Workers Solidarity Movement

The first Dublin anarchist bookfair was held in the Nicholas Myra community hall in the Liberties.  Much of the information below was retrieved from the blogspot used to promote that bookfair.

First Dublin Anarchist Bookfair Blooms in the Liberties - Dublin will experience its first ever bookfair at St. Nicholas Myra hall, off Francis Street over the weekend of the 3rd / 4th of March (2006).

Proceedings kick off on Friday evening (20.30hrs) with a screening of a documentary on Friday night followed by a rebel folk music night.

On the Saturday, the main event consists of more than a dozen information stalls informing people of a host of campaigns and activists groups involved in struggles all over the island. There will be various bookstalls selling various hard to get books, publications, pamphlets, DVD's etc.

Along with this there are workshops ranging from Anti-war to the Shell to Sea Campaign, and there are three major meetings with speakers from home and abroad discussing such matters as Republicanism, workplace struggle and how anarchists organise to effect change now.

Dermo Freeman – an organiser of the event said 'This promises to be an exciting weekend which draws back the curtain on people who have the will to try and change their lives now. They've given up on seeing anything from the powers that be, except more corruption, and have decided to start to bring about a better world by acting now. I would encourage all who share a similar hope to drop in over the weekend.'

TEXT - Book Fair Press Release

Workshop details at the Anarchist Bookfair

On Saturday the 5th of March there will be a series of workshops designed to inform, educate and involve. Across a variety of issues, topics and areas where non-hierarchical and autonomous practices have been crucial in helping create and sustain positive change, the workshops will create a different forum than meetings, with a more practical and participatory feel. Please note that some may have limited numbers so enable effective participation

These workshop include

12.00 - 1.00
Saving Iceland and Resisting Corporate greed. Global campaigns of direct action
This workshop is the first of a series of European workshops to highlight the high levels of local and international resistance to the massive degradation of livelihood and natural landscape for the benefit of private corporations. The workshop aims to look at strategies of active resistance from those involved in this ongoing and growing campaign.Savingiceland.org

1.00-2.00
Rossport Solidarity Camp. This will be a practical based workshop, describing the role of the solidarity camp, set up in June 2005, within the shell to sea campaign. It will include advise to all those who would like to get involved or help out in any way, to the upkeep of the camp. All are welcome, you don't need to be an "expert", everyone can take part in this, most people who have been on the camp have had as their previous sum total of camping experience the occasional trip to the likes of Witness. Many also have had no previous experience of campaigning.
www.struggle.ws/rsc

2.00-3.00
Anti War Organising.
This workshop will focus on the somewhat disparate and quite limited state of anti war activity currently in Ireland. The fact that a handful of individuals are doing a hell of a lot to highlight the continued use of Shannon by the US in there continued illegal occupation of Iraq. It aims to look forward to helping create a sustainable hub of active resistance, learning from past endeavours and honestly exploring nodes of cooperation, increasing meaningful public participation in anti war activity.

3.30-4.30
Popular Education
This workshop introduces the ideas and methods of popular education, skill shares ideas for giving workshops and discusses how we can use radical education within social movements and local campaigns. We hope to include
- Mapping popular education globally
- Popular education in action- methods in the madness
- Skill sharing exchange. Dealing with difficult topics and keeping workshops interesting.

We hope to make this workshop an opportunity to learn from and share practical experiences. If you have any idea’s, do’s or donts for workshops, games or activities please feel free to come along and share them.

www.trapese.org

4.30-6.00
BODY is a diverse group of young pro-choice activists that are campaigning for safe and legal abortion services in Ireland launched today. BODY stands for bold open decisive youth. This workshop looks at many of the issues around abortion, with a fresh and radical perspective, in an inclusive environment.http://www.indymedia.ie/article/73435

So if any of these workshops tickle your fancy please come along and take part. Between these, other meetings and discussion, all day film screening and many diverse stalls and info points were sure that there is something you will enjoy.

Meeting on Social Centres at the bookfair
Jennifer from the Cork Autonomist Zone (CAZ), William from Seomra Spraoi and Dean from the Grand Banks squat and the newly opened Square in London, discuss their experiences in being involved with Social Centre projects. In particular they will try and answer whether social centres are social spaces or whether they are political spaces.

For information on Seomra Spraoi: http://seomraspraoi.blogspot.com/
For information on the Square: http://www.londonsocialcentre.org.uk/
For more information on Cork Autonomist Zone: http://struggle.ws/wsm/ws/2003/ws75/caz.html

The meeting will be on at two o'clock in the Red room.

Workplace Resistance Meeting
After two decades of no-strike 'social partnership' deals, are the unions dead? Is there any point in joining a union? Is something new needed?

One of the Polish workers sacked for resisting speed-ups in Tesco and two anarchist trade union activists will give their views, followed by discussion.

This event will be held from 1.00 - 2.00pm in the Red Room

North American Anarchist Speaking at the bookfair
In recognition of the fact that anarchism is a truly international movement, Dave from NEFAC (the North Eastern Federation of Anarcho Communists) will talk about his experience of organising and fill us in on the state of the anarchist movement in North America. NEFAC are an anarchist communist group that are heavily involved in union and anti war work as well as having played a major role in organising some of the first “anti globalisation” demonstrations.

A speaker from the WSM will also give a brief summary of the past few years of the anarchist movement in Ireland.

We hope that this session will allow us to learn from the experiences of others, spot common difficulties faced by our movement and to help us overcome them.

The talk will be held from 3.30 -4.30 in the Red Room

You can find out more information about NEFAC on their webpage here http://www.nefac.net/

Radical Cinema at the Anarchist Bookfair

Lets go to the Movies

12:15pm to 1:15pm: Video Editing Workshop (Learn some basic editing skills Brought To you by Revolt Video)

Open To All

Followed by.

1:30pm to 3:30pm: Revolt Activist Cinema
(A selection of films from Irish Activists including material from Direct Action Against Apathy
(www.geocities.com/directactionagainstapathy/home.htm)

Plus lots more check www.revoltvideo.blogspot.com for more details .

Then:

3:30pm to 6pm (Two Feature length documentaries)

SALT OF THE EARTH (1954) Based on an actual strike against the Empire
Zinc Mine in New Mexico, the film deals with the prejudice against
the Mexican-American workers, who struck to win equal pay with Anglo
workers in other mines and to be treated with dignity by the bosses.
The film is an early treatment of feminism, the wives of the miners
play a pivotal role in the strike against their husbands' wishes.
This film was written, directed and produced by members of the
original "Hollywood Ten," who were blacklisted during the McCarthy
witch hunt against the left.
(Runtime: 94 minutes)

THE FLICKERING FLAME (1996)
Directed by Ken Loach. The film documents the Liverpool dockers' strike, where many workers lost their jobs for refusing to go against their own beliefs by crossing a picket line. It manages to put across political points without being boring or heavy. On the contrary, issues such as the betrayal of the workers by their bureaucratic union bosses are forcefully shown. (runtime 55 minutes)