Via: OccupyWallSt.org, Via: OccupyNationalGathering.net:

We, the National Gathering Working Group 2013 (NGWG2013), propose a National Gathering of the Occupy Movement, and peoples’ movements worldwide, in Kalamazoo Michigan, to collectively assemble and embrace our different ideologies and perspectives; to find our common visions; to share our strategies and actions; and to leave this gathering with steps we can all take in both agreement and diversity; for ourselves, our communities, our nations, and for all of us all over the world.

We further propose that our convergence begin on Aug. 21 and continue for five days of Community and Movement building exercises including speakers, teach-ins, and free-flowing open discussion at a location to be determined by the Occupy Kalamazoo General Assembly. We believe it’s time the people of the world spoke to each other about how to make a better world. We ask you to converge with us, to bring your ideas, your struggles, and your voice and come to Kalamazoo! We already have networks on board with these broad areas of interest and welcome and need your suggestions, participation and contributions:

Fixing Fossil Fuels and Creating an Environmentally Sustainable Future.
Economic and Trade Justice, Equal Access and Ending Corporate “Personhood”, Asserting the People’s Sovereignty.
Making and Supporting Free, Unfettered Media.
Ending War and Our Police State, Building Peace and Cooperation.
Renew Kalamazoo and your community. Homeless Bill of Rights.

We also encourage the creation of local, national and global processes to communicate, organize and converge. We are meeting more and more on the internet, on mumble, on conference calls. Global infrastructures are appearing, to bring more people together and able to participate worldwide. We are able as a people to organize worldwide protests and actions. We envision a day of concerted worldwide actions focused on very local issues that expose those local issues as part of the worldwide fight against systemic injustice. We will gather and share this worldwide action through all the media tools and networks we continue to build through voluntary people power.

We embrace the value derived from face-to-face contact, and understand that no single gathering can be representative of our entire movement. We recognize that attending in person will be challenging, or impossible for many, so we also commit to pursuing an online component through which anyone can participate via the Internet. We encourage the creation of local, national and global processes by which movement resources could be directed towards funding travel for active movement participants that otherwise would not be able to attend.

Continue reading »

DemocracyNow! broadcast live Monday from the Freedom to Connect conference, a national gathering to promote Internet freedom and universal connectivity. It comes as the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act has been reintroduced in the House, calling for a "cybersecurity" exception to existing privacy law that would give immunity to companies that hand over troves of confidential customer records and communications to the National Security Agency, FBI and Department of Homeland Security.

Last year at this same conference, Aaron Swartz, the late cyberactivist, computer programmer, social justice activist and writer who committed suicide earlier this year, gave the keynote address, in which he described the battle to defeat the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA.

Swartz took his own life at the age of 26 just weeks before he was to go on trial for using computers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to download millions of copyrighted academic articles from JSTOR, a subscription database of scholarly papers. JSTOR declined to press charges, but prosecutors moved the case forward. Aaron Swartz faced up to 35 years in prison and a million dollars in fines for allegedly violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. After Aaron’s death, federal prosecutors dropped the charges against him.

Well, this year’s conference, which is "dedicated to the work Aaron still had left to do." DemocracyNow! is joined by Darcy Burner, delivering the "After Aaron" address this morning. She worked with him on several projects, including ProgressiveCongress.org, which she formerly directed, as well as the Progressive Congress Action Fund. She’s also one of the biggest tech geeks to run for Congress, having run for office three times from Washington state. She formerly worked for Microsoft.

AMY GOODMAN: You’re giving, Darcy, the "After Aaron" address today. What does that mean? And what are you saying?

DARCY BURNER: Well, you know, Aaron was a friend of mine. And I—

Continue reading »

In the era of Occupy-evicted, the movement has emphasized national reunions to stay connected, such as the anti-NATO protests in Chicago, for which Occupiers were bused in from around the country. This nationalization process culminated in the Occupy National Gathering, held from June 30 to July 4 in Philadelphia. Three Occupy Caravans traveled across the country in the three weeks leading up to "NatGat," bearing activists from San Diego, Tuscon, Wichita, Atlanta, Boston and many other cities. Roughly 1,000 Occupiers attended the gathering's marches, workshops (with speakers like Chris Hedges and organizer Lisa Fithian), and theatrical protest (a 99 Percent vs. Tax Dodgers baseball game). The event concluded with the daylong production of a Vision for a Democratic Future, listing the attributes of a society that those at NatGat wanted to see.

This mini-documentary, "Occupy National Gathering: Perspectives on Police," portrays the internal conflict over police confrontation at the Occupy National Gathering, particularly as it relates to the future of the movement. Interviews include former Philadelphia Police Captain Ray Lewis, Un-Occupy Albuquerque activist Amalia Montoya and InterOccupy organizer Tamara Shapiro.

Occupy National Gathering

View a complete list of speakers, workshops, and trainings here: LEARN & CREATE
Occupy National Gathering Schedule (printable version: right click, save link as…)

SATURDAY, JUNE 30TH

All activities will be on Independence Mall (5th and Market) and surrounding parks unless otherwise noted.
9am – Set-up – Independence Mall and surrounding location
11am – 3pm – Occupy Caravans arrive
11am – 1:30pm – Speakers
1:45pm – 3pm – Open Space, Workshops, and Speaker Follow-up Sessions
3pm – NatGat Welcome – Main Stage
3:30pm – “Know Your Rights” training – Main Stage
4pm – “Summer Training” – Community/Solidarity/Skill-Building Exercises
6pm – March
7:30pm – Dinner served*
8pm – 9pm – OccuArts – On-stage Performances (if you’d like to perform, contact Jacob at wjacobr@gmail.com)
9pm – Festivities: Panic Hour Comedy Show

*All meals will be “first come, first served”, but we’ll do our best to get everyone fed. Please bring food to share if you can.

Continue reading »