- an international workshop for activist leaders -
June 25 <incl> July 2 - 1998 - Nova Scotia - Canada
---
Only when the last tree has died
And the last river been poisoned
And the last fish caught
Will we realize that we cannot eat money.
- The Cree
Dear renaissance-network,
Below you will find the session descriptions, more or less as they were
presented in the original workshop announcement.
There are ten sessions and most of them cover rather broad topics (eg,
"GLOBALIZATION AND CORPORATE POWER"). On average, each session will be
approximately 1/2 day in duration, and will be divided into two or three
`panel segments'.
For example, the GLOBALIZATION session might be divided into these
three panels:
a) History backgrounder on corporations and monopolies
b) Global economy and WTO/IMF world-government
c) Anti-MAI intitiative: report from the front lines
We could expect to have, then, somewhere in the vicinity of 20-30
panels, each of which will need two or three presenters/panelists to
kick off the session.
In other words, my friends, *-> _EACH of you should pick out a session
you'd like to participate in, and articulate the topic you'd like to say
something about. <-* If your topic doesn't seem to fit into one of the
sessions, send it in anyway and we'll find a place for you, even if it
means redefining one of the sessions.
I'm serious -- this workshop, like democracy itself, and like the
revolution, is a strictly _participatory affair, not a spectator event.
Don't worry if you don't have a world-shaking treatise to present. If
you just want to speak for five minutes on the work you've been involved
in, that will be fine, and may in fact be more useful than you
anticipate. But _everyone should have their turn at the front table and
a chance to have group attention focused on their work.
---
If you have come here to help me,
you are wasting your time....
but if you have come because
your liberation is bound up with mine,
then let us work together.
- Aboriginal Woman
---
**---> _PLEASE - within the next day or two, send us a message...
mailto:•••@••.•••
...indicating which session you'd like to join, along with a paragraph
or two describing what you'd like to talk about.
---
The goal of the workshop is to launch a global coalition movement aimed
at overcoming elite corporate global hegemony and creating a new
democratic era based on sanity in human affairs. The basis of such a
coalition is commitment to a shared agenda. That shared agenda can be
expressed as a manifesto, but it must be based on a common understanding
of our current situation and a common vision of what must be done about
it. The workshop is designed to facilitate the achievement of that
common understanding and to enable us to discover together that vision.
Fifty of us, even if in collaboration with the constituencies we
represent, is not enough to change the world. But as a core group --
the first fifty to `step over the line' -- and with appropriate
publication and promotion of what we're about, we can be the beginning
of something that _can change the world. And of course, I say
`beginning' somewhat tongue-in-cheek -- many out there have already
begun, they see us as the stragglers, but so be it, we each come to the
revolution as best we can.
People everywhere are waking up to the reality of globalization -- the
unabashed attempt by the Western capitalist elite to finally and forever
rule the world as they see fit. Hundreds of thousands of people
worldwide have taken the initiative to fight back, from Chiapas to
Vancouver, from the docks of Australia to the trucking lanes of France,
from the Greens in Germany to enviro-activists in every corner of the
globe.
It is not that people need to be aroused to the problem, it is more that
the already-aroused energy needs to become aligned, to become coherent,
to act as a force of people-power rather than evidence of people-
factionalism.
In closing, I'd like to share with you a piece I sent out on New Years
Day. I didn't realize it at the time, but writing this piece is what
cemented my own commitment to revolution, and I've gotten dozens of
replies from people who found this message inspirational for them...
rkm
cadre
25 April 98
-=-=-=-=-=-=~ New Years Message 1998 ~=-=-=-=-=-=-
I find the turn-of-the-year fascinating; a time to notice that the clock
does tick, and that we only get a finite number of ticks. Is there
anything you want to get done on your shift?
Is there something you wish "someone else" would do? Why don't you do
it instead?
Did you exchange
A walk-on part in a war
For a lead role in a cage?
-Roger Waters, of Pink Floyd
I think I was 40 when it first occurred to me that life is finite; only
after that did I consider that "what I really want to do" could be an
actual option in life. Before that I thought it was my job to always
pick the most advantageous option that came my way, to maximally exploit
my skills -- perhaps what Bob Dylan meant by "to be nothing more than
something you invest in".
It turns out most of us could be anything we want in life, be it
architect, auto mechanic, art historian, or revolutionary: it's will
that matters, not aptitude. You can always take a remedial course if
you're slow at something: very little really requires rocket science or
unusual physique. What a disservice it is to tell kids they're "good at"
one thing and "unsuited" to another, before they're old enough to know what
a "life decision" is all about. Those are the beginnings of disempowering
mind control... and unfortunately, all too effective.
Aptitude is secondary, difficulty is secondary; only what you want is
primary. Set a goal you _want to achieve; don't choose a goal because
it's _achievable. Having a goal is powerful: your life begins automatically
to organize itself in that direction; your energy can move toward "achieving"
rather than circle around "wishing". The journey of a thousand miles begins
with the first step, but that first step is not made by the feet:
it's made by the mind and it's called _intention_.
-=-=-=-=-=-=~ End of New Years Message ~=-=-=-=-=-=-
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sessions will generally begin with a panel presentation and then open
up to general discussion. We will break up into smaller groups fre-
quently to enable all delegates to contribute and to facilitate the
consensus process. Session descriptions may change depending on
delegate interest and willingness to participate on panels.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SESSION DESCRIPTIONS...
* OPENING CEREMONY - traditional spiritual-alignment
ceremony led by delegates representing indigenous peoples
* GETTING ACQUAINTED - delegate self-intros, description
of activities and organizations, statement of intentions
regarding workshop and coalition; discussion of workshop
process and agenda
* GLOBALIZATION AND CORPORATE POWER - presentation:
capsule history of corporate power and the rise of globalization,
with an emphasis on sovereignty and democracy; discussion of
globalization and its consequences; special presentation by anti-
MAI activist delegates
---
Capitalism is the astounding belief that
the most wickedest of men will do
the most wickedest of things
for the greatest good of everyone.
John Maynard Keynes
* POLITICS AND DEMOCRACY - comparison of political and
electoral systems in delegates' countries; discussion of reform
agendas; discussion of media propaganda and the growth of
factionalism; special presentation on Cuban system by Cuban
delegate(s)
---
god bless the squire and all his relations
and keep us all in our proper stations.
-folk bedtime prayer
---
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little
temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
- Benjamin Franklin
* INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - presentation: capsule history
of imperialism, the postwar pax-americana regime, and hi-tech
neo-interventionism; discussion of the linkage between these
developments and globalization generally, especially in light
of (elite strategist) Samuel P. Huntington's KulturKampf agenda;
special focus on Middle East, including delegates from that
region
---
If we see that Germany is winning we should help
Russia and if Russia is winning we ought to help
Germany and that way let them kill as many
as possible . . .
-Harry S. Truman, 1941
* TOWARD A SENSIBLE WORLD - panel reports and general dis-
cussion of ecosystems, economics, technology, sustainability,
and prosperity; discussion of reform agendas and priorities;
discussion of how to implement reform incrementally, without
causing chaos in the process; discussion of international
relations based on the paradigm of collaboration
---
A community will evolve only when
the people control their means of communication."
-- Frantz Fanon
* ADOPTION OF CONSENSUS MANIFESTO - discussion,
amendment, and adoption of documents which have been
previously developed via email, fax, etc. by delegates
* COALITION LAUNCH - for those delegates who are ready to
commit, there will be a ceremonial declaration of collab-
orative solidarity in pursuit of the goals of the manifesto.
These delegates will then be the charter members of:
*-> The Global Coalition for a Democratic Renaissance
* GETTING ON WITH THE REVOLUTION - discussion of
coalition-building and of movement strategy; identification
of initial constituencies to be recruited to the coalition;
break up into affinity groups to discuss joint endeavors and
to commit to initial joint objectives; reconvene and discuss
reports of affinity groups; closing discussion
---
"If ever time should come, when vain and aspiring men
shall possess the highest seats in Government, our
country will stand in need of its experienced patriots
to prevent its ruin."- Samuel Adams
* CLOSING CEREMONY - traditional endeavor-blessing
ceremony led, again, by indigenous delegates
* farewell "rebel-rousing" party in honor of staff
------------------------------------------------------------------------
---
Restore democratic sovereignty
Create a sane and livable world
Bring corporate globalization under control.
* CITIZENS FOR A DEMOCRATIC RENAISSANCE (CADRE) *
mailto:•••@••.•••
http://cyberjournal.org
---
To subscribe to the PPI newsfeed (cyberjournal), simply send:
To: •••@••.•••
Subject: (ignored)
---
sub cyberjournal Jane Q. Doe <-- your name there
---
---
love you love you love you rebel jan.
above the fray you took the rebel stand.
you saw beyond, you lifted up the yoke,
you put your shoulder with the tiny band.
did ceasar know when you sat down to write,
that even he would learn to feel fright?
that ordinary people you and me,
could push his moutain down into the sea?
-rkm, in honor of Jan launching her outreach campaign
---
If you think you're too small to be effective,
You've never been in bed with a mosquito.
