2011 Anarchist Bookfair
SATURDAY 22nd OCTOBER from 10am to 7pm
Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS.
Below are times and descriptions of all meetings with groups organising them where appropriate. All meetings, discussions, talks are 50 minutes unless stated.
Texts for all meetings are written by the groups themselves. We are asking all facilitators and participants in meetings to keep meetings to 50 minutes instead of 1 hour (or 1 hour 50 minutes instead of 2 hours). This is because some comrades cannot get from room to room as quickly as others, while others need to set up specialist equipment to be able to participate in meetings fully. This is part of our ongoing strategy of making the bookfair more accessible to all participants.
Mason lecture theatre
First Floor
(Disabled access via ground floor)
12noon to 1.30pm
Reclaiming the Media
This year will hopefully be remembered as the year when Rupert Murdoch got his just desserts. 25 years after the Battle of Wapping, the UK's biggest scandal-rag, the News of the World, became a scandal itself and was shut down. But Murdoch isn't the only problem in the world of the media, only a handful of corporations own virtually all of it. All run to make huge profits and have been cutting staff and quality for years. Time to reclaim the media and build new economic models .
Donnacha DeLong, NUJ President, leads a discussion about how we might do it.
1.30pm to 3.00pm
The Advent of Capital Expansion in China
A Case Study of Foxconn Production and the Impacts on its Workers
In 2010, 18 young workers attempted suicide at Foxconn Technology Group’s Chinese premises, attracting worldwide attention. Pun Ngai will use the Foxconn example to demonstrate the start of rapid capital expansion in China and its impacts on the lives of Chinese workers. She will also look at the role of the state that facilitates Foxconn’s expansion as a form of monopoly capital. Foxconn is an important example of this phenomenon due to its speed and scale of capital accumulation in all regions of China which is incomparable to present enterprises. This new form of capital generates a global factory regime and a distinctive managerial mode that further leads to workers suffering from work pressure, anxieties and desperation at an unprecedented level.
Pun Ngai is a lecturer at Hong Kong University of Science & Technology and author of "Made in China: Women Factory Workers in a Global Workplace. "
3pm to 4.30pm
Four days that shook the world
Insurrection or a minor disturbance?
The riots in August started in Tottenham, north London after the murder of Mark Duggan yet another black man killed by the police. Yet again, like with Jean Charles de Menezes, Ian Tomlingson, Harry Stanley, and countless others the police lied to cover up their killing. Mark’s death may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. But it wasn’t the main cause for the riots and looting throughout London and other parts of the country for nearly a week. A discussion about why the riots took place, the aftermath and where we go from here.
Speakers include Darcus Howe and Tony Wood from the Tottenham Defence Campaign. Organised by: London Anarchist Bookfair Collective
4.30pm to 6.00pm
Is Capitalism destroying itself? And can we replace it?
'Karl Marx got it right, capitalism can destroy itself.'- Nouriel Roubini (IMF and US Treasury adviser).
'The [economic] icebergs are the worst in the lifetime of anyone now living.' - Kenneth Clarke.
'People have lost faith in the free-market, Western democratic order.' - Charles Moore (Thatcher's biographer and Telegraph editor).
Our rulers are worried. Austerity is not reviving the economy. Instead, it has led to protests and riots that are likely to intensify. How did we get here and what are the prospects for anti-capitalist revolution?
A debate with: Selma James (Wages for Housework Campaign; Chris Knight (Radical Anthropology Group); Hillel Ticktin ('Critique, a Journal of Socialist Theory')
David Sizer lecture theatre
Ground Floor
12noon to 2.00pm
Primitive Communism and its contemporary relevance
The chief value of the study of human origins is that it nails the myth that ‘no revolution can ever change human nature’. It shows, on the contrary, that everything distinctively human about our nature - our ability to speak, to see ourselves as others see us, to aspire to act on moral principle - has come to prevail in our species thanks precisely to the greatest revolution in history, ‘the revolution which worked’. This 'human revolution' broke out in Africa more than a hundred thousand years ago gave rise to an egalitarian, essentially anarchist, lifestyle which lasted in most parts of the world until only three or four thousand years ago. We know we can win the coming revolution because in a real sense, we won it already when language and culture were first established. We are a species designed for communist egalitarianism, not class society or capitalism.
Organised by: Radical Anthropology Group. Speaker: Prof Chris Knight
2.00pm to 3.00pm
The Bone & Wright annual address to the movement
Our punchy review of the last year. Including school kids, student riots, March 26th, Black Bloc and birth of ALARM. With, amongst other things the impending Olympics in London and the fiscal cuts kicking in, the following year could prove pivotal. Come to cheer or jeer as the two most angry veterans of the movement rabble rouse. We say it’s a straight choice between us or the usual American academic wittering on about “Capitalism”, “Hierarchy” or their next book. Not for the faint hearted or “pointy heads”.
Organised by: Ian Bone and Martin Wright
3.00pm to 4.000pm
Anarchy in the Egyptian Revolution: a talk by three Egyptian Anarchists about Tahrir Square, the Arab Spring, and the Anti-Capitalist Struggle
In February, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians both in Cairo and throughout the country brought down the 30 year rule of Hosni Mubarak. Many had hopes of a new "democracy", but in July Egyptians were back in Tahrir Square demanding the rights they had expected. Now, 8 months on, how is the revolution progressing? Are the demands of the Egyptian revolution, as well as those of the other "Arab Spring" revolutions being destroyed by one or another power elite? Three Egyptian anarchists Amr Abdelrahman, Dina Makram Ebeid, and Jano Charbel are in the UK to discuss with us their views on the Egyptian uprising in Jan/Feb and where the revolution goes from here.
Organised by: Bookfair Collective and others
4.00pm to 5.00pm
Mistakes of the Spanish Revolution
My main contention is simple; briefly, it is that between July-August 1936, the FAI-CNT regional, national and peninsular committees of the CNT-FAI abandoned all pretence of being popular revolutionary organs. Instead, within a matter of days, they constituted a vested interest structure that served, primarily, to apply the brakes to — and reverse — the spontaneous revolutionary activity of the barrio (ward/district) committees, defence cadres, the action groups and the defence committees, and repress the rank-and-file activists who were pressing for social revolution. ‘Anti-fascist unity’ and state power were promoted at the expense of anarchist principles and values while the hegemony of the notables of the CNT–FAI leadership was imposed over the local revolutionary district committees and the general assemblies.
Speaker: Stuart Christie
5.00pm to 6.00pm
Anarchism, Feminism, Prostitution and Sex Work
Two years ago, this book fair hosted a panel on sex work that many felt failed to present an anarchist perspective. We believe that anarcha-feminist critiques of work, of legislation and of trade union structures have the potential to move forward the entrenched debate between those either advocating for the sex industry or fighting stigma and those calling for its abolition through state legislation. The meeting will try to open discussion on ways forward for grass roots organising, by prostitutes and sex workers, against their control by the state, the sex industry and the market.
Organised by: Anarchist Federation
Room 3.28 Third Floor
12noon to 1.00pm
All London Anarchist Revolutionary Movement (ALARM)
The purpose is to build an organisational structure to give London Anarchism a chance to grow and meet the opportunities coming up. ALARM provides local contacts to act as hubs for anarchist activity in each borough. In addition to area based groups, college, workplaces and campaigning groups are welcomed into the structure as are national anarchist organisations. London wide meetings are held weekly and local groups organise as they wish. The Secretary and Treasurer will be elected at this meeting.
Organised by: ALARM
1.00pm to 2.00pm
Introduction to Anarchism
The word "anarchy" is chucked around freely by its supporters, enemies and the like of the press who knowingly use it totally out of context. So what does "anarchism" actually mean? Is it one theory or are there 69 varieties? Am I an "anarchist"? If you're new to anarchism and want to find out more, this is the meeting for you. We will try and explain some of the basic ideas and variations and answer all those questions you didn't know where to go to for proper answers. This is a "beginners" type meeting and not a place to argue the finer points of the theory.
Organised by: London Anarchist Bookfair Collective
2.00pm to 3.00pm
Debt & Resistance
The global economic 'crisis' isn't going away any time soon, but what can we can do about it? As the economy nosedives, more people are turning to high street loan sharks and credit companies to survive, amassing unpayable deficits. Toxic debts still fester on nationalised banks books and could lead to mass homelessness, while in 2012 the new university fee regime kicks in. Debt is becoming an ever more important part of the way capital controls our lives. This session will explain how debts plug us into the global finance system and offers some ideas about how to fight back.
Organised by: Corporate Watch
3.00pm to 4.00pm
We’re still pissed off! : Students in Struggle
Last November over 50,000 students and workers marched on London demanding an end to education cuts, occupying Tory HQ and sparking a movement. Yet despite the largest radical student mobilisation in decades and waves of direct action, we lost, with tuition fees rising, EMA swept away, thousands of education workers made redundant and young people’s hope of a future shattered. What next? Issues: Solidifying a formal anarchist student network; Acting in solidarity to defend ourselves; Envisioning a better education. For all - Education is not just a student issue! Speakers from the movement. Expect focused discussion and concrete outcomes.
Organised by: Autonomous Students Network
4.00pm to 5.00pm
Why do we call ourselves Class Struggle Anarchists?
In some anarchist circles the term “class struggle” is seen as outdated and boring. “Oh, you are so old fashioned” or “we don’t like to divide ourselves with terms like class struggle” are just a couple of quotes from people who don’t understand or accept the definition. Are they scared of the words, or do they just not understand what is meant by it? Is the reaction a class or cultural thing? Members of Anarchist Federation, IWW and ALARM will explain what we mean by “class struggle”, why it is still important in today’s society and then open up the debate with those present.
Organised by: London Anarchist Bookfair Collective
Speakers from: IWW, Anarchist Federation, ALARM
5.00pm to 6.00pm
This space is kept free for an urgent issue that arises nearer the day. See Information Desk for details
Room 3.26 Third Floor
11.00am to 12noon
Radical Booksellers
A meeting for those in the publishing trade to come together.
12 noon to 1.00pm
Mumia Abu-Jamal and Capitalist "justice"
What does the case of political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal teach us about the role of the "justice" system in the US and around the world? Come and debate the issues.
Organised by: Free Mumia Campaign
1.00pm to 2.00pm
Anarchism and British Sign Language (BSL) - Does Anarchism offer a better world for Deaf people
This discussion explores how deaf / oral / BSL signers deal with trying to be part of the anarchist movement. It is aimed at giving people space to tell their own stories and explore solutions. Questions include: what place does BSL have in anarchist theory? In an anarchist ideal world of small communities, how would an isolated deaf person fit in? In anarchist theory, deaf people are free to form their own community, but how will they get access to that identity as children? This meeting will be interpreted into English
Organised by: Deaf Activists
2.00pm to 3.00pm
UK Youth Rebellion
Since the last Bookfair, things look very different in terms of youth struggles. Anarchists had already been commenting on the increase in state and media marginalisation of young people; being young in itself seemed to be a crime. Since then, youth have been fighting back and demanding respect and to have a voice. But do Millbank, Black Bloc and the recent riots present different faces of youth rebellion? This meeting explores why and how young people are fighting back, and how anarchists figure within this.
Organised by: Anarchist Federation
3.00pm to 4.00pm
Resisting Welfare Abolition
Successive governments have implemented reforms amounting to the abolition of welfare. The Condems are accelerating this process, throwing millions off sickness benefits and forcing the unemployed to work without pay. It’s now claimants' own fault if they are disabled, unemployed, older or single parents. No longer can you expect to be kept from starvation: the threat of two years' sanctions is real. Yet those of us not millionaire politicians or bankers will need the welfare state at some time in our lives. Come to this workshop to hear from members of the Defend Welfare network about what we are doing to stop this demolition process.
Organised by: Defend Welfare Network
4.00pm to 5.00pm
The London Olympics: How we can use the spectacle to build resistance
The upcoming 2012 London Olympics has already been a disaster for London. The five “Olympic boroughs” have been culturally and economically cleansed. The “Olympic legacy” has failed to materialise in every area from housing to local jobs to the environment, with increased security and gentrification the only things left to look forward to. Come along to discuss what action we can take between now and the Games in July 2012 to strengthen campaign networks and organise resistance to the Olympics.
Organised by: Corporate Watch and the Counter Olympics Network
5.00pm to 6.00pm
From Casa Pound to Anders Behring Breivik: Looking at recent developments in European fascism
From black-bloc autonomist nationalists in Germany to 'third millennium fascist' squatters in Italy to suit-wearing Nazis in Sweden, the last twenty years has seen huge developments and shifts in the Neo-fascist scene. No longer can Nazis be simply identified by shaved heads, Swastikas and steel-capped boots. Some are even turning to Gramsci, Lenin and international anti-imperialist struggles for inspiration. Paul Hull, a veteran anti-fascist and trade unionist of over ten years in Sweden will discuss the evolution of Neo-Nazi theories and tactics in Northern Europe and will offer suggestions on how the modern militant anti-fascist movement can adapt to these changes.
Co-organised by: Irish, English and Swedish Anti-Fascists
Room 3.19
Third Floor
11.00am to 12noon
The Battle of Cable Street, speaker David Rosenberg
The 75th anniversary of The Battle of Cable Street took place earlier this month, celebrating the time at least 100,000 East Enders ("Jewish tailors and Irish dockers"), possibly three times that number, turned out to physically prevent the British Union of Fascists marching through Stepney. The demonstrators built barricades, fought the police who had been sent to clear the way and the day became part of left-wing history and mythology. David Rosenberg organises radical East End walking tours.
Organised by: Five Leaves Publications
12noon to 1.00pm
Targeting Israeli Apartheid. An examination of strategies and targets for the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israeli apartheid.
Corporate Watch have recently released a new book on Israeli apartheid policies against Palestinians, providing relevant targets and other useful information for action. Taking its cue from the 2005 Palestinian call for 'boycott, divestment and sanctions' (BDS), the rationale behind the book is simple: to provide a tool and a compass for BDS campaigners by showing them information on Israeli and international companies complicit in Israeli apartheid, occupation and militarism. The workshop will be a chance to discuss and plan new BDS actions.
Organised by: Corporate Watch
1.00pm to 2.00pm
Is your group dominated by white people?
Do you worry that your group does not reflect the racial diversity of the area? Have you tried to do anything about it and how did that work out? A chance for people to discuss their experiences.
2.00pm to 3.00pm
Resisting the criminalization of squatting
Once more the government is threatening to destroy squatting, though all they could do would be to make it harder – there will still be thousands of empties and the need to squat. Come and hear what campaigning is already running. Is campaigning enough or should we be preparing to ignore the law, and squat bigger and better (and what would that mean?)
Organised by: Advisory Service for Squatters
3.00pm to 4.00pm
Anarchism and Fiction
Had enough political theory for one day? D.D. Johnston, anarchist activist and author of Peace, Love, and Petrol Bombs, discusses the possibilities of a new radical literature. All disillusioned writers and readers are welcome.
Organised by: AK Press & Distribution
4.00pm to 5.00pm
The History of Value
A critical theory in 2011
Organised by: Principia Dialectica
5.00pm to 6.00pm
The Daily Practice of Building Autonomy – the Zapatista example
Every day through daily life practices the Zapatistas in Chiapas, Mexico are building a peaceful sustainable alternative. They are living a concrete autonomous experiment in well- and collectively-organized communities. And they have inspired several other deliberate experiments. This workshop explores what we understand by autonomy and how we live it out in our everyday lives with reference to the Zapatistas deliberate democratic spaces, as well as the Zapatista principle of 'rule by obeying' (mandar obedeciendo). http://ukzapatistas.wordpress.com
Organised by: UK Zapatista Solidarity Network
Room 3.20
Third Floor
11.00am to 12noon
Celebrating the 200 Anniversary of the Luddite Uprisings: Technology Politics Then and Now
In 1811-12 Artisan cloth workers (Luddites) in the Midlands and the North rose up against factory owners who were imposing new machines and putting them out of work. The Luddites only broke machines that were 'hurtful to commonality'. What can the Luddites teach us about how to successfully resist anti-democratic technology practices, such as GM crops and creating unemployment, today?
Organised by: Corporate Watch and the Luddites200 Organising Forum
12noon to 1.00pm
The International Anarkismo Network
"The Anarkismo Network - a network of organisations and individuals identifying with the platformist, especifista or anarchist-communist tradition within anarchism - has experienced a significant increase in participation and affiliation of member organizations since it's inception in 2005, with over thirty organizations now having endorsed the Anarkismo Editorial Statement. In this talk activists from several of the member of the project and talk about the regional activities, as well as the international coordination, taking place."
Organised by: Elements of the Anarkismo Network
1.00pm to 2.00pm
Radical Women Take Action
Whether its cuts to benefits, services, jobs, education, the NHS or the patriarchal political left, women find themselves at the sharp end. This meeting will discuss and plan co-ordinated nationwide women’s actions against the cuts, such as a radical women’s gathering, a women’s national strike, actions on budget day. Bring your ideas and enthusiasm. All self-defined women welcome.
Organised by: Radical Women Take Action!
2.00pm to 3.00pm
Radical London
Over the last couple of years new groups have formed in areas of London along anarchist/libertarian lines. How can we strengthen these groups and extend similar initiatives into other areas? What are the key activities needed to keep a group going? This is a meeting for all Londoners who are interested in discussing practical ways to develop radical, locally based groups throughout all parts of London.
Organised by the Radical London Network
3.00pm to 4.00pm
White privilege and Racism
'I'm not a racist...' But have white anarchists in Britain done enough to address race as a political hierarchy? This workshop will explore the ways in which white people benefit from institutional racism, and start to unpick some of the unconscious prejudices and racist attitudes we learnt as children and adults. Participants should come with an open mind and heart, prepared to face some uncomfortable truths but ready to start breaking down barriers and expanding horizons. ‘Race’, along with class and gender, is one of the most enduring social and political hierarchies of our time. This workshop challenges white people to start with themselves in the long struggle to build a truly anti-hierarchical non-racist anarchist society. Aimed at white people prepared to challenge themselves and their privilege, but all are welcome.
4.00pm to 5.00pm
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
London Anarchist Forum relaunch meeting that explores the history and ethos of its open, natural dialogue format and issues of anarchist organisation in general. A focal point will be a brief talk by LAF regular Steve Ash on his publication Unstructured Anarchy, a critique of the Tyranny of Structurelessness. The meeting itself is a demonstration of open dialogue.
Organised by: London Anarchist Forum
5.00pm to 6.00pm
Anarchangels of Creative Destruction
Anarchists must reclaim the high ground of value and tradition from the deceitful supporters of an irredeemably corrupt and deteriorating civilization. Armed with ancient universal wisdom, humanity can emerge from the death throes of this darkest age (Kali Yuga) into a revitalised future. Talk by Paul Cudenec plus discussion.
Organised by: Porkbolter Magazine
Room 3.21
Third Floor
11.00am to 12noon
Deep Green Resistance: An introduction
Deep Green Resistance is an analysis, a strategy, and a movement being born. As an analysis, it reveals the last 10,000 years of human history–the rise and dominance of civilization–as the culture of death that is threatening every living being on Earth. As a strategy, it critiques ineffective actions and explains their inevitable failure to stop the destruction of people, species, and the planet. DGR offers a concrete plan for stopping that destruction. Featuring excerpts from the documentary END:CIV and Resist Do Not Comply, Deep Green Resistance UK introduces it's ideas, strategy and how to get involved.
Organised by: Deep Green Resistance
12noon to 1.00pm
Anarchist theory – use it or lose it
Why bother with dead anarchists? For some, while anarchists may do beards well we don’t do theory. This is wrong. We do have theory, as my An Anarchist FAQ and Property is Theft! show. Anarchism is a rich source for analysing and transforming society. Join me in exploring why dead anarchists are worth reading.
Organised by: AK Press
Speaker: Iain McKay
1.00pm to 3.00pm
Tenants’ movement in Poland - social resistance to neo-liberal housing policy
Since 1990 the housing situation in Poland has deteriorated mainly due to the neo-liberal policies of the state and local authorities - resulting in public housing sector rent increases, privatisation of social housing and oppressive policies towards tenants unable to pay rents. As a response, grassroots tenants' organisations have emerged in a number of polish cities. They aim to stop these attacks and promote social alternatives. The anarchist movement is involved in many of these groups. We will discuss the activities that have taken place in the last 3-4 years and try to predict the future dynamics of this new social movement.
Organised by: "Syndicalist Courier" - polish syndicalist paper in UK
3.00pm to 4.00pm
“New Nuclear” energy: An Anarchist’s nightmare
Short film and discussion on why building ten new nuclear power reactors in the UK is incompatible with an anarchist view of the future and how we can fight for a better alternative. By direct action campaign group “Kick Nuclear” who campaign for an end to the UK’s addiction to nuclear power. www.boycottedf.org
Organised by: Kick Nuclear
4.00pm to 5.00pm
The True Cost of Coal
A visually stunning large black and white graphic. It will take you on a visual tour of the connections between coalmining, climate change, the ever expanding capitalist economy, and the struggle for social justice in Appalachia, north America and throughout the world.
Organised by: Beehive Collective & London Rising Tide
5.00pm to 6.00pm
Smash EDO
In Summer 2012, starting on Mayday, Smash EDO are planning a Summer of continuous direct action against EDO in Brighton. We will be providing accomodation and legal support and are inviting campaign/affinity groups from around the country to join us in taking action. We are encouraging groups to organise their own actions and support a diversity of tactics; from lobbying to lock-ons, from vigils to citizen's decommissionings. There will be several mass demos too... Come along to find out how you can help.
Organised by: Smash Edo
Room 3.22
Third Floor
11.00am to 12noon
Cars, Carbon, & Capitalism
Eight of the top ten corporations are either car makers or oil companies. Over a million people are killed every year by motor vehicles, yet the car remains an iconic, aspirational symbol of global capitalism. Climate change threatens the survival of our species yet Western states continue to pursue bloody conflicts to feed their oil addiction. Over a billion people are overweight, largely as a consequence of policies dictated by government and corporate elites. This workshop from Bicycology, the radical cycling collective, seeks to unravel the tentacles of car culture and explore genuine alternatives."
Organised by: Bicycology
12 noon to 1.00pm
How to set up a Co-op
Information and politics around the co-operative network. A workshop to discuss the ins and outs of setting up a housing or workers co-op.
Organised by: Radical Routes
1.00pm to 2.00pm
From the Paris Commune to Saint-Imier
The Paris Commune of 1871 inspired revolutionaries everywhere. When it was defeated, tens of thousands of communards were murdered, imprisoned or deported. The events of ‘Bloody Week’ (May 21st to 28th) traumatised anarchists and drove some to the despair of assassination and bomb-throwing. Others regrouped in August the following year at Saint-Imier, Switzerland, with comrades disaffected from the by-then authoritarian sham that was Marx’s International. They established structures and founding principles at the roots of modern class-struggle anarchist organisation. This meeting builds for what will be the 140th anniversary of that congress: 9th-12th August 2012, in Saint-Imier itself.
Organised by: Anarchist Federation
2.00pm to 3.00pm
Welling Anti Fascism case
Supporting the prisoners. Learning the lessons.
Organised by: Welling Supporters
3.00pm to 4.00pm
Earth First!
Still doggedly hoping there’s a place for Ecology in the Class Struggle. Come and hear about the recent history of Ecological Direct Action in the UK, with space for questions and discussions
Organised by: Earth First! Update
4.00pm to 5.00pm
Red Rosa and the Arab Spring
Any revolutionary movement needs both spontaneity and organisation, the how can these apparent opposites be combined successfully? As the popular uprisings of 2011 bring this question to the fore once again, we will examine the ideas of Rosa Luxembury (1871 – 1919) and Raya Dunayevskaya (1910 – 1987).
Organised by: Hobgoblin
5.00pm to 6.00pm
Fitwatch - update and discussion
The effect of police surveillance tactics, disruption, preventative, detention and pre-emptive intervention has the potential to get even worse. But public confidence in the police is now low. Police are under pressure financially and politically. How should we, as a movement, respond to all this, and how can we deal effectively with policing that disrupts our campaigns? Should we use direct action - such as 'fitwatching' - against the police? What about the potential for campaigns of non-cooperation and resistance to data gathering? With increasing state repression, can we affect a cultural shift to protect ourselves from ‘robust’ policing?
Organised by: Fitwatch
Room 3.23
Third Floor
11.00am to 12noon
Anarchism & Spirituality.
Gustav Landauer and Emma Goldman spoke about the importance of spirit while Christian anarchists including Dorothy Day and Tolstoi, pagan anarchists like Starhawk and the taoist anarchism of Ursula Le Guin continue to inspire today. The spiritual traditions of rebellious social movements in the global South, including indigenous movements like the Zapatistas and landless movements like Brazil’s MST, may be understated or even denied when anarchist atheism is taken for granted. Hosts Zoe and Jamie will hold space for people to talk about their relationship with anarchist culture and spiritual practice.
12 noon to 1.00pm
Organising in the Workplace: Committees, Direct Action, and Reaching Out to the Class
What does radical workplace organisation look like? This talk includes a condensed version of the SolFed's Organiser Training, focusing on the 'nuts and bolts' of workplace organising. SF members will then recap the Office Angels campaign in which nationwide pickets forced the world's largest employment agency redress a case of wage theft.
Organised by: Solidarity Federation
1.00pm to 2.00pm
Free University
Until the twentieth century, the role of the University differed little from the times of Plato and Aristotle; to create an educated elite from amongst the ruling class. Then in the 1920s the IWW initiated a People's College, under the auspices of Cornell University; while in the midst of the Spanish Civil War the CNT-AIT and FAI started La Universida Popular. Education became available to all. As University admissions shrink due to current neoliberal policies, the Anarchist university in Toronto and A-Bildungnetz in Hannover continue to propose a system of non-hierarchical concensus-driven learner networks, and here some of our German comrades will discuss these issues.
Organised by: Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
2.00pm to 3.00pm
Sorcery, rupture and fairy dust
What are the dynamics of capitalism? How can we break them? And what can we learn from resent episodes of protest and rebellion? A magical talk on the possibility of anti-capitalist action, linking Charlie Marx, The Troggs and the Arab Spring, by way of UK Uncut.
Organised by: The Free Association
3.00pm to 4.00pm
SAC and Workers without papers
The Swedish syndicalist union have a Q & A about SAC experience to organize workers without papers and the federation´s development since 2002.
Organised by: SAC
4.00pm to 5.00pm
Counterpower: Making Change Happen
"Many times throughout history the 'have nots' have resisted the rule of the 'haves'. On occasion it has led to the radical redistribution of power. But why is it that some campaigns have succeeded while others have failed? Author Tim Gee investigates the tactics that have contributed to the success (or otherwise) of some of the most prominent social movements of the last three hundred years."
Organised by: Tim Gee
5.00pm to 6.00pm
Against Austerity: Anarcho-Syndicalism across Europe
This talk will see radicals from across Europe come to London to discuss how anarchists can effectively fight austerity. A great opportunity to learn from each other and build the bridges of solidarity we'll need to beat back the global wave of austerity!
Organised by: Solidarity Federation
