Grassroots Gathering - Community struggles - campaign strategies - developing networks -
at NUI Galway, Communities against fracking and drilling; movements against austerity;
other sessions What it is, practical details, grassroots principles, call for volunteers
NEW - FULL TIMETABLE AVAILABLE HERE. (More details of sessions at the end of this post.)
-- A grassroots gathering is a one-off event run by a local group bringing together people
involved in different community campaigns and social movements to learn from each other's
experiences, talk about what works and what doesn't, develop networks and make alliances.
There have been a dozen of these in different parts of the country over the last eleven
years and they have helped support all sorts of different campaigns and movements -
resisting Shell in Erris, campaigning against cuts, supporting women's right to choose,
challenging neo-liberalism in the EU, creating free space for young people, opposing
incinerators, community gardening, protecting natural and national heritage, highlighting
US military use of Shannon, challenging racism and more.
This gathering is happening in NUI Galway from the evening of Friday October 12 to the
afternoon of Sunday October 14. There will be particular sessions for communities
resisting fracking and drilling and for movements against austerity, as well as open
sessions on a wide variety of topics - alongside movies, poetry, music, art and social
action. Food will be vegan and gluten-free (butter and milk available!) and will cost ?15
unwaged / ?20 waged for the weekend. The gathering is child-friendly and has a kids' and
parents' space as well as childrens' activities but not a creche / childcare (sorry!)
Similarly we can help out putting people with spare beds and sofas together with people
who need them.
If travel costs would prevent you from attending contact us and we will see if we can
arrange a life or otherwise help.
The Gathering isn't about famous speakers or Great Experts telling us how to do things -
the idea is to bring together campaigners, people in communities, people organising at the
base in unions, experienced activists and people just starting out to share their
experiences, discuss what way they think things might go, ask questions of each other,
make connections and have a good chance to chat and meet new people and old friends. It's
not for profit (and we all get to muck in with washing up, passing the hat and generally
helping out), it isn't run by any political party and nobody will try to recruit anyone.
Over the last few years more and more people have seen just how corrupt the system is and
how little faith we can have in the people who claim to represent us and "see us right".
For this reason the Gatherings aren't for people who want to make a name for themselves,
make a career out of other people's activism, get a leg up politically, make money out of
campaigning, appear on TV etc. More formally we have the "Grassroots Principles" which say
that we want to work together as equals, run things in an open and democratic way and try
not to talk down to each other or over each other's heads. Rather than rebuild the old
mess we believe in communities being able to decide for themselves, workplaces controlled
by the people who actually work in them, a sustainable economy and an end to neoliberal
bodies like the IMF and World Bank which have helped to create the crisis. The full
principles and more about the Gatherings at http://grassroots.pageabode.com.
If this sounds interesting, please get involved and help us make it happen! We need help
now putting up posters, offering beds, and most importantly passing the word around. On
the weekend itself there will be plenty to be done to help out. [Download a PDF of the poster]
If you can offer anything please email grassrootsgalway@gmail.com; facebook
GrassrootsGathering.
Practical details
Accommodation in Galway
If you havn't managed to arrange accommodation in advance of the gathering you can ask
about a limited number of spaces staying with some of the Galway folk at the information &
registration desk - places are limited so please come early on Friday!
Otherwise there are a number of links other options bellow:
Hostels @15mins walk from NUIG:
http://barnacles.ie/
http://www.sleepzone.ie/About_Sleepzone_Galway/Default.19.html
B&Bs 4-6 mins walk from NUIG:
http://www.deacysbb.com/tariff.htm
Scholars Rest B&B (no website but have offered reduced ?45 double & twin rooms, no breakfast)
Also, if you are a couchsurfer there is a good number of hosts in Galway,
please contact them in advance http://www.couchsurfing.org/.
Food
Food will be vegan and gluten-free (butter and milk available!) and will cost a donation
of ?15 unwaged / ?20 waged for the weekend. Alternatively you can donate ?5 per meal.
Travel
If travel costs would stop you from coming please contact us at grassrootsgalway@gmail.com
and we will try to help as much as we can by trying to arrange lifts etc.
Parents and kids
The gathering is child-friendly and has a kids' and parents' space as well as children?s
activities but not a cr?che / childcare (sorry!)
Getting there
The Gathering is happening in ?ras na Mac L?inn, right beside the college bar in NUI
Galway. See the college map at http://nuigalway.ie/campus-map/.
Some travel details to Galway:
From Dublin:
http://www.gobus.ie/timetable.php?map=1
http://citylink.ie/index.php/routes-a-timetables/timetables/22
From Cork/Limerick:
http://citylink.ie/index.php/routes-a-timetables/timetables/66
Collective discussion sessions on Saturday
17.30 The G8 is in Britian next year - should we mobilise for the protests
An Irish activist who has been travelling to the counter G8 mobilising meetings in Britain
will explain what is known and planned so far as the start of a discussion as to to if and
how we shall put together a mobilisation from Ireland.
?Communities Resisting Fracking? programme
Friday 12th October
Time
Session
Venue
5pm ? 7pm
Set up of visual display which can be added to by everyone throughout weekend
Timeline Images, photos, words to show what communities have been doing over the past year
to keep Ireland fracking free
IDEAS board A space pin up ideas e.g. ideas for future collective actions or events
What should we discuss? Suggestions board for possible discussion topics
Drawing space for volunteers to make a colourful visual record of discussions during the
weekend
Note: Please bring along photos, words, ideas from your local campaigns to add to the
timeline, or email them to grassrootsgalway@gmail.com
Main hall, Aras Mac Leinn, NUIG
7pm -7.30pm
Light dinner
Main hall
7.30 ? 8.30pm
Introduction to Grassroots Gatherings and to the weekend
Main hall
8.30-10.00pm
Evening entertainment
including a play reading by Donal O?Kelly
The Cube theatre, NUIG
Saturday 13th October
Time
Session
Venue
10am-10.55am
Introduction to Fracking-Free movement sessions
Space for participants to introduce themselves and speak about experiences of their local
groups, what they would like to gain from weekend, and confirm the key questions to be
discussed in the afternoon. All groups and individuals involved in the movement to keep
Ireland fracking free are invited to share their experiences so far.
Facilitator: Fergal Scully (Gluaiseacht for Global Justice) will invite groups to
introduce themselves and raise key discussion questions.
Workshop space 1, Aras Mac Leinn, NUIG
11.00am ? 11.45am
Divide and Conquer: Forum theatre
A participatory theatre piece about how a community becomes divided by the actions of a
fracking company which manipulates members of the community in order to push it?s own agenda.
Facilitators: AL?, a personal social and community development organization founded in
2004 who mainly use ?Theatre of the Oppressed? (T.O) methodologies as developmental tools.
http://www.ala-ct.ie
The Cube theatre, NUIG
11.45-12.00
Tea break
12.00 ? 1pm
Divide and Conquer: Forum theatre (cont.)
The Cube
1-2pm
Lunch
Main hall
2pm-3.30pm
Resisting Fracking - Discussion 1: How can we win?
Discussion on the diversity of tactical approaches that exist within the movement to keep
Ireland fracking-free and how they interact. How can those of us engaging with state
processes together with those of us taking radical approaches maximise our collective
strength and ensure that the unconventional shale gas industry is stopped in Ireland?
All groups and individuals involved in the movement to keep Ireland
Workshop space 1, Aras Mac Leinn
fracking-free are invited to share their perspectives. Campaigners from other movements
will also invited to offer their experiences of similar dynamics; including Br?d N?
Sheighin, principal of Scoil N?isi?nta Cheathr? Thaidgh near Rossport, Co. Mayo to share
experiences of different tactics used to resist Shell?s Corrib gas project. Facilitator:
Vicky Donnelly (Galway One World Centre) will host small group and whole group discussions
to explore these issues.
3.30pm-3.45pm
Tea break
Main hall
3.45pm ? 5.15 pm
Resisting Fracking - Discussion 2: Key questions
?From local to national? ? How do we make fracking matter to everyone in Ireland?
?Don?t forget to tell your neighbours? ? How do we build a real grassroots movement of
farmers and others who will be most affected?
How do we take action to resist the 2nd stage of licensing while gaining and keeping
mainstream support?
Groups and individuals involved in the movement to keep Ireland fracking free, and
activists from other movements to share their experiences. Facilitator: Laurence Cox will
host parallel discussion groups, feeding into a whole group discussion. Dr Laurence Cox
(NUI Maynooth) has been researching social movements for 20 years and runs a dedicated MA
programme for organisers and community educators.
Workshop space 1, Aras Mac Leinn
5.15 ? 5.30pm
Tea Break
Main hall
5.30-6.30pm
Collective discussion space for everyone taking part in the Gathering.
Main hall
6.30pm
Dinner
Main hall
7.30pm - Late
Evening entertainment (Political cabaret followed by local bands)
Main hall
Sunday 14th October
Time
Session
Venue
11.00 -11.45am
Reaching the mainstream media - successes of the St. Michael?s Estate campaign. A
presentation focussed on reaching the mainstream media by Mimi Doran. Mimi Doran is a
communications practitioner and media lecturer with an interest in social justice and has
provided strategic planning, communications strategies and media training to a variety of
businesses and organisations.
Workshop space 1, Aras Mac Leinn
11.45 ? 12.00
Tea break
12.00am- 1.30pm
Media skills sharing workshop
A workshop to share experience, identify needs and develop skill networks that campaign
groups can draw upon in future to work with and create media. Groups and individuals
involved in the movement to keep Ireland fracking free, and campaigners from other
movements, are invited to share their experiences of reaching and working with media.
Facilitators: Margaret Gillan, William Hederman and Orla Quinn Margaret Gillan has worked
with Community Media Network for the past 16 years to support groups in developing their
capacity to use media. William Hederman is a journalist and campaigner. Orla Quinn has
worked as facilitator of development workshops for Comhlamh, Development Perspectives and
Tr?caire and as Campaigns Officer with Tr?caire, working on issues ranging from Climate
Change to country specific issues, e.g. Palestine.
Workshop space 1, Aras Mac Leinn *[Parallel skill- share groups to be added depending on
interest: e.g. Facilitation skills, fundraising etc]
1.30 ? 2.30pm
Lunch
Main hall
2.30pm -4pm
Collective discussion space for everyone taking part in the Gathering.
Main hall
4.00 -5.00pm
Tea, coffee and close of gathering
Austerity stream
Friday night and lunch, tea breaks etc are as above. Sessions are as follows
Saturday
10am - 11.15 - Banking & the Insolvency Bill
Conor McCabe will give a short intro on the bank guarantee, the recapitalization and the
payment of bonds followed by Dermot Sreenan explaining how the Insolvency Bill is a con
designed to protect the banks interests because of how the Irish Banking Federation have
had major influence over it making it completely ineffective as a solution towards
tackling private indebtedness,
11.30- 13.00 Understanding & resisting the Crisis
Conor McCabe will look at the actual dynamics of the Irish economy, in contrast to the
spin that is regularly given on national and local media.
Paul Bowman will look at the political implications of the global, eurozone and irish
economic crises and open the debate on what the strategic and tactical options are for all
us us willing to take action for a more human-centric and environmentally sustainable future.
14.00 to 15.30 PIIGS co-ordination
How do we improve our communication & co-ordination with resistance in the other PIIGS
with the input of people from Spain, Italy, Portugal & Greece.
3.45 to 5.15 Reaching the people
People from Anglo Not Our Debt, Unlock NAMA and Household Tax discussing the methods they
have been using to talk to the public in general.
Sunday 11.30 to 1.00 Student resistance past & present
The current wave of student organisers and people from previous high points in the late
1980's and early 2000's will look at what has worked and what can be done. We also hope
to have some international contributions at this session.
?Art Programme
Running all weekend:
Visual Art Exhibition:
ENGAGE ART COLLECTIVE GARTH KENNEDY
ALICE MYERS SIOBHAN CLANCY
WILLIAM HEDDERMAN EILISH MURPHY
ARTS PARTICIPATION AND DEVELOPMENT
FILM SHOWINGS
IN
ARUS UI CHATHAIL
LUNCHTIME READINGS IN MAIN HALL
BY PETE MULLINEUX
Friday Night
THEATRE
Donal O?Kelly 9 to 10 pm in the Cube
Reading from the play
?fionnuala?
MUSIC
FROM 10 PM TIL LATE IN THE MAIN HALL
WITH MC EAMON STAIC
BAILEY ALLEN ACCOUSTIC TRAD SESSION
LUNATIC SPOONS
AND MORE
SATURDAY
LUNCHTIME READINGS IN MAIN HALL
BY PETE MULLINEUX
ART IN ACTION WORKSHOPS AND SESSIONS
VENUE : ART ROOM
INTRO TO CREATIVE ACTIONS: 11 TO 1 PM
WHAT IS A CREATIVE ACTION?
WHAT IS INVOLVED IN PLANNING ONE?
WHAT CAN YOU GET OUT OF IT?
FACILITATED BY:
SIOBHAN CLANCY AND EILISH MURPHY
FOLLOWED BY
CREATIVE ACTION WORKING SESSION.
THIS WILL BE ONGOING SATURDAY FINISHING WITH A CREATIVE ART ACTION IN A PUBLIC SPACE ON
SUNDAY.
SUPPORTED BY GISELLE HARVEY AND ROB IRESON
STOP MOTION WORKSHOP 11 TO 1 PM
DEVISE AND CREATE AN ANIMATION USING STOPMOTION TECHNIQUES
FACILITATED BY EILISH MURPHY AND SUPPORTED BY SIOBHAN CLANCY
VIDEO DOCUMENTATION 2-3 PM
BY SIOBHAN CLANCY
ART AND ACTIVISM DISCUSSION 4PM ? 6PM
SATURDAY EVENING ENTERTAINMENT 7.30 TIL LATE
MC EAMON STAIC
POLITICAL PAISEAN FAISEAN
MY FELLOW SPONGES
TWIN HEADED WOLF
AINDRIAS STAIC
AND MORE
FOLLOWED BY DJS
SUNDAY
ART ACTION 11 ? 1 PM
STREET BASED ART ACTION TO TAKE PLACE EVOLVING FROM SATURDAYS SESSIONS
SUPPORTED GISELLE HARVEY AND ROB IRESON
SUNDAY AFTERNOON : PLENARY
LUNCHTIME READING
MARGARETTA D?ARCY
Also (specific timetable should be available later this weekend)
Open sessions - These sessions run parallel to the fracking resistance discussions. This
programme includes some open slots for spontaneous discussion and workshops during the
weekend.
Kids and parents space ? A space for parents and kids located one area of the main hall.
Some all ages activities - Puppet show and story telling, and juggling workshop - at
specific times.
Films ? Films will be screened in ?ras U? Cathail cinema space. To propose film screenings
email: grassrootsgalway@gmail.com
Attachment Size
GG GALWAY 2012 timetable.pdf
http://grassroots.pageabode.com/sites/grassroots.pageabode.com/files/GG%20GALWAY%202012%20timetable.pdf
From http://grassroots.pageabode.com/content/oct-2012-galway-grassroots-gathering
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* The Grassroots Gathering principles
These are the principles agreed in advance of the 1st Grassroots Gathering in 2001 and
under which all Grassroots Gathering activity has been carried out.
The Grassroots Gathering aims towards a network which would:
- Be based on the principle that people should control their own lives and work together
as equals, as part of how we work as well as what we are working towards.
- Within the network this means rejecting top-down and state-centred forms of organisation
(hierarchical, authoritarian, expert-based, Leninist etc.) We need a network that?s open,
decentralised, and really democratic.
- Call for solutions that involve ordinary people controlling their own lives and having
the resources to do so: the abolition, not reform, of global bodies like the World Bank
and WTO, and a challenge to underlying structures of power and inequality.
- Organise for the control of the workplace by those who work there.
- Call for the control of communities by the people who live there.
- Argue for a sustainable environmental, economic and social system, agreed by the people
of the planet.
- Working together in ways which are accessible to ordinary people, particularly women and
working-class people, rather than reproducing feelings of disempowerment and alienation
within our own network.
Bron : a-infos-en@ainfos.ca