Grassroots Gathering 5

national | miscellaneous | news report Tuesday June 10, 2003 14:55 by GGfan

*** Dublin, June 27th - 29th ***

The fifth Grassroots Gathering will be held in Dublin city centre (location to be announced shortly) from the evening of Friday 27 June to the afternoon of Sunday 29 June. The event brings toge the non-hierarchical activists and groups involved in the global movement against neo- liberalism and war for a weekend of workshops, socials, debates and fun geared towards building and developing the movement in Ireland.

A key theme for this gathering is developing diversity within the movement, and opening the Gathering to movements and sectors which have not yet become involved.

The Grassroots Gathering is a bottom-up (grassroots, participatory, anti-authoritarian) network based on the principle that people should control their own lives and work together as equals, as part of how we work as well as what we are working towards. It has been meeting for the last two years in Dublin, Cork, Belfast and Limerick and has also given birth to the Grassroots Network Against War, pioneering mass non-violent direct action against the US military use of Shannon.

Grassroots Gathering Five
- draft agenda -

What this fifth Gathering is for:
· Create a bridge for non-hierarchical & direct action activism between the mobilisations against the war on Iraq in the spring and the mobilisations against the World Economic Forum in the autumn
· Encourage networking between different movements, with workshops that encourage people to mix between different movements, rather than primarily "issue-" based themes (we're basically keeping these till the Sunday morning for this reason)
· Develop diversity within the movement by inviting participants from different movements, particularly inviting named people to give 5-minute intros to each individual workshop

Practical points:

· Intros are 5-minute (only!) speakers kicking off the discussion (they can participate all they want later...)
· We plan to have ferocious facilitators and a highly authoritarian timekeeper!
· The blurbs, workshop titles and categories (networking, action, discussion) are indicative only: someone asked if I could do up something a bit longer so they could be clear with potential intro speakers about what the session's about.

*** NB this is a draft timetable only! ***

Friday afternoon / evening
----------------------------
6 pm - Welcomes, sorting out floor space for visitors, organising practicalities for team

7 pm - Introductions:
· What is the Grassroots Gathering?
· Groups introduce themselves

8 pm - Seisiun (ending fairly early, in time for buses)

Saturday morning
-------------------
10 am - Welcomes and opening circle: "who are we and why are we here?"

11 am - Coffee!

11.30 - FIRST WORKSHOPS SESSION

* Networking between movements: how are we doing?
(networking workshop)

Over the last few years there's been an explosion in networking between social movements in Ireland and globally. A lot of this has been part of the development of the global anti-capitalist movement, and more recently the anti-war movement, but similar networks have been developing on an Irish or local level around issues like community control of development, waste management issues or supporting volunteering. This workshop starts from what's happened in different movement "sectors" and why, and will hopefully discuss what works and what doesn't, and help us think about where the process is going and what we want to do to help.

* Opposing the war: what next for the Grassroots Network Against War?
(networking workshop)

The GNAW developed out of the third Grassroots Gathering in Belfast as a radical forum for non-hierarchical opposition to war. Despite many difficulties, the GNAW put the issue of large-scale direct action on the public agenda in Ireland, perhaps for the first timesince Carnsore Point. This workshop will be organised by GNAW to discuss the current situation and future directions for the network.

- Intro. presentations to be decided by GNAW

* Putting the roots into grassroots - building links between community groups and other movements (action / skills workshop)

Along with trade unions, community activism is probably the single biggest social movement in Ireland, and one which shares a lot of values (bottom-up organising, non-hierarchical structures, a focus on issues of power and injustice) with many other social movements. But the gap between community groups and other movements often seems particularly hard to bridge. This workshop brings together people with experience in the area to talk about what it is that divides us, how we can respect each other's differences, and what the possibilities are for developing communication and even cooperation on shared issues.

* Is social partnership going anywhere?
(discussion / debate workshop)

Since the mid-1980s, "social partnership" has been an increasingly important strategy for the Irish state, progressively developing to include trade unions, community groups, the environment and development sectors. Often this has been something which (some) movement groups have actively pushed for, but what we got has not always turned out to be what we meant. This workshop looks at how partnerhip is working (or not working) in different sectors, and aims for a debate on whether there is (still?) anything to be gained from being involved in it.

* Whose progress? Progress for who? Nature, technology, humans
(discussion / debate workshop)

Different social movements have different traditional views about technological and industrial development. Some activists think that new technologies will save us, some that ecological disaster is round the corner, some that industrial development is crucial to meet human needs. These are central issues in relation to the environment, but also in relation to "sustainable development" in the majority world. This workshop aims to debate the issues involved and see if our views are really all that incompatible.

* Videos

* Physical events (yoga, tai chi, soccer, juggling...)

1 pm - Lunch!

Saturday afternoon / evening:
------------------------------

2.30 pm - SECOND WORKSHOPS SESSION

* Opposing neo-liberalism in Ireland
(networking workshop)

Neo-liberal economics, covered over by a package of social partnership, consultation and participation, has grown stronger and sharper in Ireland over the last five years. In areas as diverse as the trade unions, environmental campaigning, community activism and development work, activists have found themselves increasingly unhappy with the "partnership" that is offered and increasingly angry about the "big picture" of cuts, privatisation, deregulation and state "non-interference" as business interests reshape the world - and Ireland - to suit themselves. What do our different struggles look like? Are there ways we can work together more effectively? And do we stand a chance of winning?

* Keeping going: dealing with defeat and burnout
(networking workshop)

All long-term activists have to deal with the experience of not winning, as well as cope with the risk of burnout when we invest heavily in urgent campaigns. How do we pick ourselves up and keep on going as individuals? How do we support other activists in hard times so defeat doesn't decimate our movements? This workshop is geared to sharing experiences, skills, problems and ideas between activists in different movements - both those of us who have survived and kept going, and those of us who are finding it hard to see any hope or find any enthusiasm for the next campaign.

* Direct action, the bins, the bombs, the boulders and the bunkers...
(action / skills workshop)

While the protests at Shannon have put "direct action" on the public agenda in Ireland, there is also a long-standing tradition of direct action in this country going back decades if not centuries. How is direct action working at the moment in our different movements? What are the success stories, and what are the difficulties we're facing? Are we developing effective ways of working, and how can we share those with other activists?

* Getting beyond the usual suspects
(action / skills workshop)

One of the key aspects of building a successful movement is finding ways of communicating with people who don't already know about the issue, or aren't already politically involved, and bringing them into discussion and action. The gap between the people that we managed to mobilise for direct action at Shannon and the people who turned out on the February 15th march is an indicator of how great the potential is, but also of how far we have to go. This workshop brings together people with different experiences and skills of involving people, broadening movement participation, and reaching out to groups who we normally ignore, to ask: "how can we build radical movements which are also popular ones?"

* Grassroots - theory and practice
(discussion / debate workshop)

The movements who come together in the Gathering pride ourselves on our grassroots, non-hierarchical, bottom-up ways of working, and we usually know exactly why we do not want to be in hierarchical political parties or NGOs. At the same time, the reality is often very different to the theories: "tyranny of structurelessness", decision-making by the handful of genuinely active people, low levels of enthusiasm for meetings and discussions as against action and "fun"... Is it true that "freedom is an endless meeting"? Are our movements actually managing to be as democratic and non-hierarchical as we want? And if not, what can we do to improve things?

* What kind of world do we need?
(discussion / debate workshop)

The times are (hopefully!) long gone when socialist, feminist and ecological visions of the future were seen as opposites by different social movements. Anarcha-feminism, social ecology, eco-feminism, eco-socialism and many different approaches have tried to bridge the gaps over the last quarter-century. At the same time, there are still many differences between activists' visions of the future, and we don't talk as much to each other about what we want as we might if we thought we were genuinely working together. This workshop looks at the kind of world we need, the kinds of worlds we are fighting for in our different movements, and asks if our visions can work together or not.

* Videos

* Physical events (yoga, tai chi, soccer, juggling...)

4 pm - Coffee!

4.30 pm - THIRD WORKSHOPS SESSION

* Defending / developing diversity
(networking workshop)

While the "opening up" of Irish society has created new spaces for diversity and difference, it has also highlighted continuing forms of racism, bigotry and intolerance, and given right-wing groups new possibilities of organising. At the same time, the new anti-capitalist and anti-war movements remain considerably less diverse than their potential. This workshop focusses on how we can defend and develop diversity within Irish society as well as within our own movements.

* Preparing for the World Economic Forum
(action / skills workshop)

The World Economic Forum is coming to Ireland for October 20th to 21st. The protests will be really important for people who have been radicalised / got active during the anti-war campaign, as well as probably the first time that "anti-globalisation" activism in Ireland will have a chance of becoming a large-scale and popular movement. Based on the experience of e.g. the protests at Shannon, we can expect that many NGOs will restrict their activities to lobbying, while the traditional left will focus on marches and listening to speakers. What are we going to do ourselves?

* Creating our own support structures
(action / skills workshop)

Part of building movements that work is finding ways of building our own institutions: communications and media work, free spaces and resource centres, legal work and prisoner support, etc. This workshop brings together people with long experience in building support structures and institutions, people with bright ideas and people who want to know how they can take effective action to build movement "infrastructure".

* How should we make decisions?
(discussion / debate workshop)

Different traditions of decision-making - particularly the contrast between the traditional democratic forms created by the early workers' movement and the consensus decision-making styles which have spread with the global anti-capitalist movement - are proposed within the movement in Ireland, and at times (as at the last Grassroots Gathering) have been a source of real contention. This workshop looks at the different possibilities, and what the issues are in choosing between them.

* Who pays for the environment?
(Discussion / debate workshop)

The issue of waste management - dumps and incinerators, bin and water charges - has given rise to some major movements in recent years, mobilising local communities around environmental issues. If the Minister goes ahead with imposing incinerators around the country, there may be a real wave of opposition to the proposal. At times (as with opposition to dumps and incinerators) social movements have found themselves working together; at other times (such as bin and water charges) the issues have been a source of real tension. Underlying much of the conflict is the question "who should pay?"

* Videos

* Physical events (yoga, tai chi, soccer, juggling...)

6 pm - Dinner!

8 pm - Party / benefit gig for Gathering and prisoners

Sunday morning
-----------------
11 am - Wakeup events!

Possibilities include:

* Monto walking tour
* Trees of Phoenix Park

* Videos

* Physical events (yoga, tai chi, soccer, juggling...)

Also fourth workshop sessions

* Why the ICTU won't arm the proletariat
[Andrew Flood, Workers Solidarity Movement]

Sunday afternoon
-------------------
1 pm - Lunch (picnic?)

2 pm - PLENARY SESSION: "Where to now?"

· 1 intro and discussion on the WEF

· 1 intro and discussion on the GG

5 pm - ACTION
(Research is in progress on this one!)

6 pm - Ends.