"Speak with them": Spaces for Voices from the South in
Heiligendamm
From:
Jai Sen <jai.sen@cacim.net>
Subject: [WSF-Discuss]
"Speak with them": Spaces for Voices from the South in Heiligendamm
Thursday, May
10, 2007
Dear friends,
greetings !
Here is the
announcement for a cluster of events being
organised during the anti-G8 demonstrations in Germany next month
(June), with an overall theme of
"Speak
with them" : Spaces for Voices from the South in Heiligendamm
Please get in touch with the organisers as given, for more details !
In solidarity –
Jai Sen
Project
Plan concerning the G8 Protests
"Speak
with them": Spaces for Voices from the South in Heiligendamm
Planned by: John Holloway
(Mexico), Dorothea Haerlin and Oliver Pye (attac Germany), and Jai Sen
(CACIM, India)
Bringing voices
from the South to Heiligendamm – not to speak as much
about them but with them – is the aim of an intercontinental exchange
of experiences on the occasion of the G8 Summit. The main focus of the
project is on the direct encounter between people from Asia, Africa,
Latin America and Europe in a full-day workshop with John Holloway (see
aim 1) and appointments for possible media networking across continents
for long-term co-operation (2). The meeting of theorists (Ana Esther
Cecena, Chico Whitaker, John Holloway, Jai Sen, etc.) with activists
from all continents enables a debate on "Open Space" as a new approach
to enhance theory. (3). Furthermore, there is the idea of a
Speakers
Tour to include people in the discussion process who were not able to
travel to Heiligendamm (4).
A.
Planned Events (large public event, workshops, speakers tour,
etc.)
Berlin:
30th May:
Large
inaugural event in the Grips Theatre Berlin with Chico Whitaker (WSF),
Wangui Mbatia (People's Parliament), etc.
31st May:
Discussion
event in Berlin (Haus der Demokratie):
"You are 8 - We are
everywhere"
(preliminary title suggestion)
John Holloway
discusses with friends from Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia.
Rostock
June 3rd:
Full-day
workshop with John Holloway at the Camp:
"Another World Is
Possible - yes – but it exists already despite-against-and beyond
capitalism".
A global
exchange of experiences between people from Europe, Africa, Latin
America and Asia.
June 4th:
Morning at the
camp: Debate about "Open Space as an
open theory approach”
June 6th:
Afternoon at
the Alternative Summit: "Open Space - New
Ways in Theory and Practice"
Before and after
the Summit:
Speakers’ Tour through several cities
People interested
can contact:
Dorothea
Haerlin: dorotheahaerlin@gmx.de
Oliver Pye: oliver.pye@web.de
B.
Aim:
1.
Direct Exchange of Experiences:
At the big camp near Heiligendamm a space shall
be
created for a direct exchange of experiences between people from
different continents that have already started to realise a life in
dignity despite-against-and beyond capitalism.
During my visit in Kenya just after the WSF in
Nairobi
to women's groups, youth support projects in the slums and a water
project in the rural area, I kept thinking: A direct contact with
people from other continents that I have already met in the slums of
Buenos Aires, in Chiapas/Mexico, the "Assembly of the poor" / Thailand
or in Venezuela, to enable a space and look for travel funding for
people from the South for a direct exchange of experiences could be an
important task for people from the North. This is the aim of a full-day
workshop on June 3rd at the G8 Camp, organised together with John
Holloway.
2.
Media Networking:
In all continents projects are being developed
with a
common aim of visualising people without a voice, "Sin Vox", in a
through alternative media.
Building
a network of these projects is therefore
another aim. We would like to invite several people who are active in
alternative media. Shannon Walsh, a Canadian filmmaker working in South
Africa, has offered to accompany this project and others during the G8,
a valuable documentation for further work.
3.
Open Space:
Looking
for another world, we need another, new theory
formation. The participation of people like John Holloway, Ana Esther
Cecena, Chico Whitaker, Nicola Bullard and others that have been
invited to the Alternative Summit provides a great chance for a debate
between theorists and activists.
This
exchange of ideas shall occur in two workshops
about "Open Space". The debate started in Nairobi already on initiative
of CACIM (Critical Action Centre in Movement, India) and CCS (Centre
for Civil Society, South Africa) in several workshops. The approach
"Open Space" is to be discussed at the camp and then at the Alternative
Summit as a new theoretical approach, also in preparation for a planned
conference on the same topic in New Delhi (India) next autumn, and also
in preparation for the other form of next year's (2008) WSF as global
action days.
4.
Learning from the South:
Those that cannot travel to Heiligendamm should
be
enabled to participate in the discussion by a Speakers Tour and meet
the guests from the South that have travelled so far. Their reports
from every-day life are an important contribution to counter the
negative images from these continents existing in the North. They are
often portrayed as people without money, food, peace, education, etc.
as if they were nothing. Still, they are living their lives, laugh at
least as much as people in the North, mostly more and have maintained
traditions of solidarity or built them from scratch, from necessity,
yes, but can’t we also find the beginnings of another world that we are
looking for in the "cold North" ?
This project is far from finished –
unfortunately, we
also do not have the funds yet – and we welcome any kind of support
(financing ideas, co-operation on contents for the individual events,
looking after guests, help with translations also outside of events,
etc.).
Please
contact the current organisers:
Dorothea
Haerlin, dorotheahaerlin@gmx.de
Oliver
Pye, oliver.pye@wed.de
For
the Speakers Tour:
Oliver
Pye, oliver.pye@wed.de
______________________________
Jai Sen
jai.sen@cacim.net
CACIM, A-3
Defence Colony, New Delhi 110 024, India
www.cacim.net
Ph :
+91-11-4155 1521, 2433 2451
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OpenSpaceForum @ www.openspaceforum.net
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