Autumn Gathering: building a school for movement
27-28 October 2023, Vienna and partly online
It’s time to gather and think and scheme together! This autumn we’ll meet in Vienna to launch our new working strands through a series of debates, presentations and workshops – calling on all friends and allies to join us, to stake out what we can build in common.
Join us on 27 & 28 October in Vienna, at Bikes and Rails cooperative close to Vienna central station, for a lovely two days of discussing, mapping, listening, eating, drinking, playing and chatting. We’re eager to expand our base of allies particularly in the region, so don’t be shy! Some sessions will be in hybrid format, you can also join us that way.
Find the programme below, we update it regularly with more details.
Participation is free, for more details follow the registration link. You can also email us if you have questions (but give us time to reply :))
Deadline for registration: 10 October 2023
REGISTRATIONS HAVE NOW CLOSED
PROGRAMME
Friday 27 October
10.30-11.15 Opening: welcome and introductions Join us for this morning kickoff to hear about Common Ecologies, and to get to know one another in order to build meaningful relations and constructive conversations.
11.15-11.30 tea and coffee
11.30-13.00 Movement School Infrastructures: launch and conversation HYBRID
Join our Movement School Infrastructures strand for the launch of a co-research project into how we build infrastructures for movement learning. This session will feature a first conversation with our allies of Casa dels Futurs in Barcelona, a campaign working towards an international climate justice center and movement school in Barcelona. We will talk about why and how movement spaces are so important at this point, and begin to map out different histories and configurations, as well as organisational, financial and legal models of physical movement school infrastructures. Calling all those interested in building spaces and infrastructures to join us on this self-education journey!
With: Nelly Alfandari and Kevin Buckland (Casa dels Futurs)
13.00-14.30 lunch(vegan)/coffee/cake/care/play
14.30-17.00 Towards Ecological Unionism: discussion HYBRID
How can the collective bargaining table be extended to include those affected by the decisions it makes and to develop a more ecological labor process? How can we work inside and outside of our unions to take up a more aggressive and ecological strategy? What kind of structures and practices of political education do we need to combine with our union campaigns? Join our Ecosyndicalism strand for a discussion with people from across different labour organisations and movements.
With: Valery Alzaga (Global Labour Justice), Ulrich Brand (Uni Wien), Antje Dieterich and Daniel Gutiérrez (ver.di), Lukas Oberndorfer (Austrian Chamber of Labour)
17.00 – 17.30 coffee/cake/care/chats
17.30 – 19.00 Tools and Tactics for Agroecological Struggles launch, presentation, celebration PRESENCE-BASED ONLY (online launch coming in winter)
Join the Common Ecologies Earthcare strand for the launch and celebration of our brand new booklet and poster on Tools and Tactics for Agroecological Struggles. We’ll present this outcome of our long term co-research into different tactics of agri-struggles in Europe, sharing our insights and methodology for co-research, and discussing how to render our tools most useful across contexts and places. Inspiring examples, insights from our team, reflections from allies, as well as beautiful posters and a sip of cheap champagne included!
With: Sezonieri (AT), ÖBV-La Via Campesina (AT), and other allies.
19.00 hangout at Bikes and Rails bar and Schienengarten tour
Saturday 28 October
10.45-11.00 Welcome
11.00-13.00 Building a Magazine for Socio-Ecological Movement: discussion HYBRID
The recent closure of ROAR Magazine and wind-down of Viewpoint Magazine comes after the exhaustion of the cycle of struggle that began in 2011 and gave rise to these magazines. In this discussion, facilitated by our incipient Magazine strand, we invite reflections on the past and future of movement publishing with (former) editors of Roar, Viewpoint and New Inquiry. What can we learn from movement publishing after Occupy, and what kinds of writing and publishing do movements need to fight within and against the ecosystem crisis?
With: Joris Leverink (ROAR), Kylie Benton-Connell (New Inquiry), Bue Rübner Hansen (Viewpoint), and more.
13.00 – 14.30 lunch (vegan)
14.30 – 17.00 Movement Ecologies: Mapping Ways of Building Power: workshop PRESENCE-BASED ONLY
Join us for a strategy workshop with actors from climate, peasant, labour, migration and other movements in Vienna and beyond, to discuss different experiences, strategies and alliances of building power in our present situation/s.
17.00 – 17.30 coffee/cake/care/beer
17.30 – 18.15 Closing Assembly. Wrapping up our gathering, what did we learn, what’s next, what do we need to remember and take away.