[LAF] Making Global Civil Society Gathering

[justin]

Forwarding message...

Apologies for cross postings...

Justin

> Hi all, really sorry about sending this again, but this version is
> slightly revised and (usefully) has a deadline for proposals added
> (August 19) PLUS a note on Lancaster University prosecuting their own
> students (the George Fox 6- see 
> http://www.free-webspace.biz/GeorgeFox/)
> and the knowledgelabcollective's standpoint on the issue - sorry, not
> much practice with trying to get something like this together!!
> cheers
> nina
> 
> ****************************************
> CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS AND INTERVENTIONS
> 
> Making Global Civil Society:
> Grassroots Practice and Academic Theory of Globalisation from Below
> 
> A weekend gathering for collective reflection amongst activists and
> academics.
> 
> November 4, 5 & 6 ?2005
> 
> Lancaster University, North West England.
> 
> With support of the Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) at Lancaster
> University, the “Knowledge Laboratory on Globalisation from Above and
> Below?is happy to invite you, your affinity group, your collective, or
> your organisation to contribute to its first event.
> 
> The aim of the gathering is to discuss key aspects of the historical
> development of the capitalist economy that drives globalisation from
> above - such as enclosures, (precarious) labour, structural violence,
> colonialism, and their justifying cultural imagery ?and to make 
> visible
> alternative architectures of social organisation emerging through the
> processes of globalisation from below, that is, through grassroots
> movements cooperating to create a global civil society based on human
> rights and mutual aid, and to restore the (intellectual) commons, in 
> the
> street, on the land, and in cyberspace.
> 
> We are particularly interested in contributions that relate people’s
> experiences of, perspectives on, motivations for, and frustrations with
> their involvement in grassroots movements. The idea is to bring 
> together
> first-hand accounts of the successes and failures of social, cultural
> and political projects and experiments with theoretical elaborations by
> academics trying to understand the reality of globalisation and the
> connections between its manifestations from above and below. By opening
> up a space for collective engaged reflection, we hope to create an
> atmosphere in which practice can inform theory and where theoretical
> academic perspectives can facilitate a reflection on activist 
> practices.
> 
> If you are engaged in any form of social, political, or cultural
> activism and have a story to tell, issues to explore, or anything else
> you would like to share in this forum, then get in touch and suggest a
> contribution or presentation.
> 
> While we prioritize contributions by grassroots collectives and 
> on-going
> projects, we welcome academic presentations in areas relevant to social
> movements, such as:
> 
> * conceptions of global civil society, counter-public sphere and
> counter-hegemonic movements
> 
> * the dynamics of enclosing knowledge and genetic material
> 
> * history and change of precarious labour
> 
> * resisting enclosures, resisting precarity, constructing alternatives
> 
> * transformations of colonialism: biocolonialism, TRIPs and structural
> adjustment
> 
> * networked databases, biometrics, and border control
> 
> * subversive and transhuman uses of technology
> 
> * reclaiming/liberating urban spaces and rural land
> 
> * sexual politics, discourse, and resistance
> 
> * radical media and art collectives
> 
> * self-organisation and consensus processes conceptually
> 
> * non-central, non-hierarchical networks and governance; 
> network-centric
> thinking
> 
> * human rights as  community building, form of resistance, and as 
> global
> vision of movements
> 
> 
> Participation is limited to a hundred people.  A LIMITED NUMBER OF
> TRAVEL GRANTS AND FREE ACCOMODATION FOR UNFUNDED OR LOW-PAID
> PARTICIPANTS ARE AVAILABLE  - CONTACT US NOW.
> 
> SEND SUGGESTIONS FOR WORKSHOPS, PRESENTATIONS, AND PAPERS (MAX. 1 PAGE)
> BY AUGUST 19 TO: n.moeller [at] lancaster.ac.uk
> 
> ?further info will be made available on
> http://knowledgelab.blogspot.com (download .pdf file of this call from
> there, too!)
> 
> Costs, incl. (predominantly organic and vegan) Friday dinner, Saturday
> lunch and dinner:
> 
> Volunteers/unpaid activists:             Free
> Unfunded students:                Donation
> Funded students, Lancaster academics:        ?0 (additional donation
> welcome!)
> Representatives of smaller NGOs:         ?5 (negotiable)
> Representatives of bigger NGOs:             ?5
> Academics:                    ?5
> 
> *******************************************************************
> THE COLLECTIVE BEHIND THE KNOWLEDGE LAB PLEDGES THEIR UNCONDITIONAL
> SUPPORT FOR THE "GEORGE FOX SIX" WHO ARE BEING PROSECUTED FOR 
> PEACEFULLY
> PROTESTING AT A MEETING OF MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY
> - SEE http://www.free-webspace.biz/GeorgeFox
> 
> THE COLLECTIVE BEHIND THE KNOWLEDGE LAB HEREWITH CLEARLY DISTANCES
> THEMSELVES FROM THE UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION THAT SO SHAMEFULLY IS
> TAKING THEIR OWN STUDENTS TO COURT. WE RECOGNISE THAT WE ARE USING THE
> UNIVERSITY'S RESOURCES AND THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED MONEY FROM AN 
> INSTITUTE
> WITHIN THAT SAME UNIVERSITY, AND ALTHOUGH WE CAN CERTAINLY DISCUSS
> WHETHER OR NOT SUCH MONEY SHOULD BE TAKEN AT ALL, SINCE IT COULD BE
> ARGUED THAT ALL MONEY IS BLOODY, WE DO NOT THINK THAT THE GATHERING IN
> ANY WAY SUPPORTS THE UNIVERSITY IN THE GEORGE FOX SIX CASE OR GOES
> AGAINST THE INTERESTS OF THAT GROUP TO REACH THE WIDER PUBLIC TO GATHER
> SUPPORT FOR THEIR ORDEAL. ON THE CONTRARY, THE GATHERING WILL OFFER A
> PLATFORM TO THE GEORGE FOX SIX TO TELL THEIR STORY.
> 
> PLEASE SUPPORT THEIR CASE (VISIT www.free-webspace.biz/GeorgeFox FOR
> MORE DETAILS) AND SIGN THE ONLINE PETITION:
> http://www.petitiononline.com/gfox6/
> *******************************************************************
> 
> 
> 		
> __________________________________ 
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> 
> 






		
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