Three years ago, I followed my heart to Atlanta, Georgia, to attend the first U.S. Social Forum. I had attended several World Social Forums and was convinced that this new way of organizing was building social movements in a more democratic and inclusive way.
I was also part of a failed attempt to organize a social forum in Canada that hit against the shoals of national conflicts. So when I heard there was to be a U.S. Social Forum, I knew I had to go.
Roots to Grow invites panelists from a variety of spaces to share their experiences and lead a discussion that will help position Rhizome Cafe as part of a network of radical spaces, and as part of a legacy and tradition of resistance.
Discussion will centre around the role of physical spaces, like Rhizome, in supporting social movements and what can be learned from other radical spaces, both preexisting and currently in existence.
This event is organized by the Coordinating Collective of the Rhizome Movement-Building Centre.
While the new Left of the 1960's, feminism, and various New Age projects challenged authoritarianism, the political Left never managed to change its authoritarian and patriarchal mode of functioning. The Left believed that to be effective and take on a centralized and authoritarian power, they, too, had to concentrate power. For the social democratic Left, the pressure of the media to conform to highly managed political interventions and, eventually, to highly managed political conventions was deadly to internal party democracy.
Just as economies and financial markets were crashing worldwide, more than 7,000 social activists from some 350 organizations throughout the western hemisphere gathered in Guatemala City, October 7 to 12, for the third Americas Social Forum.
Their goal was to elaborate a more democratic and humane vision for the Americas - a vision of strengthened community control that is increasingly coherent as neoliberal corporate systems implode.
Hopeful alternatives emerging in Latin America
Support rabble | Advertise with us | Contact our staff | About rabble | Log-in or Register for a new account | Corrections | Privacy policy | Newsfeeds | Mailing lists
rabble: Features | Columnists | In Cahoots | Blogs | Books | Photos | What's Up | Polls
babble: Forum Topics | Active Topics
The rpn: Become a Podcaster | Find a Show
rabbleTV: Program Guide | Features | Indie Inside | Best of the net
Copyright © 2001-2012 the authors