The Organizing Commission of Quebec for the
2nd Intercontinental Encounter for Humanity and Against Neoliberalism
Spain, July 25 to August 2, 1997
invites you to register...
For a world which contains all worlds;
Manifesto/Invitation to the Second Encounter --- Barcelona, February 1997.
We live in a period when human relations are intensely colonized. Everywhere
the same social system subjects humanity to the law of money and homogenizes
life, generating poverty and devastation. Faced with the ruins inflicted by
this relentless machine, resistances arise from other ways of life, yet these
seem condemned to isolation. The time has come to break the vicious circle
which prevents humanity from bringing together its unease, its struggles and
the will for change.
In Mexico the armed revolt of the indigenous community of Chiapas, organized
by the EZLN, has opened the way towards a different future for us all. Since
the 1st January 1994 the imaginative struggle of the Zapatistas has spurred
people worldwide to create alternatives to neoliberalism. Their initiatives
have been created outside the bounds of traditional institutional politics
and always seek to involve the greatest possible numbers, especially among
marginalized people.
In this spirit the First Intercontinental Meeting for Humanity and Against
Neoliberalism was organized in August 1996, hosted by five indigenous
communities in Chiapas, despite the military occupation and siege by the
Mexican Federal Army. The first Encuentro attracted more than three
thousand people from 43 countries in five continents. They gained the
opportunity to meet each other, to reflect and express themselves, in an
unprecedented act of solidarity.
These participants dared to cross the threshhold opened by the Zapatistas
and sought to cross to the other side of the looking-glass. There everyone
could be equal, precisely because they succeed in being different, so that
various ways of life co-exist, all joined in rejecting the present system
with the desire to construct a world which includes many worlds -- the
'humanity' of which we speak.
Everywhere there are people who are fed up with the dominant values, who
seek to change their own lives, to open new spaces and construct a more
dignified present. Everywhere there are willing accomplices desiring to
live an adventure. To achieve this, it is worth extending the Chiapas
initiative and creating the network of resistance which was proposed by
the first Encuentro: 'An international network of resistance in which
people help each other, a network without an organized structure, without
a central command, without a hierarchy. A network comprising all those who
resist.'
For all those aims we announce the next Encuentro:
2ND INTERCONTINENTAL MEETING FOR HUMANITY AND AGAINST NEOLIBERALISM
26th July - 2nd August 1997 in Spain
We want a meeting of all struggles against neoliberalism, of all people
(organized or not) who feel discontented with the life that is imposed
upon us. We want to create a meeting which emphasizes the exchange of
ideas, practices and desires -- beyond the formal conclusions and
resolutions.
We want a self-organized meeting, where the people who participate create
the meeting themselves, getting involved in the preparatory tasks in working
groups which take on the practical tasks which make the meeting possible.
This organizational process is as important as the meeting itself. We want a
meeting which offers everyone the possibility of experimenting with new
forms of politics. We want to leasrn how to open new self-organized
political spaces. We want to break with our own limits and the barriers --
informational, political and cultural --- which keep us apart.
We want everyone, both men and women, to learn how to walk together and
master our own lives.
And we want to speak with all those interested in making possible this
Second Intercontinental Meeting for Humanity and Against Neoliberalism.
*****************
How to obtain information and participate in the encounter:
The invitation, sent out by the European collectives who are organzing
the encounter, is addressed to any person or group who agrees with the
above manifesto, and identifies themselves as in struggle against
neoliberalism. The first meeting will be in Madrid, on July 25; after
that, the thousands of people from various countries who are expected
to attend will depart for six different communities, according to which
discussion table they have chosen. Everyone will then regroup for two
final days of closure, the 1st to 3rd of August. The `thematic mesas'
(tables), are (tentatively)
1. The neoliberal economy vs. humanity; our lives beyond the economy.
2. Our worlds and their worlds; cooperation and solidarity versus
market competition.
3. Struggles for culture, education and information access.
4. Women and their struggles; the struggle against patriarchy.
5. Struggles for land and ecology.
6. Against all forms of marginalisation.
Each person must be responsible for their own travel costs (and is of
course welcome to do their own fund-raising, for example through unions,
community groups, etc.) The costs of housing, food, and transport
(expected to be about $100 US) must also be paid by the participant.
Any person or group who can contribute something towards the financing
of delegates from Southern countries is encouraged to do so.
If you are interested in attending, please contact us right away:
THE DEADLINE FOR PRE-REGISTRATION IS MAY 31! (The pre-registration
information will be used to plan for the number of delegates expected
at each of the six mesas, and so it is very important to get this
information to the organizers on time). If you would like to present
a paper at the encounter, you should send us the text by May 31 (on
diskette or by email) in plain text format, with a version either
in Spanish or in English.
For more information, or to register, contact us as soon as you can.
Louise Boivin, Isabelle Gauthier, Jamie McGowan, Jacqueline Perez, Claude
Rioux
Organizing Commission of Quebec
tel: (514) 276-0827
fax: (514) 840-1185
email paqando@web.net