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Peoples Global Action 5th European conference

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International preparation Meeting in Thessaloniki

19th - 21st of October 2007

Help and ideas are needed to organize the next conference and to go on with the pga dynamic.

We would like to anounce a preparation European meeting of the PGA process in Thessaloniki the third weekend of October.

The aim of the meeting is to discuss the topics, location, time and organization, of the conference and continue building contacts within the PGA process. We want to go on working on the constitution of the next convenor collective, on its links with the balkan pga network and on the way other collectives around europe can participate to the preparation of the conference.

Next PGA convenor - Who Are We?

A small presentation of temporary convenors.

We are activists from the Greek region who launched and encouraged the idea of a PGA conference in north greece. All of us are involved with several projects, collectives and networks. At the moment we are especially activists involved with Indymedia tools, autonomous spaces, diy and enviromental issues like biotech and agriculture. We hope for the convenor group to be in Balkan as well as Greek. For this reason, we have not yet decided upon a name for this convenor collective.

We invite every group involved with the PGA dynamic, every activist with an affinity to the 5 hallmarks of the PGA and the idea of a global grassroots anti-hierarchical network to come help us with this conference process.

proposed agenda of the meeting

(location of the meeting will be anounced soon)

But what does PGA mean? ----

The network peoples global action is a global project inspired by zapatista insurrection and the new forms of internationalism developed in the 90s.

From the 23th until the 25th of February 1998, movements from all around the world met in Geneva-Switzerland to discuss the idea of a network of resistance against the global market and the WTO.

Since it helped people coordinating anticapitalist and anti-authoritarian struggles and projects aroud the world, to share experiencves and discuss strategies.

PGA is a network based on decentralisation and autonomy, a network without representatives, members or juridical personality. ----

The PGA network in europe has allready attempted and organised 4 meetings. Several hundreds of activists, exchanged experiences and prospects, organised campaigns and actions, reclaimed the daily communication via internet and physical meetings. These meetings took place in Milan (italy) 2001, in Leiden (the netherlands) 2002, in belgrade post yugoslavia 2004 and in southern france 2006 (the centralised meeting took place in Dijon).

The majority of the PGA meetings (3 out of 4) took place in physical autonomous spaces. That was clearly a political choice. For the people and the collectives involved in the PGA it is vitally important to support autonomous projects, spaces where people try to organise their daily life beyond the capitalistic relations of dominance.

The 5th meeting of PGA in europe

After a lot of difficulties and problems to find a space and a convenor to moderate the next PGA conference, activists from the greek region launched and encourage the idea of a PGA conference in north greece. Choosing this location was the outcome of lengthy discussions which will be included in the presentation text (call out) for the 5th PGA conference.

Not only for the needs of this conference but also for the further networking and coordination of the resistance we are starting a one-month infotour in the balkan region.

A few words on the PGA conference subjects :

Although a more detailed subject list will follow in the near future, aiming to analyse issues that will either be discussed in the upcoming PGA conference or have been discussed in previous conferences, we briefly state that we are currently working on the following subjects:

We consider evident enough the fact that the conference subject list is open to any additions

Proposal for the discussion on the course and process of the network

Working groups we wish to operate in sight of this conference:

Join the PGA Balkan Infotour - September-october 2007 !

Presentation of the PGA balkan eastern europe infotour

Following the belgrade conference in 2004 there has been great enthusiasm about the beginning of a balkan network of collectives, grassroots, antiauthoritarian, anticapitalist and other groups or individuals. Unfortunately, this enthusiasm was not fruitful enough perhaps due to the lack of concrete objectives, or even perhaps some participants sensed the traditional "networking for the networking" problem.

The idea of an infotour is not a novelty. Nonetheless, it is the first time activists from a balkan country decided to visit groups and individuals who share resembling ideas and the face similar problems.

We feel necessary to stress the following concepts about the infotour:

  1. Not only we begin this journey on the occasion of the PGA conference, which alone is a perfect opportunity to meet and act in solidarity in the future, but also we aim to discuss, perhaps for the first time, about tools and ideas that can give us ability to border on common grounds.
  2. To call anti-authoritarian, autonomous anti-capitalistic and other groups groups to assist in the shaping and the organisation of the PGA conference.
  3. To discuss and exchange views on the current status in the Balkans, the rise of capitalism and the state violence, especially after the wall has fallen and a series of wars have ravaged this region.
  4. Finally, we want to emphasise that our call targets on groups, collectives and individuals who act and think of themselves beyond hierarchical social structures, who struggle against dominance and capitalism without consent.

Infotour stops and dates:

contact mailto:infotour_atno-log.org

PGA Hallmarks

  1. A very clear rejection of capitalism, imperialism and feudalism; all trade agreements, institutions and governments that promote destructive globalisation.
  2. We reject all forms and systems of domination and discrimination including, but not limited to, patriarchy, racism and religious fundamentalism of all creeds. We embrace the full dignity of all human beings.
  3. A confrontational attitude, since we do not think that lobbying can have a major impact in such biased and undemocratic organisations, in which transnational capital is the only real policy-maker.
  4. A call to direct action and civil disobedience, support for social movements' struggles, advocating forms of resistance which maximize respect for life and oppressed peoples' rights, as well as the construction of local alternatives to global capitalism.
  5. An organisational philosophy based on decentralisation and autonomy. PGA is a tool for coordination, not an organization. PGA has no members and does not have and will not have a juridical personality. Nor organisation or person represents PGA.

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