People's Movement Assemblies are tools to help social movements govern themselves. They provide popular education tools to help groups:
- 1) Develop analyses of problems affecting their communities and the root causes of those problems,
- 2) Articulate visions of alternatives to the prevailing social and economic order
- 3) Develop strategies and commitments to help realize these visions
The U.S. Social Forum builds upon what we refer to as the "PMA process" which aims to integrate and develop syntheses of the political analyses, visions, and commitments that emerge from PMAs around the country. The USSF supports and facilitates local PMAs with the idea of helping convene a nation-wide conversation about what changes are needed in this country and how social movements might come together in more effective ways to realize alternative visions.
MODEL FOR ORGANIZING A PMA
- The following outline is for a PMA that lasts about 3 hours. Timing can be adjusted for shorter or longer PMAs.
Facilitation: The following Guidelines for working together are helpful to keep in mind when working with diverse groups. Preparing facilitation team for your PMA is helpful to ensuring effective and productive conversations.
- Part 1: Consciousness: Analysis of the way things are today at the root cause of our problems
- Discuss (in small groups if applicable)
- Identify basic elements of society and print on cards that are arranged by groups to show current priorities in your communities and workplaces (30 minutes)
- The 'way things are' --list on post-it notes. Place notes on one wall and have groups report back. Compare similarities and differences, etc. (5 min.)
- Answer questions on root causes of problems and report back (20 minutes discuss/ 5 minutes report back)
1. Who holds power? 2. How did they get that power? 3. What are the most profound impacts of their power on your communities and workplaces, in your campaigns and day-to-day work? 4. Why are the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer, and the middle getting squeezed? 5. What role has white supremacy played in reinforcing the power and inequalities seen in our society [DATA]
Recommended- if the group has time, some sort of [ritual activity] to allow group to grieve, articulate and confront anger and hurt, purge...
PART 2: Vision
- PAGE IN CONSTRUCTION
{Synthesis of results}--The PMA process aims to both create spaces where local and regional gatherings can come together to analyze the political context and vision paths towards change and to integrate the conversations held in different PMAs across the country into a larger national discussion. In this sense PMAs are not one-off meetings but rather part of larger, ongoing conversation that leads towards and helps inform a national convening of the United States Social Forum.