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Thursday January 01 1970

Social Solidarity Network - Building a Network of Resistance: Invitation to meeting Sat 3rd Oct

dublin | anti-capitalism | event notice

Tuesday September 01, 2009 18:41

by Gregor Kerr - for Social Solidarity Network

socialsolidaritynetwork at gmail dot com

086 1501151

Social Solidarity Network

Invitation to meeting Saturday 3rd Oct

Job losses, wage cuts, cuts in essential public services, pension levies..... Our living standards and our social services are under huge attack.

Mainstream media commentators and some politicians would have us believe that there is no alternative, that we have all been living beyond our means and that we have to tighten our belts in these recessionary times.

But we do not have to accept their reality. We do not have to accept that people on minimum wage, unwaged workers, those on social welfare, low-paid civil servants or working class people in general should be the ones who pay for the economic crisis. We do not have to accept that our health, education, infrastructure and social welfare services should be slashed in order to bail out the banks and the property developers.

Huge numbers of people recognise that we are being sold a lie. Huge numbers know that the attempts to create divisions between public and private sector workers and between different groups of ordinary people are an attempt to weaken us.

Communities all over the country have organised to resist hospital closures, cuts in hospital services, education cuts and other attacks on social services. Senior citizens fought valiantly, and ultimately victoriously, to retain the right to a medical card for over 70's.

Communities and workforces all over the country are organising resistance to threatened attacks and cutbacks. Groups such as Waterford Crystal workers, Visteon workers in Belfast, Thomas Cook workers, Custom House cleaners in Dublin, Marine Terminals Ltd. Workers (Dublin port) and Mr. Binman workers (Co. Tipperary) and many more have fought back against job losses and attacks on working conditions.

The Social Solidarity Network is coming together to provide a forum for workers and communities to unite to resist the attacks, and to build links across the many struggles which will break out over the coming months. On Saturday 3rd October we are holding a meeting which will provide a chance for people to come together and share their personal experiences, explore the economics of the crisis and plan ways in which we can build resistance.

We have identified 3 main areas for discussion – Workplace Resistance; Unemployed/Unwaged/Community Resistance; Education Cuts resistance. In each of these areas we want to explore how opposition to government cuts can be encouraged and co-ordinated. These are of course only our ideas and we are open to suggestions for alternative or additional workshops.

We hope that you will come along on the day, share your views and help to build a network which can share skills, knowledge and experience and which can help to bring reality to the old maxim that ‘Unity is Strength’.

Social Solidarity Network
Building a Network of Resistance
Saturday 3rd October 2009
Seomra Spraoi, 10 Belvidere Court, Dublin 1 (off Gardiner Street - see http://www.seomraspraoi.org:8080/Plone/copy_of_contact-us for map)

Timetable
12:30pm Tea/Coffee/Registration & mingling – including film showing
1:30pm Short introduction to the day followed by breaking up into groups of 10 or less for 30 minutes discussion on how people are effected personally (work, dole etc), what if any involvement they have had in resistance, what problems they have faced in that involvement (or what has stopped them being involved) and what they think might be possible for them to do. Followed by feedback.
2:20pm Break
2:30pm Introductory session on the economics of the crisis - 20 minute presentation followed by breaking up into groups of 10 or less to discuss
3:20pm Break
3:30pm Building Resistance – short leadoff followed by breaking into 3 groups

a. Workplace resistance
b. Unemployed /Unwaged/ Community resistance
c. Education Cuts resistance

Discussion on how we should organise ourselves / what is the first step
4:30pm Final session. - reportbacks from each group, discussion of how best to proceed - future meetings, organising etc. Attempt to come up with some concrete proposals and agree core principles.
5:15pm Meeting concludes
6:00pm Food will be served
7:00pm Film Showing
9:00pm onwards Social evening – Chill out, relax, make new friends and discuss the events of the day in the convivial atmosphere of Seomra Spraoi.

This event is jointly organised by Workers Solidarity Movement (www.wsm.ie), Revolutionary Anarcha-Feminist Group (http://ragdublin.blogspot.com/) and members of the Seomra Spraoi collective (http://www.seomraspraoi.org:8080/Plone) . It is open to all and aims to provide a space in which people can come together to support each other in building a network of resistance to government attacks on our living standards. This network will be built in an open, decentralised and fully democratic manner and will operate along non-hierarchical principles.

Please come along, share your experiences and help us to build the network.

For more information please contact us at socialsolidaritynetwork@gmail.com or text/ring Greg on 086 1501151 or Julian on 0857189621

This is a family-friendly event. Contact us at above Email address or phone numbers for details of arrangements for children.
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Comments (7 of 7)

Counting the numbers

by Gregor Kerr

Tue Sep 22, 2009 21:33

Preparations for the Social Solidarity Network meeting are well under way. In order to help plan food etc., it'd be good to have a rough idea of numbers so if you're planning on going a short Email to socialsolidaritynetwork@gmail.com would be appreciated.
But of course you're still welcome to turn up on the day even if you haven't let us know in advance!
Looking forward to an interesting day of discussion and organising

Flyer

by Andrew

Thu Oct 01, 2009 10:55

This is the flyer for the event, should have a PDF available later today

Front of Flyer

Details of films

Fri Oct 02, 2009 12:03

Argentina Turning Around - 'An intimate view of new models of work, politics and community development in Argentina'
We are showing this film at 12:30p.m. Tea/Coffee/Registration & mingling – Have an easy Saturday morning and join us.
http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/argt.html

Argentina Hope in Hard Time - "The Argentine people, in the face of economic collapse, provide a hopeful example for the rest of us."
This film will be shown at 7:00p.m with food served.. Chill out, relax, make new friends and discuss the events of the day in the convivial atmosphere of Seomra Spraoi.
http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/arg.html

Solidarity and Resistance?

by Diarmuid Breatnach - Personal capacity

Wed Oct 07, 2009 14:36

"Social Solidarity -- building a network of resistance" is proclaimed as the theme and purpose of the conference. As a political activist I would of course support such a project and want to contribute to the discussion. A true and effective network of resistance is badly needed and I have myself called for this a number of times, including in this periodical.

Resistance in the community needs to link in with resistance in the workplace; resistance in one workplace needs to link in with resistance in another. Resistance to exploitation needs to link in with resistance to discrimination against women or on grounds of sexual orientation (for example). Resistance to exploitation of migrants needs to be supported by the wider workforce. The public and the private sector need to resist the cynical attempts to play them off against each other. The Dublin port workers on strike receive support from their communities and from port workers in Australia (for example), as Peel Ports or MTL have interests across the world. Resistance at home needs to link in with resistance abroad in publicity, boycott and divestment (of Israel), and pressure to influence government policy.

And therein lies the difficulty, the deep flaw with the advertised project. For the Seomra Spraoi collective, who are one of the constituent organisers of this event, refused to permit the use of their facilities for a Basque cultural festival and information evening. And did so on political grounds. Furthermore, in correspondence to this periodical, at least one of their members stated that such refusals had been given to other groups in the past.

One of the positive contributions of the anarchist and anarcho-syndicalist movement in the past has been to state that one cannot separate the political from the social: for example, that one cannot organise effectively against the exploitation of workers by capitalism without opposing the oppression of women -- in society and in the home. How can a "network of resistance" be built upon exclusion of component parts of resistance at home and abroad? How can social solidarity exist where no space is given to a solidarity organisation for even giving information about oppression and resistance abroad? How can resistance be built upon the adoption of the arguments of oppressive states? And how can the excluded be expected to enter the building they were excluded from and pretend that we are all joined in a genuine network of solidarity?

Or is it the case that this "network of solidarity" has been conceived of as a very specific network with a very narrow constituency? If that is so, it is doomed to failure in any serious contribution to changing our society.

by John - -

Thu Oct 08, 2009 09:47

Any report of how the meeting went? Many there?

follow up

Thu Oct 08, 2009 13:01

This was emailed around by the organisers, I was at it if I find the time I'll write up a report

Hey everyone,

thanks to all who came to the Seomra Spraoi last Saturday, we hope that you felt the day was positive and productive.
Feedback from everyone was good, there were some great discussions, sharing of experiences, and the blueprint for a group that can hopefully be a successful network for resisitng cuts and having a real voice in society.

We are going to have the next meeting on Thursday the 15th of October at 7.30pm.

The idea is to have a meeting of the separate groups (Workplace resistance, community resistance, unempoyed & unwaged resistance and education cuts resistance) followed by a meeting of the entire group.

As this is a network, it would be great if people could bring along friends and family who may be interested in the group!

Come along to the follw-up meeting

by Gregor Kerr - Social Solidarity Network

Mon Oct 12, 2009 20:52

Follow-up meeting of the Social Solidarity Network is on Monday 19th October.
Details here:
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/94414

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Social Solidarity Network - Building a Network of Resistance: Invitation to meeting Sat 3rd Oct

Comments (7 of 7)