[Ssf] G8 n stuff

Dan dan at aktivix.org
Tue Jan 18 16:57:50 GMT 2005


Dammit!  Loads of cool stuff to write about!

First thing to say is that there's SO MUCH going on, G8-wise, already...

A few things to mention first:

1. Make Poverty History meeting, Quaker Meeting House, Thursday 20th, 
12:30 - mostly Sheffield's Christian campaigning groups and P&P.  But 
note that the new WDM head has gone on record saying that lobbying will 
acheive nothing, and that groups like his need to start direct action.  
There's some synergy to be had here...

2. Peace in the Park: I'm gonna be proposing to SSF that we do a 
'Leftfield' a la Glastonbury.  (PiP folk have already agreed in 
principle for SSF to lead on this...) -  a large tent, with many 
political goings-on, workshops, debates, exhibitions (e.g. 'this is what 
war looks like - only for the strong-stomached!), bits of music, food 
and drink hopefully supplied by New Roots (I haven't asked them yet, but 
it worked really well last year) 

This wouldn't replace any of the free-standing political stalls - but 
would offer a space for folk to argue, debate, learn and plan - rather 
than just lining up like a bunch of traders in the free market of 
ideas... (I'll have a pound of Strawberries, half a pound of Leninism 
and an Anarchist please...)

I propose we nick Joss's idea for a new democracy cafe name, and call it 
the 'Speak-Easy'.

Note: this was agreed last night at the PiP meeting: Norfolk Park, 11th 
June.  This is a few days before the Sheffield mini-summit, and a month 
before the main G8.  So - CIRCA will be doing some training, and maybe 
they'll do some at PiP.  Also, there's plenty of other G8-counter 
possibilities, including asking the Trapeze lot to come along and do 
their pub quiz!

3. J8 - the youth G8 global citizenship programme -  
http://www.j8changetheworld.com/

Awful as the name is (stealing J18 as someone pointed out), it does 
offer a door for us filthy radicals to get in there and warp the minds 
of the little ones...!  This is also a way to get 13-16 year-olds 
involved in PiP - we could organise our own mini-youth-conference on the 
J8 themes as part of the Speak-Easy.

> The two ideas are not necessarily counterposed. First, the clearer we 
> are about the issues, the clearer we will be when we try to present 
> them in simpler and condensed form Second, far more more can be done 
> with the
> conference/day-school format than people just rolling up on the day to 
> hear some experts... IF we could organise it so that people interested 
> in coming (or  those interested in the issues but who can't come) 
> could get (buy) a kit of crucial info material to help prepare them 
> for the day; IF we could set up a website where this material could 
> also be downloaded, IF we could persuade a few people from Sheffield's 
> activist ranks to go away and research and prepare a brief workshop 
> paper (so much is spent providing people with these skills which they 
> end up never using!), then the conf/school would be the culmination of 
> an interactive education process, not the sum total of it. Why not a 
> Red Open University???

Again, I think SSF working with others towards PiP is going to be the 
best way of doing this... It gives us a focus.  Any thoughts?

>
> One way such an event could be promoted is through a monthly newsletter
> which would carry informative articles written by ourselves or reprinted
> from elsewhere. I can imagine one headlined something like "Adding 
> Insult to Injury - Gordon Brown's Giant Debt Reduction Con-Trick".
>
Dunno if you've seen, but there's a suggestion of starting a monthly 
radical newsletter... I'm gonna arrange a meeting about this in the next 
couple of weeks.  Fancy writing an article on Gordon Brown's Giant Debt 
Reduction Con-Trick?  (Each article can then be uploaded to Indymedia, 
and the hard copy can say - 'want to comment on this? Disagree with 
what's been said? Go to the article on Sheffield Indymedia and have your 
say!)

It wouldn't be purely a G8 thing - but having a global and a local focus 
would be cool, and it would be good to use the chance to trace G8 
initiatives and other global institutional initiatives right back to 
what's happening in the city centre.  (i.e. Solve Poverty?  Easy!  Get 
loads of tax-payer's money, privatise everything, then sell it to the 
private sector with 'incentives'!  Bish, bash, bosh, World-Bank-Tastic, 
one-size fits all, sorted!  Oh... still loads of pesky poor people 
everywhere...)

> The problem as I see it is whether there is the basis for a team of 
> people of sufficient like mind and with time and energy. On both 
> counts, I just don't know. Concerning the first of these, I accept 
> that many people do not agree with me about Cuba, but I believe that 
> it is necessary for Cuba's extraordinary success in protecting its 
> people against natural disasters to be held up as a practical example 
> of the alternative to the capitalist rule which condemns tens of 
> thousands to death along the Indian Ocean coast and tens of millions 
> elsewhere in the oppressed nations. This is the clearest, but far from 
> the only issue where I do not feel on exactly the same wavelength as 
> many of you, lovable as you may be. I feel that there is quite a large 
> distance between anti-imperialism and 'anti-globalisation' This could 
> be the source of creative tension, or just of friction.
>
Ooh, lots of things there!  People with time and energy?  That's why I 
think we should work with what's happening - the Make Poverty History 
stuff, and Peace in the Park especially. 

Local political success is down to co-operation - without groups losing 
their identity.  I think SSF doing the 'Speak-Easy' will allow us to do 
something pretty spectacular, whilst helping another important event, 
*and* building for the G8.  Can't be bad, can it?

On Cuba, John:  you might be interested to read the transcript from the 
Hungry for Justice conference - Julia Wright spoke about Cuba and food 
sovereignty. (Er... did you go?)  It's really interesting: particularly 
the tension between statist and devolved solutions... 

Here's the download link:

http://www.sheffieldsocialforum.org/docs/H4Jtranscript.doc

> Maybe the way to explore all of these issues and possibilities is to 
> agree to produce a pilot mini-pamphlet and see whether we can agree 
> about what should go into it.

A friend of mine is very keen on pampleteering!  I'd like to join in too 
- we're going to be working on one for the Burngreave Masterplan stuff, 
but G8 stuff too... yip!  And I guess this can relate in some way to the 
monthly newsletter stuff...

>
> Greetings,
>
> JS

Exactly.

Dan

>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mud [mailto:adam at diamat.org.uk]
> Sent: 17 January 2005 18:49
> To: ssf at lists.aktivix.org
> Cc: John Smith
> Subject: Re: [Ssf] vacancy: 4 court jester of sheffield political circus
> pleasefeel free to apply
>
> Hi,
>
> 11/01/05 22:11 noone noone wrote:
>
>> I am thinking along the lines of what practically  we would need to 
>> organise in order to get some sort of counter-conference happening (i.e.
>> venue, speakers, groups, publicity etc.. etc..).  I also recognise 
>> that i am not the best person for the job, in my opinion john smith 
>> is the man because he has the vision, the knowledge and the 
>> experience to carry it out and i am not keen on the responsibility - 
>> plus it is his idea (more or less).
>
>
> Has John been invited to Thursdays meeting ?
>
> -- 
> mud
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Ssf mailing list
> Ssf at lists.aktivix.org
> http://lists.aktivix.org/mailman/listinfo/ssf



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