ESF EPA Newsletter: Istanbul from 20th to the 23rd May 2010 (written by Mariangela Casalucci)
Minutes from the EPA in Istanbul
Thursday 20th May: Program group meeting : merging
Friday 21st May: network meetings in the morning; Program group meeting : merging
IMPORTANT FOR ALL GROUP ORGANIZING ACTIVITIES AT THE ESF!
After the merging meeting a new list of activities was prepared and sent to the ESF list. All the organizers have to check it and send eventually changes for any details and more important for the languages needed, by the 30th of May in order to finalize the program and print the final version. The program will be completely closed on the 30th of May. The final Program will be ready by the 3rd of June in order to be distributed .
INVITATION
It was decided that TOC should invite one person from Maghreb social forum, one from US social Forum, one from Senegal (next WSF), one from the Brazilian group. It will be important to share the funding for people from Maghreb and Senegal.
Saturday 22nd May minutes from EPA (decisions included)
Agenda
- 10.00 Report of Turkey Organizing Committee and discussion
- 15.00 – 20.00 Report of program working group and decisions
Turkey Organize Committee (TOC) report and information about the next European Social Forum in Istanbul
TOC organization : There are lots of people working in the ESF TOC. For the next last month TOC is going to share responsibilities between four people in order to organize and solve the problems in the next weeks.
Website
World March of Women European Feminist Gathering- 29th of June: The women caravan from Balcans is arriving in Istanbul. There will be a welcome action. Infos will be sent to the list
- 30th of June
- European Feminist Gathering - organized by the World March of Women. There will be an assembly and several workshops
- h. 18.00 closing +++ h. 19.00 women demonstration.
Timetable of ESF in Istanbul:
- 30th of June h. 20.30
- Opening event the ESF after the Women March with a concert with a Turkish band.
Speakers at the opening event: one of the Tekel workers, one from the Greek movements, one from the women march, one from the Mesopotamian Social Forum (attention to gender ) from 5 min to 10 min each. In the opening event who is speaking has to focus also on the main aim of the ESF in Istanbul
Main slogan of the ESF 2010 in Istanbul: ANOTHER EUROPE IS NECESSARY
Followed by: (in different languages)
- English: Make them pay for their crisis
- Italian: La crisi va pagata da chi l’ha provocata
- German: Lasst sie für ihre Krise zahlen!
- Kurdish: Divê Cirma Krîzê Xwediyê Krîzê Bidin!
PLEASE SEND THE TRANSLATION in your language to the list
Program for the forum
- 1st July Thursday: 9.00 – 12.00; 14.00-17.00; 17.30 – 20.30; 19.00 – 20.30 meeting: building proposals for the Final Assembly
- 2nd July Friday: 9.00 – 12.00; 14.00-17.00; 17.30 – 20.30; 19.00 – 20.30 meeting: building proposals for the Final Assembly
- 3rd Of July Saturday: 9.00 – 12.00seminars and assemblies; 14.00 – 16.30 thematic assemblies; 18.00: Demonstration: The demonstration will be held on Saturday at 18.00 from the Sisli to Taksim square. A concert will follow
- 4th of July Sunday: 9.30 – 1 pm Final Assembly against crisis (there will be a first part to decide common actions against crisis and a second part for actions proposed by networks)
Assemblies in the forum:
In the ESF in Istanbul there will be apart from seminars and workshops thematic assemblies and a Final Assembly. For thematic assemblies there is the need to have more than the ones already organized and to change some of the ones included already in the list more inclusive. So all networks are asked to try to organize a meeting in order to collect proposals from seminars and workshops (specially migrants, climate change, antiwar…..) It was decided that the Final Assembly has to collect proposals from networks activities, thematic assemblies and people participating in the Esf. The aim is to prepare the call for the actions taking place in Europe against the crisis. Meetings have been organized and will be clearly included in the program to allow all those who are interested to take part in them Biggest focus of this forum has to be how people from Europe can work together to answers to the crises finding alternative against the neoliberalism economical project.
Entrance Fee:- Normal: 30 Euro
- Youth (under 22 years), unemployed or retired, Regular fee for CEE-countries: 15 Euros
- Youth (under 22), unemployed or retired from CEE-countries: 10 Euro
- Participants from Turkey: 5 Turkish lira
- Participation fee for organizations: 250 Euros
Accomodations:
3 municipalities are supporting the ESF. Next week there will be information on the website about friendly accommodations.
Rooms in Macka University
following information: Max. capacity (people) + Number of rooms available + Languages
- 400 – 600 seminar + 3 + 5
- 250 - 400 seminar + 3 + 4
- 150 – 250 seminar + 6 + 3
- 100 – 150 seminar + 5 + 3
- 50 – 100 workshop + 7 + No translation
- 50 workshop + 10 + No translation
In one time slot 36 meetings could take place.
Seminar Fees: Seminar fees for the different size rooms are as follows:
follow information: Size + Fee
- 750 + 1100 euro
- 600 + 900 euro
- 350 + 525 euro
- 250 + 375 euro
- 150 + 225 euro
- 100 (workshop) + 150 euro
- 50-100 (workshop) + 75 euro
Stands and stalls:- 100 Euro for informational stalls of ESF participants.
- 250 Euro for commercial stalls (there will be a limitation on commercial stalls, only the stalls of publishing houses, CDs and T-Shirts will be allowed)
There will be a working group inside Social Forum of Turkey, which will take care of the organization of stalls. This working group will decide which commercial stalls will be allowed.
Thematic Spaces:
Applications for Thematic Spaces will be taken through the mailing list. The cost of the Thematic Spaces will be 500 Euros for 20 square meters.
Media centreThe media centre will be provided by the municipality with 20 computers. A projector and an Internet connection has been asked in order to organize projections on particular themes.
Translation and Babel
Translation and interpretation is one of the most important thing in a Social Forum. Lina from Babel stated on behalf of Babel that Babel is not going to take responsibility for the translation in Istanbul ESF. They will offer their database to the TOC in order to find the interpreters needed. She gave some information:
Some statistics taken from the Babels database:
- 638 volunteers for the Istanbul ESF ( compared with 2500 in previous ESFs )
- 197 professional
- 172 experienced
- 158 occasional
- 86 first experience
- 50% of those volunteers will actually NOT be available
BREAKDOWN BY A1 LANGUAGE (professional+experienced)
Nbr of volunteers:
- ES: 123
- IT: 62
- EN: 44
- FR: 43
- DE: 28
A lot of interpreters are very reluctant to participate because Babel doesn’t know the system. We proposed an emergency solution which is to use Babel database in order to ask people to come for translation but only on their own risk. Babel has doubt on the Alis system and is really worried. If the radio system doesn’t work interpreters need an alternative system which means a traditional system
What Babel asks for:
- Funds
- Test in each room
- More volunteers as interpreters
- More volunteers for people to manage the equipment
It was decided that if by the 29th we will be sure that the technical system doesn’t work a different system will be set up and that TOC and also countries delegation will try to find more volunteers apart from the ones available at the moment.
TOC also stated that Alis is very important also because is an alternative to traditional and very expensive equipment. TOC stated that it will be granted equipment in the rooms where translation is needed. Better have more limited number of booths. It was said that Alis is a good system but it is important to train people to use the system weeks before. Several points were raised about the need of an European financial fund for interpretation.
Practical Issues:
Visa: None of the people of European countries need a Visa to visit Turkey but citizens of some non-European countries will need a Visa. And Visa process for Turkey citizens of some countries are very long (it can even take months). Those who will need a Visa invitation should send their passport information
here
Solidarity Fund
There will be one person of the TOC who will take care about the solidarity fund.
Because of both environmental and financial reasons, priority access to the solidarity fund will be given to those who travel as group by bus or train from neighbouring countries.
Future of the ESF
A seminar is going to take place in Istanbul on the future of the ESF The ESF, the global crisis and the european policies. “
What future for the ESF and the european social movements facing the global crisis?”
Who is interested can contact
Alessandra Mecozzi or
Eric.
In the seminar we will discuss about how we can improve the ESF process and the European networking. As suggestions we would like to stress some of the points of the discussion we had till now: Are decisions based too much on countries ideas? Are there too much TUs and parties-oriented people? Is it possible to start an European budget in order to ensure some fundamental tools for the ESF process (e.g. web tools and Babel)?
How can we enlarge the process? Is the charter of the ESF still valid? Is it true that only if the people in the ESF/EPA space can decide common actions and strategies we can reach a wider participation? Do we have to change the format or the way we work? What’s the EPA role in between the ESFs?
Women inclusion
Has to be seen more during the ESF and the whole process maintaining the quota rule. Women have to be in the panels (at least 50%) of all the meetings including facilitating assemblies. For the seminar the program group is going to give priority to proposal where the people commit themselves to balance women and men (this commitment has to be part of the registration process form).
Diversities
In all seminars it will be important a special commitment by the organizers to include different point of views in the panel to increase the debate by genders, age, geographical (East and South) and cultural backgrounds, different abilities and so on.
Logistic in ESFs
Food and accommodation must be consistent with our messages: i.e. affordable, environmental friendly, use local farmer products… Accommodation: (try to organize solidarity accommodation, hotels, hostels, campsite)
Presence of Political parties
Should neither have a separate space in the ESF nor be among the organisers. This does not exclude the participation of party members for special sessions of political dialogue, which could be particularly attractive also for the public opinion.
Website
In Istanbul in 2007 it was decided that all websites and tools need a permanent funding but this decision was never implemented
EPA in Istanbul minutes from Sunday 23rd
Agenda
- 10.00 Discussion about political situation in Europe (Greece, crisis)
- 12.30 Discussion on documents
- 13.00 Discussion about next ESF and next EPA
Call for the ESF 2010 in Istanbul
Make them pay for their crisis! Another Europe is necessary-6th ESF, Istanbul 1-4 July 2010
As time goes by, the crisis of neoliberal capitalism is being transformed to a great offensive against European societies: tremendous cuts in salaries and pensions, unprecedented job cuts, total destruction of public services. This is the worst time for the workers´ income and social rights since the end of World War 2. Those who during the last twenty years benefit from the neoliberal policies and created the ongoing global crisis (businessmen, financial speculators and neoliberal goverments), are now trying to transfer the bill to those who have no responsibility: workers, unemployed, pensionaries, youth, women, immigrants. It is high time to stop them, this is the time to make them pay for their crisis.
EU, IMF, financial speculators and neoliberal governments all over Europe are trying to make of Greece the laboratory of a new barbaric anti-social model that they want to implement all over Europe. Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary have already suffered from rigorous austerity plans. Now it is the time of the European South. And it will not stop there...
We have expressed our solidarity with the resistance of the Greek people and people from all the countries to the austerities plans. But this is not enough. Now, more than ever, it is urgent to build international, but more specifically European resistances and alternatives to the policies leaded by the G-20, the IMF and the UE with the collaboration of local governments There cannot be any fragmented national way-outs of this international crisis. Furthermore, we should block racist-nationalist forces which attempt to take advantage of the situation.
Now, more than ever, we need to make the European Social Forum a key event to take initiatives, coordinate actions and develop alternatives. In Istanbul from July 1 to July 4 we are going to make of the 6th European Social Forum an immense laboratory for the international coordination of our resistances and for the promotion of a new social model based on solidarity. It is high time to mobilize on the European level for the defense of jobs, salaries and pensions, for a decisive halt to financial speculation, for a European moratorium of public debt payments, for public control of the banking system .
We make an appeal for massive international participation to the 6th ESF. ANOTHER EUROPE IS NECESSARY!
We also make appeal for massive participation to the following mobilizations in different European countries:
Greece
- June 5, demonstration in Athens
- June 15-June 20, general strike (the exact date to be defined)
Italy
- June 5, national demonstration in Rome
- June 7 to June 15, strikes in education, transports and public sector
Germany
- June 12, demonstrations in Berlin and Stuttgart
Spain
- June 8, strike in public sector
Basque Country
- June 12, national demonstration in Bilbao
Portugal
- May 29, national demonstration in Lisbon
UK
- June 22, demonstration in London
On the web site we start a page http://www.fse-esf.org
A different Europe is necessary: make them pay for their crisis
It was decided that there will be a page on the main webside called A different Europe is necessary: make them pay for their crisis
Nicolas is going to start it. There will be the appeal for the 6th ESF and the calendar of all the actions in all different countries (send the infos to this
emailadress).
INVITATION FOR THE ESF 2010
Let Us Create Another World Together ! :
The 6th ESF is to be gathered in Istanbul, Turkey; a marvellous city not only with its cultural heritage, but also of social and political struggles; the historic resistance of the Tekel workers, Kurdish popular resistance, etc.
Amidst the global capitalist crisis, which recently shows its face in Greece with the IMF-EU austerity plan, we are going to gather the European Social Forum in Istanbul.
Economic, financial, political, social and ecological crises cannot be separated from each other.
So all the movements struggling against capitalism, imperialism, fascism and the far right, patriarchy, destruction of earth and nature should join their hands to develop a common strategy. In Istanbul ESF we, the social movements, are going to elaborate such a common strategy of action.
We struggle against austerity plans, ’social cuts’, unemployment, and all the means of the capitalists to put the burden of the crises on to the labouring, poor people.
We oppose social and ecological destruction; the exploitation of labour and nature; social exclusion and climate change… We were part of the Copenhagen and Cochabamba gatherings; we will share our experiences and ideas, discuss possibilities of common action.
We warn against the rise of the far right under the conditions of crises, and stress that the rise of the far right can only be prevented by the development of popular and social alternatives.
Istanbul is in the middle of three conflict regions; The Caucasus, Balkans and Middle East… We will raise our voice against Imperialist occupations and war in these regions and support the struggles of the Palestinian, Iraqi, Kurdish, Afghan and all the oppressed peoples.
Istanbul is the gateway to Europe and one of the focus points of EU policies against migrants. We will support the right to free movement of the World’s peoples, and reject a Fortress Europe.
Just as Istanbul is the meeting point of the continents, the ESF in Istanbul will be a bridge between the social and political struggles of Europe and of The Middle East, Caucasus and North Africa. Istanbul ESF will be an international social response to the international attacks of the capitalist classes.
Let’s meet in Istanbul, where the social movements meet !
Pressconference
It was decided that in all countries in Europe there will be two weeks before the ESf starting a press conference to attract the attention of the media on the Forum. Focus the crisis and the Forum as possible space in order to organize against it
The next ESF
We discussed about the place where the next ESF will be held. Several suggestions were made
- Bruxelles, Belgium
- Berlin, Germany
- Vienna, Austria
- East Europe
- Portugal
- Italy
No decision was taken but we decide that in the next weeks in all different countries a consultation will take place in order to come to the ESF in Istanbul with a proposal
The EPA after the ESF in Istanbul
Next EPA will take place in Bruxelles
EPA preparation:
As usual a group of people is in charge of the following EPA. The group is formed by people from the new EPA host country, the previous EPA host country and the ESF host country, people from Eastern European movements, people from Babel and website network. This group has to collect minutes, documents, decisions and open problems from the previous EPA and networks and publish them and formulate the draft agenda for the coming EPA. The draft will be circulated through the lists for remarks and objections and then the coordination group will publish the final agenda in advance in order to facilitate the participation.
AXES of the ESF in Istanbul
ANOTHER EUROPE IS NECESSARY: Make them pay for their crisis
published in http://www.sosyalforum.org/images/bulten/esf_newsletter_2.pdf
1-Economic and social crises: Resistance and alternatives; Subtitles:
- -crises or failure of capitalism?
- -Specificities and similarities of the crisis in CEE
- -solidarity versus competition
- -labour struggles against dismissals, closures and against precarity
- - Is a fair international financial system possible?
- -how to link struggles for rights with alternatives?
2-Social Rights for Social Europe; Subtitles:
- -common goods and public services for all
- -a new welfare model against the ongoing destruction
- -housing rights and resistance against forced evictions
- -basic income and minimum wage
- -labour and trade union rights
3-What kind of democracy? Promoting civil and political liberties; Subtitles:
- -against racist securitarian policies and anti-terror laws
- -disappearances in custody and jail, isolation, prisons
- -the rise of the far right and authoritarian policies
- -which EU construction? Who decides?
- -Democracy and civil rights in CEE and Russia
4-In defence of the rights of oppressed nations and minorities; Subtitles:
- -A peaceful, just and democratic solution to the Kurdish question
- -For a democratic construction of Europe based on the respect of its diversity and the self governance and participation of the populations of all levels
5- Against fortress Europe:
- -Full rights for Migrants and refugees
- -Equal social and political rights
- -Right to free movement of people
6-Equality versus discrimination. Feminist alternatives facing the global crisis; Subtitles:
- -opposing patriarchal system
- -struggles against violence on women
- -sexual diversity, civil rights for LGBTT
7-Save the planet: Building a sustainable world; Subtitles:
- -overcoming the ecological crisis: How to link struggles for a sustainable environment and social justice
- -food sovereignty based on peasant’s rights and land access
- -access to water and safe energy for all
- -against unsustainable production, distribution and consumption.
8-Peace versus war, militarism, occupations; Subtitles:
- -The struggle to stop occupations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and elsewhere
- - Militarist policies in Europe
- -disarmament is necessary, how can we achieve it?
- -stop nuclear armament, military bases and missile shield projects
- -Responsibility of EU in the implementation of international law to achieve justice and peace in Middle East
- -Struggles of European movements for a just and peaceful solution for Palestine
9-Youth - the right to education, work and a future
10-Democratising knowledge, education and culture; creating alternatives
- -Privatization and commodification of Education: The Lisbon Strategy
- -Which content and which methodologies for which goals
- -Life-long learning, vocational learning
- -Culture, science and democracy
11- Mass media and power relations: Defending the freedom of expression and democratising information
12 -Europe and the world: Cooperation and development based on solidarity versus domination and neo-colonialism
- -Free trade as a means of domination
- -For a democratic international framework
Guidelines for facilitators in EPA meetings useful for facilitating meeting at the ESFDuring meetings should try to allow more people to express themselves. The facilitators have to come to work informed and prepared; at the beginning of the process they have to present the rules for consensus; the plenary debates should be structured according to the agreed agenda. Women have to be in the panels (at least 50%) of all meetings
Meetings guidelines
Make a list of speakers, new speakers will be prioritised, Gender balance of speakers (1/1), moderator on the list as well, fix a time at the beginning for all speakers.
Speakers: have to stick to the subject, be respectful, not to be interrupted, speak slowly and don’t raise their voice when speaking in the microphone
“L-sign” when translation doesn’t work
No applauses – out of respect for the translators – shaking hands in the air is much better to show the agreement
Moderators have to close the speaker list if time is running out asking if someone wants to sign up before unless the assembly decides to carry on the discussion.
Taking decisions
When a decision has to be taken facilitators of the meeting have to:
summon up the discussion and present the final proposals, ask if the assembly is ready to make a decision on this and if anyone disagree (before decision is taken)
If somebody disagree the assembly has to find the way of reaching consensus
The consensus about the proposals has to be shown in an open, transparent and clear way and has to be directly asked.
