Grassroots Gathering 2015
Joining the dots between grassroots movements, communities, campaigns...
Joining the dots between grassroots movements, communities, campaigns...
Preliminary
announcement and call for contributions
St.
John Bosco Youth Centre, Drimnagh, Dublin
Friday April 17 (evening) - Sunday April 19th (afternoon)
Friday April 17 (evening) - Sunday April 19th (afternoon)
A
grassroots gathering is a one-off event run by a local group bringing together
people involved in different community campaigns and social movements to learn
from each other's experiences, talk about what works and what doesn't, develop
networks and make alliances.
Joining
the dots - imagines a raising of awareness, a politicisation leading to radical
transformation, it may also envision a strategic connection between diverse
campaigns and collective actions in order to advance, strengthen, consolidate
and collaborate in struggle with unity and purpose.
There
have been over a dozen of these gatherings in different parts of the country
over the last eleven years and they have helped support all sorts of different
campaigns and movements – campaigning against the water charges, resisting
Shell in Erris, campaigning against cuts, supporting women's right to choose,
advocating for housing rights and resisting evictions, challenging
neo-liberalism in the EU, campaigning against deportation and the direct
provision system, creating free space for young people, fighting for environmental
justice, highlighting US military use of Shannon, challenging racism and more.
A
good workshop for this gathering has any speakers talking for just 5 or max 10
minutes each to get a discussion going - remember most other people there are
also activists. A really good workshop has people from different movements
giving 5-minute intros about the same kind of practical problem from their own
experiences and then a discussion. We aren't looking for events which are
mostly made up of one person talking or which are mostly about trying to sell
other people on a specific issue. So please let us know if you’d like to do a
short intro or organise a whole workshop!
Typical
sessions might include:
- How to organise, strategy and tactics, direct action, dealing with police...
- getting people involved, mobilising communities, media of all kinds, politicisation...
- education, understanding the issues, working together against austerity...
- arts workshops, film showing, children's activities, outdoors activities...
- How to organise, strategy and tactics, direct action, dealing with police...
- getting people involved, mobilising communities, media of all kinds, politicisation...
- education, understanding the issues, working together against austerity...
- arts workshops, film showing, children's activities, outdoors activities...
It's
not for profit (and we all get to muck in with washing up, passing the hat and
generally helping out), it isn't run by any political party and nobody will try
to recruit anyone.
Over
the last few years more and more people have seen just how corrupt the system
is and how little faith we can have in the people who claim to represent us and
"see us right". For this reason the Gatherings aren't for people who
want to make a name for themselves, make a career out of other people's
activism, get a leg up politically, make money out of campaigning, appear on TV
etc.
More
formally we have the "Grassroots Principles" which say that we want
to work together as equals, run things in an open and democratic way and try
not to talk down to each other or over each other's heads. Rather than rebuild
the old mess we believe in communities being able to decide for themselves,
workplaces controlled by the people who actually work in them, a sustainable
economy and an end to neoliberal bodies like the IMF and World Bank which have
helped to create the crisis. The full principles and more about the Gatherings
at http://grassroots.pageabode.com
The
venue is 20 minutes from Dublin city centre on the red Luas line, just opposite
the Drimnagh Luas stop. We'll be having evening events on Friday, all day and
evening events on Saturday and Sunday morning and afternoon - more details TBA.
If
this sounds interesting, please get involved and help us make it happen! If
you’d like to offer a workshop or suggest one which you’d like to see, please
email grassrootsgathering2015@gmail.com.
We're also going to need practical help on the weekend (food, childcare, beds
etc.); one-off things like poster design and fundraising help; and you might
just want to be kept up-to-date. For any of these please email us or check our
facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/GrassrootsGathering)
Co-organised
by the MA in Community Education, Equality and Social Activism (Maynooth) (http://ceesa-ma.blogspot.ie)
Supported
by Gluaiseacht for Global Justice (www.gluaiseacht.ie) and Workers Solidarity Movement
(www.wsm.ie)
Thanks
to the St John Bosco Youth Centre, Drimnagh (www.thebosco.ie)
Address for facebook etc.: http://tinyurl.com/qx5fydq