Workshops at the 2009 Montreal Anarchist Bookfair
[NOTE: Saturday workshops are focused on introductions to anarchism, especially for people new to or curious about anarchism. Sunday’s workshops explore topics in more depth. Workshops take place either in French (fr.) or English (eng.) or are bilingual (bil.). There is whisper translation available into French or English for every workshop.]
Introductory Workshops
SATURDAY, May 16, 2009
11am – Room 302
Anarchism's Principles and Prefigurative Practices (eng.)
There are nearly as many definitions of anarchism as there are anarchists, and yet perhaps the best introduction can be found in exploring its basic principles and how those play out in its prefigurative praxis. We’ll look at some of the key ethical orientations that distinguish anarchism, followed by a diverse sampler of how anarchists try to struggle for, organize toward, and especially (re)construct a free society along these lines.
Presented by Cindy Milstein. Cindy is an Institute for Anarchist Studies board member, a co-organizer of the Renewing the Anarchist Tradition conference, and a Black Sheep Books collective member
11am – Room 125
Demanding the Impossible: Sharing Visions of Anarchism (fr.)
Anarchism is rooted in ideas and practice that are expressed both in day-to-day social struggles, and creatively through art, literature and music. This workshop will serve as a unique introduction to anarchism for Bookfair participants who are curious or new to anarchism. About 12 anarchists, from diverse perspectives and views will talk about an anarchist-themed book, novel, pamphlet, essay, cartoon, song or work of art that has inspired them. Each person will speak for approximately 5 minutes about why a given work has motivated them, and it's relation to anarchism. The presentations will be followed by a question and discussion period.
Presented by the anarchists of Montreal's Anarchist Bookfair; organized by Jaggi Singh, member of the Montreal Anarchist Bookfair collective.
1pm – Room 125
Demanding the Impossible: Sharing Visions of Anarchism (eng.)
Anarchism is rooted in ideas and practice that are expressed both in day-to-day social struggles, and creatively through art, literature and music. This workshop will serve as a unique introduction to anarchism for Bookfair participants who are curious or new to anarchism. About 12 anarchists, from diverse perspectives and views will talk about an anarchist-themed book, novel, pamphlet, essay, cartoon, song or work of art that has inspired them. Each person will speak for approximately 5 minutes about why a given work has motivated them, and it's relation to anarchism. The presentations will be followed by a question and discussion period.
Presented by the anarchists of Montreal's Anarchist Bookfair; organized by Jaggi Singh, member of the Montreal Anarchist Bookfair collective.
1pm – Room 302
The History of Anarchism in Quebec (fr.)
An overview and analysis of 100 years of anarchist practive in Quebec, from the Paris Commune exiles to the automatists, including the anarchists of Montreal Yiddishland.
Presented by Mathieu-Houle-Courcelles, author of the book "Sur les traces de l'anarchisme au Québec (1860-1960)" published by Lux (2008).
3pm – Room 125
Decentralism: What do Anarchists mean by decentralism and why do we advocate it? (eng.)
Anarchism is distinct from almost all other programs, even the most radical, by its belief in decentralism. Paul Goodman has said that Anarchists are really decentralists. What reasons do anarchists give for decentralism? How do they intend to deal with needs for overall coordination, including internationally? How will they decentralize politics, economics, and technology?
Presented by Wayne Price. Wayne is long time activist and writer, member of NEFAC, author of The Abolition of the State: Anarchist & Marxist Perspectives, and the upcoming Anarchism & Socialism.
3pm – Room 302
"Living as anarchists": From the historical example of the "free milieux" to current practices (fr.)
At the close of the 19th century anarchists in France - "individualists", "communists", "naturists" -- created collective spaces, "free milieux" or anarchist colonies. Putting into practice communism, getting rid of all forms of authority, opting out of work, but also overturning different aspects of daily life: family, love, education, contraception, nutrition. These practices elicited a lot of questions on the ways and possibility "living as anarchists" in the immediate.
Presented by Céline, invited by the Mauvaise Herbe. Céline is a French anarchist activist. She distributes several brochures on the theme of "free milieux". The Mauvaise Herbe is a green anarchist zine and anarchist distributor in Montreal.
Outdoor Presentations and Workshops
SATURDAY, May 16, 2009 (weather-permitting)
1pm -- Outdoors
Breaking the Fourth Wall: Theatre Performance/Workshop (eng.)
A workshop and discussion on agitprop, anarchist political theatre and raising awareness about Gaza. This presentation, based on the recent performances of the play “My Name is Rachel Corrie” in Ontario, will discuss the experience of organizing the play, as well as include vignettes from the theatre production.
Presented by members of the Organic Underground Political Theatre Collective. The Organic Underground is a café and social spot in Belleville, Ontario and includes a political theatre collective organized around anarchist anti-authoritarian principles.
3pm – Outdoors
Every town needs a Radical Street Marching Band! (bil.)
The Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble, a radical street band based in Montreal, will be leading a kid-friendly DIY instrument making and playing workshop for people of all ages. On the menu...Shakers, Kazoos, Whistles, Portable Drum Kits, and hopefully some PVC trombones and a cucumber-trumpet or two! The purpose of this hands-on workshop is to show how easy it is to make music...so please bring along any old instrument you have lying around the house, whether or not you know how to play it. Then we will make up a song together, make up some slogans and march around the neighbourhood. For those who like to mix theory with the hands-on we can also talk about the roles a radical street band can play in a social movement, street tactics, and have a discussion on how to deal with issues of hierarchy within a musical group (ie differrent levels of playing experience etc). Bring your kids, friends, lovers and exes!
Presented by the Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble. The Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble is an activist street band, organized on anarchist principles, based in Montreal. We seek to reclaim public spaces, to help make political movements fun and exciting, and to celebrate resistance in a way that reflects our vision of the world we want to live in.
Workshops, Panels and Presentations
SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2009, 10am-5pm
(Please note, the actual Bookfair takes place in Saturday, May 16, from 10am-6pm; Sunday is dedicated to a Day of Anarchist Workshops, Presentations and Discussions, from 10am to 5pm.)
10am – Room 125
The Crisis in Anarchist Publishing (eng.)
The annals of anarchist history are filled with stories of people whose writings were censored and criminalized, and these too are difficult times for the publication and dissemination of anarchist words and ideas. The crisis in publishing writ large affects anarchist and leftist independent publishers, as well as opportunities for anarchists to get their writing published. This panel will address and assess the current crises and what can be done and is being done.
Panelists will include Adrienne Carey Hurley, who teaches East Asian Studies at McGill University; Ramsey Kanaan, the Oakland-based founder of AK Press and PM Press; and Norman Nawrocki a Montréal-based artist, writer, and musician.
10am – Room 119
Urban Struggles and Social Change (fr.)
Old working class neighborhoods are becoming a terrain for an important class struggle. Using the excuse of “revitalization” and responding to the needs of automobile dictatorship, these neighborhoods are being demolished and disfigured. Against both the small and large bourgeois, and against the state, people are rising and organizing resistance in citizen’s committees and popular groups. Using concrete examples, this workshop will ask what urban struggles can teach us in terms of social change and we will discuss what anarchists can hope to learn strategically.
Presented by Nicolas Phébus of Quebec City, an anarchist who works in a neighborhood group and believes in it too! He is also a member of the UCL.
1pm – Room 119
Anarchism and Ableism: Radical Disability Politics, Inclusion and Resistance (eng.)
As anarchists, we often both fail to take up disabled politics as an organizing issue and fail to make our organizing accessible. A true commitment to self-determination and social justices requires us to address these failures. This workshop will introduce people to radical disability politics, and will discuss how disability is used in our society to maintain and perpetuate oppression, and how to work towards making the organizing work we do inclusive and accessible.
Presented by AJ Withers, Amanda Dorter and Meg Leitold. AJ is a queer, disabled anti-poverty activist in Toronto, an OCAP organizer, DAMN 2025 co-founder, and author of the If I Can't Dance Is It Still My Revolution zine series and website; Amanda is an anti-Zionist Jew, striving towards sustainable movement building, recently focussing on migrant justice, mad liberation and anti-ablist work; Meg is a Montreal-based organizer who is currently focused around the Boycott Sanctions and Divestment campaign against apartheid Israel and radical disability politics.
1pm – Room 202
Understanding political criminalization using the experiences of Canada, Colombia and beyond (fr.)
The State presupposes a power structure that defends the interests of privilege, and opposes those social groups who are excluded. It’s not surprising that the State represses those movements that oppose and denounce the interests it represents. State repression changes and takes diverse forms with the common goal of eliminating social contestation. Using experiences from Colombia, Canada and throughout the world, we will discuss and reflect on the mechanisms of repression and how to oppose them.
Presented by Leila and Blandine, members of Projet Accompagnement Solidarité Colombie (PASC). PASC is a Montreal collective contributing to a network of direct solidarity, which accompanies different sectors of Colombian social movements.
1pm – Room 302
Women and political violence: The examples of Assata Shakur and Ann Hansen (eng.)
Assata Shakur was a member of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army (1970s), and Ann Hansen was active in the anarchist group, Direct Action (1980s). Their use of political violence challenged the systemic violence of the state, as well as the stereotype that women are non-violent. A history and analysis of their struggles from an anti-imperialist anti-racist anarchist-feminist perspective will be followed by a facilitated discussion of their relevance today.
Presented by Sandra Jeppesen. Sandra is a Montreal anarchist writer, educator and activist.
1pm – Main Hall
Popular resistance and anarchist autonomy (fr.)
This workshop will include an overview of the role of anarchistes in the victorious struggle against the casino and the experience of the Café la Petite Gaule in the neighborhood of Pointe-St-Charles. It will also include a discussion of the general strategy of anarchists in radicalizing popular resistance and creating an autonomous political community with a anarchist and federative vision.
Presented by Marcel Sévigny, an activist with La Pointe Libertaire since it’s foundation in 2004 and active with Éditions Écosociété since 1993.
3pm – Room 119
Strategizing queer insurgency!: Re-centering marginalized queer issues from an anarchist perspective (eng.)
40 years after the Stonewall riots, who has been left on the margins of the radical queer movement? Join us for a strategy session around how we as anarchist queer organizers deal with obstacles such as language barriers, intergenerationality, rural/urban divides, and the US/Canada border. In the face of growing assimilationist capitalist gay and lesbian mainstream representation, how do we maintain queer as a subversive terrain upon which to resist? Everyone welcome!
This workshop is a co-presentation by members of Q-Team (Montreal), the Prisoner Correspondence Project (Montreal), and Naughty North (Maine).
3pm – Room 202
Anti-capitalist organizing in the student milieu (fr.)
Since the emergence of a politicized student movement in Quebec at the end of the 1960s, individuals and political action groups have organized events and action to rupture with the capitalist system. In this workshop, we will look at anti-capitalist organization in the student movement within the framework of different organizing experiences (whether student union, or organizations autonomous of them).
Presented by the Anti-Capitalist Committee of the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM).
3pm – Room 302
Polinizaciones: A cross pollination of arts and activism with youth in Colombia (eng.)
Even though the tactics have changed, the USA's foreign War on Drugs known as Plan Colombia, is still a smokescreen of killings and forced displacement in the name of resource extraction and mega development projects. Come to a Polinizaciones picture-lecture and share stories with a bee freshly arrived from Colombia about how the hive's collaboratively created educational posters and other artistic media are being used by communities in resistance to these corporate- and government-led policies of destruction.
Presented by Jonluna. Jonluna is a mixed male-bodied autonomous pollinator with the Beehive Design Collective of Huila, Colombia (Chinchaysuyu) and mostly raised in Miami, Turtle Island.
3pm - Main Hall
An anarcho-communist analysis of a costly crisis (fr.)
Capitalism is undergoing one of its worst crisis of its existence. At the outset of the Great Depression, we were told that never again would the economy suffer a collapse of that scale. However, unlimited and global profit-seeking has brought us once again into the abyss. How can an economic system, supposedly rational and "natural", be so unstable? This workshop will address the crisis and its historical origins, the role of various actors as well as contradictions of a system on the edge of bankruptcy.
Presented by Union Communiste Libertaire (UCL) - Montréal. The Union communiste libertaire is an organization of activists of various backgrounds who identify with the communist tradition within anarchism and who share the common objective of a revolutionary rupture with the established order.
Discussions/Caucuses
SUNDAY, May 17, 2009
12pm-1pm – Room 125
Anarchist People of Colour Networking Session (bil.)
This will be an Anarchist People of Colour (APOC) discussion/planning session about a larger APOC event or gathering next year (2010) around the Montreal Anarchist Bookfair. We'll discuss what a Montreal APOC event should look like, and we invite folks to share their experiences about other APOC gatherings in North America. If you identify as an anarchist person of colour, and you’re interested in contributing to building APOC in Montreal or at the bookfair, join us for this short networking and planning discussion.
1pm – Room 125
Regional Infoshop Networking Session (bil.)
The EXILE Infoshop is calling for members of all infoshops, anarchist bookstores, radical libraries, and other collectively- organized radical and activist resource centres/projects from Ontario, Quebec, and beyond to meet at this year's Anarchist Bookfair in Montreal. The intended purpose of this session is to foster communication, networking, resource-sharing, and ongoing cooperation among and between similar projects within our region. We welcome you to contact us in advance to see the proposed agenda.
Presented by the EXILE Infoshop. Ottawa's EXILE Infoshop is a collectively-run bookstore and resource centre organized according to principles of anti oppression, egalitarianism, community-building, and worker control.
3pm – Room 125
Squatting: Legal considerations in occupying a building and our rights vis-à-vis the police (bil.)
The Autonomous Social Center will be occupying a building in Pointe-St-Charles on May 29, 2009. The main planning has finished and it’s time to act. But for that, it’s necessary to self-educate. We invite you to this training on the factors to consider during the occupation of a building and our rights vis-à-vis the police. We will have information that summarizes our research, but we welcome other information regarding occupation in Quebec and Canada. Come get informed about your rights in occupying a building. We will squat on May 29, 2009!
Presented by members of the Autonomous Social Center in Montreal.
Introductory Workshops
SATURDAY, May 16, 2009
11am – Room 302
Anarchism's Principles and Prefigurative Practices (eng.)
There are nearly as many definitions of anarchism as there are anarchists, and yet perhaps the best introduction can be found in exploring its basic principles and how those play out in its prefigurative praxis. We’ll look at some of the key ethical orientations that distinguish anarchism, followed by a diverse sampler of how anarchists try to struggle for, organize toward, and especially (re)construct a free society along these lines.
Presented by Cindy Milstein. Cindy is an Institute for Anarchist Studies board member, a co-organizer of the Renewing the Anarchist Tradition conference, and a Black Sheep Books collective member
11am – Room 125
Demanding the Impossible: Sharing Visions of Anarchism (fr.)
Anarchism is rooted in ideas and practice that are expressed both in day-to-day social struggles, and creatively through art, literature and music. This workshop will serve as a unique introduction to anarchism for Bookfair participants who are curious or new to anarchism. About 12 anarchists, from diverse perspectives and views will talk about an anarchist-themed book, novel, pamphlet, essay, cartoon, song or work of art that has inspired them. Each person will speak for approximately 5 minutes about why a given work has motivated them, and it's relation to anarchism. The presentations will be followed by a question and discussion period.
Presented by the anarchists of Montreal's Anarchist Bookfair; organized by Jaggi Singh, member of the Montreal Anarchist Bookfair collective.
1pm – Room 125
Demanding the Impossible: Sharing Visions of Anarchism (eng.)
Anarchism is rooted in ideas and practice that are expressed both in day-to-day social struggles, and creatively through art, literature and music. This workshop will serve as a unique introduction to anarchism for Bookfair participants who are curious or new to anarchism. About 12 anarchists, from diverse perspectives and views will talk about an anarchist-themed book, novel, pamphlet, essay, cartoon, song or work of art that has inspired them. Each person will speak for approximately 5 minutes about why a given work has motivated them, and it's relation to anarchism. The presentations will be followed by a question and discussion period.
Presented by the anarchists of Montreal's Anarchist Bookfair; organized by Jaggi Singh, member of the Montreal Anarchist Bookfair collective.
1pm – Room 302
The History of Anarchism in Quebec (fr.)
An overview and analysis of 100 years of anarchist practive in Quebec, from the Paris Commune exiles to the automatists, including the anarchists of Montreal Yiddishland.
Presented by Mathieu-Houle-Courcelles, author of the book "Sur les traces de l'anarchisme au Québec (1860-1960)" published by Lux (2008).
3pm – Room 125
Decentralism: What do Anarchists mean by decentralism and why do we advocate it? (eng.)
Anarchism is distinct from almost all other programs, even the most radical, by its belief in decentralism. Paul Goodman has said that Anarchists are really decentralists. What reasons do anarchists give for decentralism? How do they intend to deal with needs for overall coordination, including internationally? How will they decentralize politics, economics, and technology?
Presented by Wayne Price. Wayne is long time activist and writer, member of NEFAC, author of The Abolition of the State: Anarchist & Marxist Perspectives, and the upcoming Anarchism & Socialism.
3pm – Room 302
"Living as anarchists": From the historical example of the "free milieux" to current practices (fr.)
At the close of the 19th century anarchists in France - "individualists", "communists", "naturists" -- created collective spaces, "free milieux" or anarchist colonies. Putting into practice communism, getting rid of all forms of authority, opting out of work, but also overturning different aspects of daily life: family, love, education, contraception, nutrition. These practices elicited a lot of questions on the ways and possibility "living as anarchists" in the immediate.
Presented by Céline, invited by the Mauvaise Herbe. Céline is a French anarchist activist. She distributes several brochures on the theme of "free milieux". The Mauvaise Herbe is a green anarchist zine and anarchist distributor in Montreal.
Outdoor Presentations and Workshops
SATURDAY, May 16, 2009 (weather-permitting)
1pm -- Outdoors
Breaking the Fourth Wall: Theatre Performance/Workshop (eng.)
A workshop and discussion on agitprop, anarchist political theatre and raising awareness about Gaza. This presentation, based on the recent performances of the play “My Name is Rachel Corrie” in Ontario, will discuss the experience of organizing the play, as well as include vignettes from the theatre production.
Presented by members of the Organic Underground Political Theatre Collective. The Organic Underground is a café and social spot in Belleville, Ontario and includes a political theatre collective organized around anarchist anti-authoritarian principles.
3pm – Outdoors
Every town needs a Radical Street Marching Band! (bil.)
The Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble, a radical street band based in Montreal, will be leading a kid-friendly DIY instrument making and playing workshop for people of all ages. On the menu...Shakers, Kazoos, Whistles, Portable Drum Kits, and hopefully some PVC trombones and a cucumber-trumpet or two! The purpose of this hands-on workshop is to show how easy it is to make music...so please bring along any old instrument you have lying around the house, whether or not you know how to play it. Then we will make up a song together, make up some slogans and march around the neighbourhood. For those who like to mix theory with the hands-on we can also talk about the roles a radical street band can play in a social movement, street tactics, and have a discussion on how to deal with issues of hierarchy within a musical group (ie differrent levels of playing experience etc). Bring your kids, friends, lovers and exes!
Presented by the Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble. The Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble is an activist street band, organized on anarchist principles, based in Montreal. We seek to reclaim public spaces, to help make political movements fun and exciting, and to celebrate resistance in a way that reflects our vision of the world we want to live in.
Workshops, Panels and Presentations
SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2009, 10am-5pm
(Please note, the actual Bookfair takes place in Saturday, May 16, from 10am-6pm; Sunday is dedicated to a Day of Anarchist Workshops, Presentations and Discussions, from 10am to 5pm.)
10am – Room 125
The Crisis in Anarchist Publishing (eng.)
The annals of anarchist history are filled with stories of people whose writings were censored and criminalized, and these too are difficult times for the publication and dissemination of anarchist words and ideas. The crisis in publishing writ large affects anarchist and leftist independent publishers, as well as opportunities for anarchists to get their writing published. This panel will address and assess the current crises and what can be done and is being done.
Panelists will include Adrienne Carey Hurley, who teaches East Asian Studies at McGill University; Ramsey Kanaan, the Oakland-based founder of AK Press and PM Press; and Norman Nawrocki a Montréal-based artist, writer, and musician.
10am – Room 119
Urban Struggles and Social Change (fr.)
Old working class neighborhoods are becoming a terrain for an important class struggle. Using the excuse of “revitalization” and responding to the needs of automobile dictatorship, these neighborhoods are being demolished and disfigured. Against both the small and large bourgeois, and against the state, people are rising and organizing resistance in citizen’s committees and popular groups. Using concrete examples, this workshop will ask what urban struggles can teach us in terms of social change and we will discuss what anarchists can hope to learn strategically.
Presented by Nicolas Phébus of Quebec City, an anarchist who works in a neighborhood group and believes in it too! He is also a member of the UCL.
1pm – Room 119
Anarchism and Ableism: Radical Disability Politics, Inclusion and Resistance (eng.)
As anarchists, we often both fail to take up disabled politics as an organizing issue and fail to make our organizing accessible. A true commitment to self-determination and social justices requires us to address these failures. This workshop will introduce people to radical disability politics, and will discuss how disability is used in our society to maintain and perpetuate oppression, and how to work towards making the organizing work we do inclusive and accessible.
Presented by AJ Withers, Amanda Dorter and Meg Leitold. AJ is a queer, disabled anti-poverty activist in Toronto, an OCAP organizer, DAMN 2025 co-founder, and author of the If I Can't Dance Is It Still My Revolution zine series and website; Amanda is an anti-Zionist Jew, striving towards sustainable movement building, recently focussing on migrant justice, mad liberation and anti-ablist work; Meg is a Montreal-based organizer who is currently focused around the Boycott Sanctions and Divestment campaign against apartheid Israel and radical disability politics.
1pm – Room 202
Understanding political criminalization using the experiences of Canada, Colombia and beyond (fr.)
The State presupposes a power structure that defends the interests of privilege, and opposes those social groups who are excluded. It’s not surprising that the State represses those movements that oppose and denounce the interests it represents. State repression changes and takes diverse forms with the common goal of eliminating social contestation. Using experiences from Colombia, Canada and throughout the world, we will discuss and reflect on the mechanisms of repression and how to oppose them.
Presented by Leila and Blandine, members of Projet Accompagnement Solidarité Colombie (PASC). PASC is a Montreal collective contributing to a network of direct solidarity, which accompanies different sectors of Colombian social movements.
1pm – Room 302
Women and political violence: The examples of Assata Shakur and Ann Hansen (eng.)
Assata Shakur was a member of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army (1970s), and Ann Hansen was active in the anarchist group, Direct Action (1980s). Their use of political violence challenged the systemic violence of the state, as well as the stereotype that women are non-violent. A history and analysis of their struggles from an anti-imperialist anti-racist anarchist-feminist perspective will be followed by a facilitated discussion of their relevance today.
Presented by Sandra Jeppesen. Sandra is a Montreal anarchist writer, educator and activist.
1pm – Main Hall
Popular resistance and anarchist autonomy (fr.)
This workshop will include an overview of the role of anarchistes in the victorious struggle against the casino and the experience of the Café la Petite Gaule in the neighborhood of Pointe-St-Charles. It will also include a discussion of the general strategy of anarchists in radicalizing popular resistance and creating an autonomous political community with a anarchist and federative vision.
Presented by Marcel Sévigny, an activist with La Pointe Libertaire since it’s foundation in 2004 and active with Éditions Écosociété since 1993.
3pm – Room 119
Strategizing queer insurgency!: Re-centering marginalized queer issues from an anarchist perspective (eng.)
40 years after the Stonewall riots, who has been left on the margins of the radical queer movement? Join us for a strategy session around how we as anarchist queer organizers deal with obstacles such as language barriers, intergenerationality, rural/urban divides, and the US/Canada border. In the face of growing assimilationist capitalist gay and lesbian mainstream representation, how do we maintain queer as a subversive terrain upon which to resist? Everyone welcome!
This workshop is a co-presentation by members of Q-Team (Montreal), the Prisoner Correspondence Project (Montreal), and Naughty North (Maine).
3pm – Room 202
Anti-capitalist organizing in the student milieu (fr.)
Since the emergence of a politicized student movement in Quebec at the end of the 1960s, individuals and political action groups have organized events and action to rupture with the capitalist system. In this workshop, we will look at anti-capitalist organization in the student movement within the framework of different organizing experiences (whether student union, or organizations autonomous of them).
Presented by the Anti-Capitalist Committee of the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM).
3pm – Room 302
Polinizaciones: A cross pollination of arts and activism with youth in Colombia (eng.)
Even though the tactics have changed, the USA's foreign War on Drugs known as Plan Colombia, is still a smokescreen of killings and forced displacement in the name of resource extraction and mega development projects. Come to a Polinizaciones picture-lecture and share stories with a bee freshly arrived from Colombia about how the hive's collaboratively created educational posters and other artistic media are being used by communities in resistance to these corporate- and government-led policies of destruction.
Presented by Jonluna. Jonluna is a mixed male-bodied autonomous pollinator with the Beehive Design Collective of Huila, Colombia (Chinchaysuyu) and mostly raised in Miami, Turtle Island.
3pm - Main Hall
An anarcho-communist analysis of a costly crisis (fr.)
Capitalism is undergoing one of its worst crisis of its existence. At the outset of the Great Depression, we were told that never again would the economy suffer a collapse of that scale. However, unlimited and global profit-seeking has brought us once again into the abyss. How can an economic system, supposedly rational and "natural", be so unstable? This workshop will address the crisis and its historical origins, the role of various actors as well as contradictions of a system on the edge of bankruptcy.
Presented by Union Communiste Libertaire (UCL) - Montréal. The Union communiste libertaire is an organization of activists of various backgrounds who identify with the communist tradition within anarchism and who share the common objective of a revolutionary rupture with the established order.
Discussions/Caucuses
SUNDAY, May 17, 2009
12pm-1pm – Room 125
Anarchist People of Colour Networking Session (bil.)
This will be an Anarchist People of Colour (APOC) discussion/planning session about a larger APOC event or gathering next year (2010) around the Montreal Anarchist Bookfair. We'll discuss what a Montreal APOC event should look like, and we invite folks to share their experiences about other APOC gatherings in North America. If you identify as an anarchist person of colour, and you’re interested in contributing to building APOC in Montreal or at the bookfair, join us for this short networking and planning discussion.
1pm – Room 125
Regional Infoshop Networking Session (bil.)
The EXILE Infoshop is calling for members of all infoshops, anarchist bookstores, radical libraries, and other collectively- organized radical and activist resource centres/projects from Ontario, Quebec, and beyond to meet at this year's Anarchist Bookfair in Montreal. The intended purpose of this session is to foster communication, networking, resource-sharing, and ongoing cooperation among and between similar projects within our region. We welcome you to contact us in advance to see the proposed agenda.
Presented by the EXILE Infoshop. Ottawa's EXILE Infoshop is a collectively-run bookstore and resource centre organized according to principles of anti oppression, egalitarianism, community-building, and worker control.
3pm – Room 125
Squatting: Legal considerations in occupying a building and our rights vis-à-vis the police (bil.)
The Autonomous Social Center will be occupying a building in Pointe-St-Charles on May 29, 2009. The main planning has finished and it’s time to act. But for that, it’s necessary to self-educate. We invite you to this training on the factors to consider during the occupation of a building and our rights vis-à-vis the police. We will have information that summarizes our research, but we welcome other information regarding occupation in Quebec and Canada. Come get informed about your rights in occupying a building. We will squat on May 29, 2009!
Presented by members of the Autonomous Social Center in Montreal.