CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-OTTAWA:

OTTAWA ANARCHIST CONFERENCE:

The anarchists of Ottawa continue to show all of us how it should be done. The following is an announcement of their planned Fall organizing conference. If you live in the area try and help out.

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Canada, Ottawa, Plans for a Fall 2008 conference - seeking input/assistance

Visioning a Fall 2008 Conference

--- spearheaded by Common Cause Ottawa, a_ottawa@mutualaid.org

---- We had a discussion group on Sunday June 22 to lay the framework for planning ... the next step is to build a list of people who would like to be involved in either directly planning this, or at least having some input/feedback on what we're planning ... to do either please email us back at the above email address, and we will keep you in the loop! Here are the notes: (purpose / vision / next steps / possible topics)

Purpose:

- community-building: networking, communication, building links

- focused on organizing for justice: social, economic, environmental

- consciousness-building/raising

- anarchist, grassroots focus

- use basis of unity from Anarchist Assembly

- significantly different from Imagine Ottawa social forum which will be going on around the same time

- start of an ongoing continual process (further conferences / spaces to pursue this purpose)Vision:

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-one day event, possibly panel/speakers the night before, possibly full two day event if we have enough people helping to organize

- space for tables, informal networking

- structured workshops/presentations

- break-out groups/rooms (over lunch?)

- social event / party in evening

- mix of developing reflection/analysis with 'how to get involved'/'introduction to' (two streams?)

- target audience:

... people who came out to anarchist assemblies

... people involved in organizing

... people involved in community development

... people who are interested, would like to get involved

Next steps:

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- do up notes from June22 discussion, send them out to people who were involved/expressed interest, also to others

- 'recruitment' of organizers, by sending out notes and also by personal contact of those we think may be interested

- start looking for a space (maybe narrowing down exactly what looking for)

- thinking about a date: contact Imagine Ottawa to make sure we are separate from when they are

- brainstorming on workshop topics / presenters (see below)

- coming up with a fitting name and a one or two sentence description

- another meeting: third week of July?

Possible topics for workshops/presenters:

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- direct action- nutrition / food- accessing funding / resources

- intro to anarchism

- addressing poverty locally

- personal involvement

- environmental activism: local to global

- anti-oppression

- network building and shared projects