Workers Solidarity Movement

WSM will be hosting a workshop on 'Organising inside, outside and around work' as part of the Gluaiseacht Skill Share Weekend.  That sessions is at 14.00 on Saturday, the full program for the weekend is below.

You are invited to a weekend of workshops, talks and films to be held in Seomra Spraoi in Dublin from 1st-3rd April.

The purpose of the weekend is to get people from various backgrounds interested in activism and to meet up, get to know each other and learn from activists and others.

How Much?
...Free of charge and food will be provided. If you are coming from outside Dublin and are in need of a place to stay please let us know and we will try to hook you up with a couch or a floor.

Programme

FRIDAY – 19.00 – 20.00

Guerrilla Gardening (Eric - Bia Grower (Ninja))
Learn how to make your own seed bombs, moss graffiti and flower pots from newspapers.

SATURDAY – 11.00 – 12.30

Make your own moisturiser (Tracey - Magpie Herbals)
This is a practical workshop where together we'll make a batch of moisturiser and everyone gets a sample to take home. You will also get recipes for other creams. For people to make their own small jars it will only cost about 3 euros each.

How to use the mainstream news media to publicise grassroots campaigns and causes (William - formerly worked for a national newspaper and has experience of PR and grassroots campaign organising.)
The aim of this workshop is to allow people to share their experiences of what works and what doesn't work when trying to gain access to the airwaves and print media. (For those of you have done a media workshop with William before, please note: it won't simply be the same one over again.) 

Soil-less growing (Joe - Bia Grower (Ninja))
This workshop is an introduction to growing with hydroponics and other soil-less m mediums. Plants can grow in almost any type of medium so long as they are cared for and given the proper attention. You will become acquainted with hydroponics and soil-less mediums; learn the basics behind hydroponic horticulture; be introduced to a number of different systems and techniques; discover how to build your own inexpensive hydroponic systems. 

SATURDAY 12.30 – 14.00 – LUNCH

SATURDAY 14.00 – 15.30

Is there life after partnership? Organising inside, outside and around work (facilitator Paul Bowman)

Whether in or out of employment, the conditions and conditionality of work affect us all. With a mounting employer offensive spearheaded by IBEC, rising unemployment threatening to force ever greater numbers into precarity or emigration and a mainstream union movement like an orphaned lamb trying to nuzzle the dead corpse of social partnership, is there any alternative to impotent demonstrations and a passive acceptance of defeat? This session will argue that the potential exists to build a new power by going beyond the failed clientelist service model of the partnership unions. 

Protecting our natural environment (Anja - An Taisce)
This workshop will look at some of the key challenges facing Irelands natural environment and what needs to change. Topics include protecting nature conservation sites, legal routes for protecting habitats, how forestry in Ireland causes environmental damage, challenges and solutions to achieving good water quality in Irish rivers and lakes, and the relationship between climate change and the natural environment.

SATURDAY 15.45 – 17.15

Basic screen printing intro (Sandra - Art teacher)
For anybody who is interested please bring a craft knife to cut paper, flat sheets of plastic from your recycling bin, pencils and eraser.

Climate Justice (Oisin - Friends of the Earth)
Exploring the impacts of climate change. What is climate justice and how can we understand it? What are the impacts on those who have not caused the problem?

Israel, Palestine and the media (Freda – IPSC)
This session aims to increase participants’ ability to critically engage and reflect upon a range of media representations,
empower participants to recognise perspective and agenda, enable participants to identify the causes and attitudes underlying bias and misrepresentation and enable participants to reflect upon the consequences of bias and misrepresentation. We will use visual images, media reports, small group and whole group discussion as well as a construction of media report during this session. 

SATURDAY 17.30 – DINNER

SATURDAY 17.45 – 19.15

Climate change and trade (Fleachta – Comhlámh)
What is the link between climate change and trade? Is increasingly globalised trade contributing to climate change? This participatory and interactive workshop will explore and debate the way in which current international trade systems and flows negatively impact on our planet, and discuss alternatives.

SUNDAY 11.00 – 12.00/12.30

Keeping Ireland GM-Free (Catherine - GM Free Ireland)
The workshop aims to inform participants of the key issues concerning GMOs, particularly in relation to Ireland. Discussion will be based around exploring the implications for farming, health, food sovereignty, and the environment. The workshop aims to empower participants, to engage in critical discussion, and to explore effective ways of keeping Ireland GM-Free. The ‘Future of Food’ will also be shown.

Shell to Sea Workshop on Ireland’s oil and gas resources (Caoimhe - Dublin Shell 2 Sea)
Despite Ireland having large volumes of oil and gas resources, most people in Ireland are of the opinion that we are a resource poor country. This workshop aims give
participants practical knowledge about Ireland’s oil and gas resources, with a focus on how those resources are currently used and looking at who is profiting from these resources. With the Irish Government estimating our oil and gas resources to be worth over 580 billion euros, this workshop is important for anyone with an interest in environmental, social and/or economic issues. 

This will be a participatory workshop, which aims to inform participants of and explore:

How much oil and gas we have. Where it is (how many more Rossports will we have?). How much is it worth and who profits?Security of supply issues Alternatives to the current system.

The workshop will be open to all, and will be useful for people with all levels of knowledge on this issue, from no idea what any of the above is about, to people who have a good idea, but want to know more. 

Dublin Shell to Sea will be facilitating this workshop. 

All of the information given at the workshop has been reliably sourced, referenced and is based on government official figures.

Wild harvest workshop (Pears - Food Action)
Come and join us on a forage walk in the neighbourhood, We'll be looking out and harvesting wild food and herbs. It's a participatory workshop for experienced foragers and newbies, everyone welcome. bring a cotton bag, paper bag, a scissors, any wild food book you think useful and rain gear maybe. Approx running time one hour.

SUNDAY 12.30 – 14.00 – LUNCH

SUNDAY 14.00 – 15.30

Permaculture (Suzie Cahn - teaches Permaculture courses with Wicklow VEC and Greenworks)
This workshop is on becoming more self and community reliant in food production, basic growing to more advanced skills will be addressed in an organic and permaculture context, working with nature, as well as, how to grow in community gardens, allotments, GIYing together.

Student organising (Dave - Young Friends of the Earth)
Students have historically been at the forefront of many social movements. How do social justice and environmental activists reach out to students and sustain momentum from year to year? How to manage the "student power cycle" that peaks in November and drops massively in the summer months? How to reach out to a generation of highly networked, low attention span students with rising time and money pressures and lower job prospects? 

Direct action (Kate & Lenka - Rossport Solidarity Camp)
This introduction to direct action is aimed at people with little
experience, covering your legal rights and how to plan safe and effective protests. There's a huge history of using direct action in Ireland. Examples include the Shell to Sea protests, the anti-war campaign at Shannon airport, the civil rights marches, during the anti-nuclear campaign at Cansore Point and
also to kick out dirty industries such as Raytheon, Merrell Dow and Raybestos Manhattan.

SUNDAY 15.45 – 17.15

Introduction to Facilitation (Jerrieann – Gluaiseacht)
How can we work together effectively as a group? How can we have good meetings that include everyone? This will be a participatory workshop designed to explore these questions and reflect on your experiences of working in groups. Participants who attended the Seeds for Change three days of training in October 2010 will pass on some of the tools learned for facilitation and group work. 

Legal workshop (Eoin - Rossport Solidarity Camp)
This workshop will go through your rights and legal issues that arise with engaging in protest. It will also look at how Gardaí deal with protests and what happens if you're arrested. 

Massage workshop (Sheila - massage therapist)
A practical and physical workshop using massage and aromatherapy to build healthy communities.

Also the bike workshop will be open on Saturday and Sunday from 12.30 if you're bike is sick and needs fixing!

Also the bike workshop will be open on Saturday and Sunday from 12.30 if you're bike is sick and needs fixing!