Wild and Windy Shannon / Ecotopia Reunion In West Clare

international | anti-war / imperialism | feature

Thursday April 07, 2005 16:10

by St. John

E.Y.F.A and Gluaiseacht Anti-War Winter Meeting Taking Place

From The Newswire: I arrived on Sunday evening to the wonderful aroma of some great cooking from the Bitchen Kitchen crew. And the meeting has gotten even better since then! EYFA organises gatherings, supports groups across Europe and also fundraises for activists. The Wintermeeting is their strategy meeting for the year, while Ecotopia is their summer gathering – this brilliant environmental festival took place in Ireland in 2002. People from all across the continent have been involved, including Carbusters, Social and Art Collectives, Squatting groups from the Netherlands and many more – except 9 Eastern European people who were invited, but were refused entry by the Irish state despite the fact that all requirements were fulfilled.

We have been meeting at the Boghill Centre around the question of ‘What is Eyfa’s role in the European environmental and social movement?’. This has led to discussions on issues as from online tools to burn-out, alternative economic systems to more positive activism, and much more besides. Tomorrow is the action planning, where all the positive energy will be solidified into concrete strategies for the year ahead.

We also had a brilliantly entertaining and informative ‘pub quiz’ from the TRAPESE (Take Radical Action, for Popular Education and Sustainable Everything), which is a member of the Dissent Network which is organising around the upcoming G8 Summit in Scotland – a very cool initiative that’s interesting in terms of changing the focus of campaigning by bringing in new methods like this, and a new ethos of creative, different opposition and alternatives, by going on the road in a really fun manner. And we’re all going to go, including our kitchen!

Another fascinating aspect of the stay here is the fact that we’ve been using the Open Space Method of organising the meeting, and it has contributed no end to the informal atmosphere, but also, crucially, to some of the most productive meetings I’ve been to in a long time. The Method really decentralises the power of agenda-setting and challenges many of the assumptions which make meetings boring and disempowering – and it seems to have enhanced this meeting no end.

Starting on Thursday, the Gluaiseacht Anti-War (see elsewhere in this piece) meeting will function as a continuation of all of this, with the contral areas for discussion being focussed around Ireland’s complicity in the war in Iraq, and what we can do about it. It promises to be a very interesting week to come – more updates to follow soon >>>

Full Timetable Of EYFA/Gluaiseacht Event
Not Just A Hippy Paradise: Ecotopia 2002

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Comments (3 of 3)

Cad a tharla?

by couldn't be there

Wed Apr 13, 2005 18:33

anyone able to give us some feedback?

Big HEADS UP to all Glu folk!!

by Eoin Dubsky

Thu Apr 07, 2005 13:23

The programme for the week looks great. Congratulations to everyone who put this together. Wish I could be there with you -- in Paris for now.

Anti-War Programme & Timetable

by Conor - Gluaiseacht

Thu Apr 07, 2005 01:25

E.Y.F.A / Gluaiseacht
European Anti-war Meeting

Thurs. 7th Opposing War.
Morning:
Introduction - Shannon Airport and Bertie’s War Crime’s,
Discussion - International dissent to War,
Presentation - Madrid March 11 - Bea

Afternoon
Presentation - The Arms Trade in Ireland - Tracey Ryan.
Presentation - BombSpotting in Belgium - Job.
Presentation - Conscientious Objection in Turkey - Belit.

Evening
Presentation - Putting the War on Trial - Pitstop Ploughshares.
Presentation - The Executive V Horgan at the High Court - Ed Horgan.

Fri. 8th Proposing Peace
Morning:
Presentation - Seeds of Hope, Hawk jets Disarmed - Pitstop Ploughshares

Afternoon:
Presentation - Glencree, Peace and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland.
Anna Bubala, Mareike Tegtmeier & Bridgett Rossi from the Glencree Centre Co. Wicklow.

Evening:
Presentation - Plane Spotting, Shannon and the C.I.A. -Tim Hourigan
Presentation - Shell Oil Mayo. - tbc
Presentation - Irish Palestine Solidarity - Maria Escribano, Sean Carroll

Sat. 9th Building Together
Morning:
Discussion - Open Space exploration of Direct Action and resistance to War.

Lunch:
Learning From Experience -
Shannon Peace Camp - Tracy Ryan.
Disarmament at Shannon Airport - Mary Kelly.
Top Oil Boycott - tbc

Afternoon:
Working Together –
Presentation - Proposals for Pledge/Network.
Discussion - Open Space development of pledge/network proposals.
Consensus - Defining a process we can all work through.

Evening:
Putting it all in practice –
Open space development of the actions which will bring the pledge/network to a reality of Direct Action and Resistance.

Sun 10th Action
Taking action against Irelands complicity in War.
Location – Shannon Warport.

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Wild and Windy Shannon / Ecotopia Reunion In West Clare

Comments (3 of 3)