Sunday 16 December 2012
Guinness Book of Records attempt...
... for the most expensive bank bailout in history. More details and a great video here.
Community journalism event, Cardiff
Interesting event coming up in Cardiff in mid-January, focussing on low-cost and "hyperlocal" journalism.
Birth activism article
Birth activism movements are often fragmentary and struggle to achieve long-term identities beyond a handful of famous names, and information is even harder to come by than in the case of most social movements. (Two important Irish organisations are the Home Birth Association and the Association for Improvements in Maternity Services. There are two chapters on birth movements in Ireland in this book, by Christina Bermingham and Martina Hynan.)
Theres an unusually good article on the Guardian website here starting from the case of a Hungarian independent midwife one of whose clients recently won her case at the European Court of Human Rights after the midwife was imprisoned for two years for carrying out a home birth. Things are not so much better in practice in Ireland. Over recent years everything possible has been done to put independent midwives out of business: court cases, insurance games, punitive treatment of women referred by independent midwives, refusal of access to testing services and most recently the 2011 Nurses and Midwives bill. (Note that independent midwives are professionally trained - what is at stake is their right to attend women outside the hospital system.) Hopefully the ECHR judgement will make women's right to decide about giving birth enforceable in Ireland.
The key issue is fairly simple: who should have control of a woman's body during pregnancy and birth? Irish popular culture, and a massively powerful medical system, insist that the decisions should be made by professionals, at whatever cost to the women themselves. The result is a culture of massive intervention based not on medical evidence but the peculiar anthropology of Irish hospitals - and, of course, patriarchy.
Theres an unusually good article on the Guardian website here starting from the case of a Hungarian independent midwife one of whose clients recently won her case at the European Court of Human Rights after the midwife was imprisoned for two years for carrying out a home birth. Things are not so much better in practice in Ireland. Over recent years everything possible has been done to put independent midwives out of business: court cases, insurance games, punitive treatment of women referred by independent midwives, refusal of access to testing services and most recently the 2011 Nurses and Midwives bill. (Note that independent midwives are professionally trained - what is at stake is their right to attend women outside the hospital system.) Hopefully the ECHR judgement will make women's right to decide about giving birth enforceable in Ireland.
The key issue is fairly simple: who should have control of a woman's body during pregnancy and birth? Irish popular culture, and a massively powerful medical system, insist that the decisions should be made by professionals, at whatever cost to the women themselves. The result is a culture of massive intervention based not on medical evidence but the peculiar anthropology of Irish hospitals - and, of course, patriarchy.
Friday 14 December 2012
Engaged Buddhist dialogue project
The long-standing (US-based) Buddhist Peace Fellowship has announced a year-long dialogue combining Buddhist practice and political activism, "The system stinks". Co-organised by engaged Buddhist blogger Katie Loncke, the project looks very interactive (at present it seems to be phone-based but if there are non-US participants they can probably be pushed to include skype participants). So far it all looks good - full participation for $45, broke for $30 and the contemporary readings will be made available free anyway.
Wednesday 12 December 2012
Participatory democracy and the politics of technology
NUIM Sociology department seminar:
Dr. Laurence Davis (Department of Government, University College Cork)
'Participatory Democracy and the Politics of Technology'
2.45-4pm, Auxilia seminar room, Wednesday, 6 February 2013.
Admission free.
Dr. Laurence Davis (Department of Government, University College Cork)
'Participatory Democracy and the Politics of Technology'
2.45-4pm, Auxilia seminar room, Wednesday, 6 February 2013.
Admission free.
Tuesday 11 December 2012
One small village of indomitable Gauls...
Fascinating report here about Europe's largest protest camp, linked to from Anna Feigenbaum's great site on camps. You can support the campaign here.
Monday 10 December 2012
The practicalities of demos
Nice post here from one of Ireland's most experienced demo-watchers, contrasting the "pro-life" event at the Dail with the massive Savita protests and giving some of the background.
Sunday 9 December 2012
Ethics in community-based research
Ethics in community-based participatory research. Guide, Case Materials and Conference, 28 February
"During summer 2012 the Centre for Social Justice and Community Action at Durham University, UK, ran a consultation on a set of ethical guidelines for community-based participatory research as part of an Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded project. We are pleased to inform you that we have now produced two documents on this topic and will be holding a conference in Durham on Thursday 28 February 2013.
The following documents can be found on our website:
http://www.dur.ac.uk/beacon/socialjustice/ethics_consultation/
1. Community-based participatory research: A guide to ethical principles and practice
2. Ethics in community-based participatory research: case studies, case examples and commentaries
3. Conference flyer and booking form: 28th February, Durham University, 10-16.00, Ethical challenges in community-based participatory research"
They go on to say that the ethics guide will be kept updated and they are seeking feedback on it.
Who owns the history of the class?
There's an online petition to stop the auction of one of the few five-shilling notes issued by the Limerick Soviet in 1919...
Update from the Limerick Council of Trade Unions (12.12.12): "The Limerick Soviet 5/shilling note is now back where it belongs in its rightful home at the Mechanics' Institute Limerick.
Long Live the Limerick Soviet!"
Short documentary on the Limerick Soviet here.
Update from the Limerick Council of Trade Unions (12.12.12): "The Limerick Soviet 5/shilling note is now back where it belongs in its rightful home at the Mechanics' Institute Limerick.
Long Live the Limerick Soviet!"
Short documentary on the Limerick Soviet here.
Learning and education for a better world
Learning and education for a better world: the role of social movements (edited by Budd Hall, Darlene Clover, Jim Crowther and Eurig Scandrett, Sense Publishers) has the intro (Marjorie Mayo) and the first two chapters (Anne Harley on grassroots movements in South Africa and Elisabeth Steinklammer on struggles in the Austrian education system) available online free.
Monday 3 December 2012
Four activist / social movement events this week
Feast or famine, feast or famine...
MONDAY, Maynooth, 6 - 9 pm: activist self-care workshop with Joshua Stephens.
TUESDAY, Maynooth, 2 - 3: pro-choice organising
David Landy, Dept of
Sociology, TCD
‘Beyond Altruism: How do we understand solidarity?’
Wednesday 5 December. 11 am. Conference Room, 6th Floor, 3 College Green, Trinity College Dublin.
IS it possible to speak of international solidarity with others and if so, how important is such solidarity in contemporary society? Drawing on personal experiences of international solidarity as well as on the literature surrounding social movements and theories of the gift, this talk discusses the moral economy and exchange relationships that help explain the practice of solidarity.
MONDAY, Maynooth, 6 - 9 pm: activist self-care workshop with Joshua Stephens.
TUESDAY, Maynooth, 2 - 3: pro-choice organising
In his address on November 27th, Minister for Justice,
Equality and Law Reform Alan Shatter (FG) opened the debate regarding
legislation for abortion access in Ireland. As the Pro-Choice Movement prepares
to launch a national campaign on Dec 8th, we invite you to participate in an
activist knowledge-sharing session at 2-3pm Tuesday 4th December in
Room 2, Rowan House, NUI Maynooth on the following themes;
1. Alliance-Building
2. Campaign Strategising
3. Civic Engagement
As time is short, the conversation will be facilitated in a
World Cafe Format with participants taking 15 minutes to discuss each topic in
small groups. The event will be
preceded by an introduction and concluded with feedback from each group.
This exchange is coordinated by MA CEESA student Siobhán
Clancy as Participatory Action Research event for the dual purposes of
resourcing academic and activist knowledge for inclusion in an MA dissertation
and to share with the Pro-Choice Movement (to which she has been making
contributions since July 2012) in preparation for the the National Open
Pro-Choice Public 12-3pm on Saturday 8th Dec 2012 at the Gresham Hotel,
O'Connell St, Dublin.
Members of this group who cannot attend, are invited to
submit ideas/proposals/experiential insights to actionsforchoice@gmail.com
WEDNESDAY, TCD, 11 - 12: seminar on solidarity with David Landy
‘Beyond Altruism: How do we understand solidarity?’
Wednesday 5 December. 11 am. Conference Room, 6th Floor, 3 College Green, Trinity College Dublin.
IS it possible to speak of international solidarity with others and if so, how important is such solidarity in contemporary society? Drawing on personal experiences of international solidarity as well as on the literature surrounding social movements and theories of the gift, this talk discusses the moral economy and exchange relationships that help explain the practice of solidarity.
WEDNESDAY (again), Maynooth, 2.30 - 5: seminar "The hunt for Dhammaloka: uncovering early Irish-Buddhist links"
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