics of radical
publications have argued that they detract from other organizing efforts
and amount to ‘preaching to the choir.’
This session gives groups affiliated with NEAN an opportunity to present
on their experiences publishing anarchist literature, to explore some best
practices and common pitfalls, and to discuss opportunities for
collaboration. This is not a ‘skill-share’ on how to publish anarchist
literature or a theoretical discussion on the efficacy of anarchist
publications. It is a space for serious assessment of the real gains that
NEAN affiliated groups have made through their publications and an
opportunity to learn from and support other established projects happening
in our network.
11:35 - 1pm Boston Anarchist Black Cross brings discussion on
creating a Northeast ABC as defensive wing of NEAN
1:00 - 2:00pm Lunch at farm
2:00 - 7:00pm Workshops at farm, feel free to bring workshops or other
discussions to add to this, Open Space style.
2 - 3:30pm Session 1:
*Unconventional Natural Gas Drilling in the Marcellus Shale
*Herbal Medicine Q&A and Herb Walk
*Anti-Authoritarian Games: Using Adventure Course Teambuilding Games for
Exploring Anarchist Ideas
*A Discussion of the essay "The Coming Insurrection."
Read it here: http://linsqv.blogspot.com/
3:45 - 5:15pm Session 2:
*An Introduction to the Global Political and Economic Frameworks
This workshop provides a brief but relatively comprehensive introduction
to some of the major transnational economic, political, and military super
structures that the elites from powerful nation-states use to dominate the
globe. We take a look at the history and structure of international
financial institutions like the IMF World Bank Group, global political
structures like the United Nations, and transnational military alliances
like NATO. The workshop also introduces participants to the ideological
frameworks that fuel this brand of corporate globalization and some of the
debates that are taking place between the political elite.
*Hide Tanning
*Radical Sexuality
5:30 - 7pm Session 3:
*Working the Media (for Anarchists):
Want to learn how to use media effectively to complement a social justice
campaign? This workshop will cover the basics of doing media work/outreach
to complement strategic campaigns for social justice. Some of the things
we will cover include writing press releases, media wrangling,
relationship-building, creating media packets, the difference between
press conferences and action media work, the importance of role rotation
and other collective and radical philosophies that have worked for POG
over the years. We will use role-playing and discussion, and provide
helpful materials for participants to take back to their campaigns.
*Self Defense: Stance, how to throw a punch, hip rotation, etc. We'll
also have a discussion about self-defense as a revolutionary concept.
*Social Detox: Sexism divides our movements, and creates all sorts of
problems within organizations and social networks. The struggle to end
gender oppression can be a personal and internal process for everyone of
all genders. Men however, have been taught to behave and act in ways that
continue the cycle of sexism. It’s not just the Frat dudes. We all have
shit we need to work on. So, this is a space to begin that process.
7:00 pm Dinner
After Dinner: socialize and cavort!
Monday:
This day is open and can be a day of socializing, more open space, hiking
and swimming in the gorges and waterfalls, and more. We'll be asking folks
if they plan on being here for Monday as they arrive to flesh this day out
a bit more. We're sorry but meals will not be provided for Monday.
A Few More Things:
*Please clarify questions and proposals with regards to agenda items as
much as possible before the meetings occur
*Please remember the packing instructions Zeke sent out.
*Please bring some veggies
*Consider doing subregional (ie Upstate, New england, PA) and other
meetups during Lunch Saturday, or Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner Sunday
*Please plan ahead, take care of your needs and make best efforts to be
punctual to meetings and workshops.
Wow, that was a lot to type. We're very excited to see you. Safe travels.
~Ithaca
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