[LAF] Fw: [resistg82005] FW: News ofG20 mobilisation, London and Dissent List

Wed Dec 24 19:55:12 UTC 2008

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Michael Reinsborough <m.reinsborough at qub.ac.uk>
To: "resistG82005 at lists.riseup.net" <resistG82005 at lists.riseup.net>
Sent: Monday, December 22, 2008 7:11:36 PM
Subject: [resistg82005] FW: News ofG20 mobilisation, London and Dissent List

1. Jan 24-25 planning mtg re G20 The Foundry, 86 Gt Eastern St, London, EC2
2. email list --> https://lists.riseup.net/www/subscribe/dissent2009uk

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: News ofG20 mobilisation, London and Dissent List
Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:35:58 -0800 (PST)
From: eal at riseup.net
To: undisclosed-recipients:;

Hi
Apologies for cross posting.
At the Bristol Anarchist Bookfair, we decided to resurrect the UK Dissent
list as a means for communicating between people thinking about going to
Italy summer 09. So far, we have not heard much news of mobilisation from
Italy. However he have heard, incase you didn't know already, the G20 are
coming to London on April 2nd. This email contains news of a meeting in
London in January of people beginning to plan for the counter G20 summit,
and also information about the mass mobilisation being initiated by big
environmental/development NGOs, "a funeral for TINA, there is no
alternative, and BAU, business as usual" .

Please sign up to the dissent UK list at lists.riseup or using link below
for more information. Currently very low traffic
https://lists.riseup.net/www/subscribe/dissent2009uk

MORE IMPORTANTLY PLEASE ASK MATES/CONTACTS TO SIGN UP TO THIS LIST IF NOT
ALREADY_ TO RESSURRECT THIS DISSENT LIST AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL BETWEEN
PEOPLE - NOT TRYING TO RE-FORM THE NETWORK AT THIS STAGE.
NB we also have access to the dissent UK webpage if anyone has ideas for
content please send to adelayde at riseup.net

***MEETING
At The Foundry, 86 Gt Eastern St, London, EC2 for the weekend of Sat Jan
24 (3 to 7)/Sun Jan 25 (3 to 6ish)  there will be a space booked with a
view to consultation and planning on april 2 for g20. The space downstairs
should be very good for discussion for up to 40-50 people easily, and
could break into smaller groups second day if needed. Please advise if we
are clashing with other major events, but the chance of this central
London venue seemed too good to miss. if anything is going to happen we
need to get things moving.  We need people there who are experienced in
facilitating direct action planning. Please can everyone bring along
anyone from their networks who will want to take ownership of g20
activities. the Govt of he Dead is simply offering a space to confer.
        in the name of the Government of the Dead
        The only good government is a dead government!

***NGO MEETING

    Dear all

    I've just come from a meeting of UK development and environment NGOs
strategising responses to the financial crisis and particularly to the
April G20 summit in London.

    This meeting was held at SOAS in London, and represented were Trade
Justice Movement, Tax Justice Network, Trade Union Council, Bretton Woods
Project, New Economic Foundation, Oxfam, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Tear Fund,
Traidcraft, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Friends of the Earth, World
Development Movement and many more. We heard
presentations from critical economists, and talked about what was
needed to raise public awareness and engagement with the process of
international financial reform etc.

    I'll be putting video of the presentations online at
http://www.engagemedia.org (linked from http://www.ifiwatch.tv, of course
;-) ) in the next day or two, and you can check
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org for a report of this and the other
meetings in this process. Today's was the second - the report from the
first in October is here:
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/art-562842

    A working group is right now drafting a joint position paper, this
will go out tonight/tomorrow for initial feedback before the end of the
week. It will then be finalised by jan 8th and taken to the Paris European
civil society meeting and the World Social Forum.

    The TUC is booking central London venues for a mass mobilisation round
the time of the G20 meet. All the groups represented seemed to agree when
people said that mass mobilisation was needed, that the G20 is not a
legitimate power base and that lobbying would likely have a
marginal impact if at all, that it was time for a funeral for 'TINA'
(There Is No Alternative) as well as 'BAU' (Business As Usual), and that
what is needed now is to demonstrate the many alternatives that *are* out
there. SO... I got the impression that a lot of the
collective work will be about offering positive and hopeful examples of
alternative economics and reclaiming the idea of 'security', to make a
contrast to the doom and gloom being peddled everywhere else, and to
inspire people to feel it is worth re-engaging with REAL world politics at
this critical juncture...

    The three main points of agreement so far are (more or less):
    Economic Equity,
    Democratic Accountability and
    Environmental Sustainability;
    each of these are to be applied both nationally and internationally,
thus already taking the discourse outside a lot of NGOs' 'comfort
zones'.. and that's before they even get to the 'crunchy stuff' of any
detailed drafting of common positions.

    The representatives at today's meet will now go back to their networks
and see how firm a language can be agreed.. nothing will be finalised
before the Paris meet..  they are happy to admit that the process is being
made up as it goes along, my impression is thereare many new opportunities
for political interventions and alliances opening up amidst the death
throes of a debunked neo-liberal economic model and AngloSaxon hegemony.

    I was asked to find out about and connect to any other mobilisation
processes ongoing, specifically proposals that would be presented at the
"European cross network civil society meeting for a common
response to the global crises", Paris, 10th - 11th January 2009. Can
anyone advise? Stop the War, maybe, are they up to stuff?

    If anyone is interested to connect with this network/process I am more
than happy to be an initial contact point, forward the draft paper etc to
anyone who is not getting it through other channels etc.

    My feeling is that a lot of people/groups have learned from the
failures of Make Poverty History and with this new context of the
whole house of cards collapsing, there is real awareness and
understanding emerging of the levels of anger people feel now, which is
only likely to have grown by April.... and that highly potent ways of
working together really can now emerge.

        -------------------------

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