April 27, 2008

DNC And RNC Protestors Gather To "Practice" With "Hands-On" Training

Advanced blockading 101--includes "hands-on" training!
Come to DC in June 13-15 to join us for an East Coast Unconventional Convergence. Months before the Republican and Democratic National Conventions we will be hosting a massive training, convergence, and platform for regional consultas for any anti-authoritarian organizers planning to attend the DNC/RNC.

Throughout the weekend we will be working chronologically through the steps of planning and participating in a mass action and demonstration. Contrary to most events like workshops will intentionally run parallel to each other. We recommend you attend with a formal or informal affinity group so you and your friends can be split between the different workshops and report back to each other (please do not let lack of a group discourage you from coming!). Our goals are to provide a structure that will include people of all skill and experience levels. There will be trainings on everything from media to blockading, from legal work to urban guerilla tactics. And for those who consider themselves “too skilled” we would like to remind you that you always have things to learn, share, and of course, PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!

Workshops will be demonstrative as opposed descriptive wherever possible. This means that we will hopefully be building and using blockades instead of just talking about them so we can walk away with a fuller understanding. These same blockades can certainly be deployed on the streets in the Twin Cities and Denver. PRAXIS [can't have too much of that, I always say, ed.] SIDE BY SIDE WITH THEORY!

There will be a concentrated effort to socialize and meet new people. We will hopefully meet people we didn’t know from our home towns, build connections between close-by cities in our own states, and foster robust lines of communication between states. We will concentrate on the creation of strong, sustainable, networks between many different type of activists. These connections strengthen our organizing power and have practical applications in the streets as we learn how to be effective in groups of five, fifteen, fifty, five hundred, and five thousand. SOLIDARITY OVER SECTARIANISM!

Additionally, please keep in mind that we are a completely unfunded organization. Despite our best efforts to keep costs to a strict minimum we will still need materials for use in demonstrations; (materials that will eventually see time on the streets St. Paul and Denver). This means we need to fund raise in advance of the convergence, so keep abreast of information on pre-registration.

DETAILS:

Date: June 13-15
Location: Washington, DC on the Campus of American University
Cost: $20 with housing, $10 without housing, meals provided
Website: http://ecc.dead-city.org
Contact: dc@unconventionalaction.org
And, of course, fundraiser--bring the kiddies.

You can never be “too skilled” as a protestor. Don't let the latest chant update, advanced bongo technique, or patchouli accenture pass you by!

Labels: , , , , ,

|