Envisioning People's Stuggles Conference
Envisioning People's Stuggles Conference
June 24-26, 2005
SFU Harbour Centre
Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories
By donation ($10-20), no one turned away
We are organizing the Envisioning People's Struggles Conference to bring together issues and analysis from the
many struggles against war, capitalism, colonialism, and imperialism. The
conference will also explore and discuss the history of resistance
movements locally and around the world to broaden and contextualize our
understanding of current struggles, while emphasizing the need for
long-term strategy and vision through open dialogue that builds solidarity
between diverse organizing communities.
Envisioning Peoples Struggles will bring together those at the forefront
of self-determination struggles, and organizers and activists
participating in active movements for indigenous sovereignty, against
occupations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Haiti and elsewhere; for
justice for immigrants and refugees; for workers rights; for women’s
liberation; against the prison industrial complex; against
capitalist/imperialist globalization; anti-poverty organizing, and more.
It will be a weekend of workshops, panels, films, and strategy sessions.
Childcare available. Lunch provided on Saturday and Sunday.
** IMPORTANT REGISTRATION INFORMATION **
Pre-registration has exceeded what we expected, and due to limited space, we might not be able to accommodate everyone who wishes to attend some of the Saturday panels in particular. To ensure you are able to attend the panels you would like, we strongly encourage registering. Those who have registered will be given priority if we reach capacity, although we will take into account various accessibility issues around the registration process for some participants. The conference is by donation (suggested donation 10-20$ for the entire conference including food and all the film festival). No one turned away for lack of $.
The opening panel on Friday, June 24th will be centered around ongoing resistance to war and colonialism at home and abroad. One of our keynote speakers is Waleed Rabia. Waleed is a founder of Al Muajaha ('The Witness” or alternatively, “Confrontation”); Iraq's first independent media project that was initiated one week after the war began, and associated with the IndyMedia Center. He was an embedded journalist with the Iraqi resistance forces from Northern to Southern Iraq, subproducer for the BBC, and liaison with internationals in Iraq such as Voices of Conscience, Iraq Solidarity Project, Big Noise Films, Naomi Klein, and others.
more information here >>
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Conference Speakers
Some of our speakers on Saturday include Arthur-Martins Aginam who is a
former Nigerian Public Affairs journalist, Arthur Manuel who is a
Secwepemc defender, Sid Shniad of the Telecommunications Workers Union,
Nazilla Betta who is an Algerian physician on womens health and health
under occupation, Gene McGuckin of Prepare the General Strike Committee,
Megan Olson who is a recent recipient of a Human Rights Award for her work
in the Downtown Eastside, Hari Sharma who is the President of South Asian
Network for Secularism and Demoracy, community activists involved with the
historic Red Power movement, well-known author Anthony Fenton, Erika Fuchs
of a Mexican migrant workers support group, Don Pedro who is a leader of
the Mayan peoples movement in Guatemala against Canadian corporations,
Marysol Torres of the Vancouver Bolivarian Circle, speakers from the Haida
Nation, Gary McCarron from the SFU School of Communications, activists
from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, Sid Tan from the Chinese
Canadians Head Tax Redress Campaign, Cecilia Pereyra who is a local Latina
activist, and many others.
Conference Events:
Community activists and residents of the neighbourhood will guide the walk with a history of the many poor, working class, and racialized communities that have shaped the neighbourhood’s culture and resisted gentrification and displacement.
The Film Festival will run in SFU Harbour Center from 1:30-6 pm (parallel to the set of afternoon panels). The films being screened are: Continuous Journey, Control Room, Poverty Outlaws, and a short documentary by RAWA (Revolutionary Association of Women in Afghanistan).
The Canadian Refugee Camp involves the collective organization and participation of over a dozen immigrant and refugee community organizations in Vancouver who have been engaged in historic and present struggle against exclusionary immigration policies.
One of our keynote speakers on the closing panel on Sunday, June 26th is Colombian Trade Union leader Alfredo Porras. Alfredo Porras was a Coca Cola worker in Colombia for 20 years, serving as a union leader and key negotiator of collective agreements. He has been targetted, arrested and had an assassination attempt on his life; and finally, he fled as a political refugee to Canada. Alfredo will speak about the struggle of unions in Colombia, particularly the Coca Cola Union, and the violation against its members and workers. He will also speak about the price workers pay for globalization and the tragic toll paid by families and communities.
A silent march to honour all the deportees struggling against Citizenship and Immigration Canada. This march is being organized to coincide with the historic 200 km walk from Montreal to Ottawa being organized by Solidarity Across Borders - a Montreal network of self-organized refugee groups, individuals and their allies- from June 18-25, 2005. For every agonizing moment, for every day spent in anxiety, for every detention, for every deportation, for the stolen time and the stolen lives, this march will pay tribute to all those fighting in this silent war. Organized by a network of immigrant groups in Vancouver.
more information here >>
download poster here >>
Workshops:
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Victory Square