Agenda Thursday 16th Dec
AGENDA FOR SSF MEETING ON THURSDAY DECEMBER 16th 2004
(Suggested Dec 15, 04):
- Introduction
- Last events related to all campaigns
- Statement to be brought to Paris Forum on 17th Dec: Reading urgent petition for endorsement. Collective endorsement & support or individually?
- Celebrating Mr David's fall from grace
- FINALLY, AT LAST A REPLY FROM ANTI ID CAMPAIGNERS
FROM NO2ID:##
Statement to be brought to this Paris Forum
The Manchester Team is waiting for SSF's support to this document as it reads, ie:
A Different ESF is Possible
People participating in the UK Local Social Forum Network met in Sheffield on the 4/5th December and found consensus on this document to be brought to the Assembly which is going to be held in Paris the 18/19 Dec 2004:
A Different ESF is Possible
People participating in the UK Local Social Forum Network met in Sheffield on the 4/5th December and found consensus on this document to be brought to the Assembly which is going to be held in Paris the 18/19 Dec 2004:
• The British process to build for the ESF has been, from the proposal to have it in London onwards, organized without an open, democratic, inclusive process. Actually no link has been created with the UK Local Social Forums and the very same groups which played a prominent role in the process by organising mobilising committees for the ESF did so also in the places where a LSF was working already. This attitude has generated more problems and divisions in the movement in Britain and, even if some people have been inspired by the ESF experience to go on to join a Local Social Forum, we are registering a lot of repercussions from what happened, with people pulling out from the LSF and the movement in several different places.
• The process is as important as the ESF in itself and we cannot have a different world if we don’t force ourselves to practise a different way of working together, based not on self-appointed representation but on a wider inclusive process in which all the differences can express themselves and reclaim the right to participate. In the British process most of the power was based on the monetary resources organisations could bring in, which is far away from the world we are claiming to want (i.e. one where money does not come first!).
• The Assembly of movements: although the final document was built more openly than before the calls for actions have to come from the work of the networks and the assembly is the space for all to express the work which has be done. The way the London Assembly was organized didn’t give the local social forum network the chance to comunicate their work. We also want to point out that Stop the War Coalition in Britain has called a rally for the 19th of March,the same day when the ‘central demonstration in Brussels on 19 March against war, racism, and against a neo-liberal Europe, against privatisation, against the Bolkestein project and against the attacks on working time, for a Europe of rights and solidarity between the peoples’ will take place. We support the action in Brussels and we will work for that.
• We support the call ‘to mobilise massively on the occasion of the G8 summit in Scotland in July 2005’ and we suggest a contrasummit organized by the ESF Network in order to present the alternative we are working for.
• We reject the criminalisation of part of the movement and we denounce the absence of solidarity towards people who were held by the police in an underground station and arrested during the demo. No demo can carry on like that when some of us are in trouble only because they wanted to communicate what happened. A lot of people were really upset about the demo in itself because it didn’t express the ESF and the diversity of the movement. No speakers were agreed for the demo so there was no respect for the decisions taken.
It’s crucial to learn from the mistakes of this ESF. The way the ESF works is crucial. Less plenaries, which were just stages for the well known politicians, could be an answer. Start from big thematic or affinity assemblies and then split into working groups in order to establish networks aiming to work on successful actions to fight neoliberalism and build alternatives. Various documents have been written already and ignored, but there is the chance and the time to call for an open ‘How to build the next ESF’ debate.
• The location and the space in the ESF has to respond to the needs of the people. In Alexandra Palace the LSF network seminar couldn’t work in the way which had been decided because the space couldn’t be used in a different way but was only suitable for an old-fashioned platform-based meeting.
• The system of translation is important in supporting a different kind of meeting. Babels can find the way to implement a different approach using different methods. This is crucial for having translation in the workshops. We cannot accept an English-speaking monoglot ESF any more than we can support an English-dominated ESF: the days of Empire are over!
Looking forward to response from No2id campaigners.
- Proposed invitation letter sent to No2id campaigners:
Dear Dave, dear campaigners,
We're writing with a warm invitation to come to Sheffield for this Thursday or our next Social Forum Meeting, as we may arrange for your convenience, for a day of discussions and debates, meeting members of our Social Forum (which is part of a wide network, see below) and to learn from yourselves what is happening and what could be done to better support the no2id campaign. A couple of posts containing your experience (extracted from no2id newsletter to supporters) have already been published on the newswire available at Sheffield Indymedia.
The date we're proposing, --as Christmas time line is approaching, is *Thursday 16th December*, 7.30 - 9.30pm. Sharrow Community Hall, John Street (off Bramall Lane, and opposite Baron Street, see this map [1]
The agenda will, of course, be open - if you want to edit it, go to this WIKI page -
If only two or three persons were able to come, we could easily sort out sleeping arrangements if necessary. Otherwise, a future date would be more convenient to make room bookings.
Regards
[http:www.sheffieldsocialforum.org]
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This is an open invitation being sent to no2id supporters net. Please pass it on to anyone else you think will be interested. We'd love to meet you!
(Other Local Social Forums you may contact) Please visit [3]
Cardiff SF Durham/North East SF East Anglia SF Exeter SF Irish SF Leeds SF Leeds University SF Leicester SF London SF Manchester SF Mold SF Nottingham SF Penge SF, London Sheffield SF UCL SF
===FINALLY, AT LAST A REPLY FROM ANTI ID CAMPAIGNERS FROM NO2ID:===
This message is being posted as evidence that the letter of invitation received one positive reply at least, on Sunday December 19.
A potential meeting is open with no2id campaigners.
Dear Amparo,
So sorry to have missed your Social Forum Meeting last Thursday - we've been going full pelt with the Parliamentary stuff, as well as our local groups, and haven't had any time or bodies to spare over the last week down here in London! I hope some of our local supporters were able to make it along. I'd definitely be interested in meeting up and discussing how we might work together on defeating ID cards, when is the next Social Forum meeting likely to be?
Phil Booth National Coordinator, NO2ID
mobile: 07974 230 839
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