Second newsletter European PGA conference

national | miscellaneous | news report Sunday July 07, 2002 17:20 by pga/eurodusnie workgroup infopgaconferentie at eurodusnie dot nl 0031 71 5173019

31th of August - 4th of September

Second newsletter Please register before August 1 – after that we can unfortunately no longer guarantee places! A year and a half after the first European PGA meeting in Milan, the PGA Network will be organising its second European conference in Leiden, the Netherlands from August 31 until September 4 2002. Hundreds of anti-cpitalist activists will be exchanging ideas and experience and working towards a better coordination of the social movements on the anti-authoritarian left of the political spectrum. If you want to participate in this unique event, you have until August 1 to register.

The European conference
The content and format of the conference program will be determined by the participants. Participants are encouraged to contribute ideas and to organise parts of the program (for example a talk or a workshop) autonomously. The conference will be co-ordinated by the PGA/Eurodusnie working group, working with PGA supporters across the continent. There is a webpage with relevant information about the practical side of the conference: www.pgaconference.org

The discussions and workshops of the PGA conference will be grouped round various thematic areas:
(1) migration and racism, (2) autonomy and selforganisation, (3) economy, (4) ecology and conservation, (5) miltarisation and repression, (6) PGA structure and strategies, (7) analysis and tactics.

Volunteers needed!
The conference will be spread over different venues in Leiden and we expect hundreds of people from all over Europe. Most of them will be staying in tents on a special conference camping site. The co-ordination of the conference is very complicated and any help is gratefully accepted! Here is a short overview of some of the tasks that the PGA working group still needs help with:

· Experienced facilitators and people to take minutes at the meetings. A good grasp of the English language is essential. The time commitment will be a couple of hours each conference day.
· People to join the editorial team for the daily conference newspaper
· Co-ordinators for the various conference locations
· Bar staff
· First Aid people
· A co-ordinator for the childcare facilities

If you are interested, please contact us ASAP.

Getting involved in the preparation of the program
Apart from becoming involved during the conference itself, the PGA/Eurodusnie working group is encouraging autonomous initiatives towards shaping the program. A lot is possible; panel-discussions, fora, practical workshops, speaker meetings etc.

The role of the PGA/Eurodusnie group is mainly geared towards the logistical support of the conference and the co-ordination of the program. The group will keep an eye on whether there is a balance between the various thematic areas. ‘PGA structure and strategy’ and ‘Analysis and tactics’ are of special importance, as it is here that the general, umbrella discussions will take place. Inside the PGA network, the umbrella discussion and co-operation inside the anti-capitalist movement has always been more important than the differences in focus between groups.

The PGA/Eurodusnie working group is also joining forces with other Dutch activists to provide a cultural program. There should also be three evening programmes, geared towards are wider audience.

We can guarantee that all initiatives presented before August 1 (assuming, of course, that they fit inside the PGA framework) will be allocated the time, space, practical support etc. that they required. We have access to audio equipment, a video beamer and various large and small venues. The preliminary planning of the program can be found at: http//squat.net/eurodusnie/pga/programma/programengels.htm

If you would like to provide an initiative or would like to join an existing one, please join the relavent coordinating email-list introduce yourself and announce your plans:

1) Migration and racism –
Send an email to: [email protected] and write 'subscribe' as the subject

2) Autonomy and self-organisation
Send an email to: [email protected] and write 'subscribe' as the subject

3) Economy Send an email to:
[email protected] and
write 'subscribe' as the subject

4) Ecology and conservation
Send an email to: [email protected] and write 'subscribe' as the subject

5) Militarisation and repression
Send an email to: [email protected] and write 'subscribe' as the subject

6) PGA structure
Send an email to: [email protected] and write 'subscribe' as the subject

7) Strategy, tactics and analysis
Send an email to: [email protected] and write 'subscribe' as the subject

As stated earlier, we are asking people to consider the ‘gender aspect’ when preparing their initiatives. It is possible that there will be a separate gender-working group as well.

In view of the international character of the conference, we are unfortunately forced to make much use of email and the internet. Unfortunately, as we are aware that not everyone has access to this. We ask those who have internet and computer access to inform those who don’t and might be interested in the PGA conference. The email lists are for the co-ordination and preparation of the programs for the various thematic areas. Contributions to discussions and other articles can be posted to a special multilingual internet forum located on the PGA website.

First initiatives for working groups
There are various initiatives for organising things during the conference underway at the moment. These include proposals for speaker meetings, theoretical and practical workshops and panel discussions. This is good, as the whole idea is that the content of the conference is decided and prepared by the participants. On July 3, the following initiatives had been made known to the PGA/Eurodusnie group:

1) Migration and racism

2) Autonomy
· International meeting of ‘Give Away Shops’
· Social centra/ Free spaces
· Independent media
3) Economy
· Alternative economic models
· Commercialisation of education
· Presentation against World Economic Forum
4) Ecology
· Working group about the influence of multinationals on the political decisionmaking process
· Presentation of Animal Rights’ group Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC)
5) Militarisation
· FTAA&Solidarity with Latin America
· Repression in the EU
· Presentation against NATO summit in Prague
6) PGA structure
· Proposals for a European PGA structure
7) Strategy
· Social consulta
AND ALSO:

· Presentation of the ‘Global Archive Project

Registering
Participants are requested to register by August 1 – after that we can unfortunately no longer guarantee places!
The registration form can be found on the conference webpage, but you can also ask for one to be sent to you by post. You will hear from us within a week

Cultural program
We are looking for all sorts of people for the cultural side of the conference; musicians, poets and theatre groups, for example. There is also room for expositions. Please email: [email protected]. Deadline: August 1.

Finances
Various Eastern European groups have now enrolled for the conference, but some have lack the funds to come. Unfortunately, the conference organisation also lacks the cash to pay for their travel and stay in Leiden. We therefore call explicitly on groups and individuals to inform us whether they can financially sponsor their fellow organisations.

Publicity/promotion
The second European PGA conference is a low budget production. We need all PGA-sympathisers to spread the word amongst grass-root activists, anti-capitalist movements and local/national collectives. Banners, logo’s, pamphlets and articles can be found on the website, if that makes your life easier. A number of PGA activists will be at the ‘No Border’ camp in Strassbourg, later this month and some of the PGA conference initiative workgroups will be meeting then. To be announced on the thematic lists.

Radio
There will be a free radio station up and running during the conference, under the name ‘PGA radio’. The station is independent from the conference organisation and will report and comment on the conference. There will also be discussions and interviews with participants and special reports with more information about various themes. The Earth Summit in Johannesburg will also be monitored.

The station will definitely be broadcasting from Saturday August 31 until Wednesday September 4, though it is possible that broadcasting will start earlier. The studio will be located in the Free place in the Boerhaavelaan and the frequency used will be 97.4 FM, which can be received in Leiden. There will also be an internet stream.

PGA radio is being organised by people from Radio Koekoeroe in Leiden, internet workplace ASCII in Amsterdam and other free radio makers in the Netherlands. The main language will be English, but where possible there will also be broadcasts in other languages. It will be announced shortly how people can contact PGA radio. For the time being, the email address is: [email protected]

Also, the conference organisation is investigating possibilities of doing part of the translation work via the radio. We advise every participant to bring a small radio with headphones.

More information:
PGA work-group/Eurodusnie
Postbox 2228
2301 CE Leiden
Telephone/Fax: +31 (0)71 5173019,
PGA conference website: http://www.pgaconference.org
For more information on the world-wide PGA network: http://www.agp.org

The hallmarks of the PGA network are:
1. A clear rejection of capitalism, imperialism and feudalism; all trade agreements, institutions and governments that promote destructive globalisation;
2. We reject all forms and systems of domination and discrimination including, but not limited to, patriarchy, racism and religious fundamentalism of all creeds. We embrace the full dignity of all human beings.
3. A confrontational attitude, since we do not think that lobbying can have a major impact in such biased and undemocratic organisations, in which transnational capital is the only real policy-maker;
4. A call to direct action and civil disobedience, support for social movements' struggles, advocating forms of resistance which maximise respect for life and oppressed peoples' rights, as well as the construction of local alternatives to global capitalism;
5. An organisational philosophy based on decentralisation and autonomy.