From US Social Forum Wiki
- Peoples Movement Assembly – USSF Road to Detroit
- 1st call
- April 27, 2009
- 2nd call
- May 14, 2009
- Present (between the 2 calls):
- Ruben Solis-SWU
- Stephanie Guilloud-Project South, GA
- Susan Williams-Highlander, TN
- Attica Scott-KY Jobs w Justice, KY
- Stephen Bartlett-Agricultural Missions, KY
- Janvieve Williams- Latin American Caribbean Community Center, GA
- Dan Leahy- Trinational Coalition, WA
- Angela Winfrey – People’s Institute, SE region (LA & GA)
- Face to face - MEETING
- Proposed Date July 31 – at the KY Social Forum, Berea KY
- Call flow
- 1) Intros
- 2) Background on PMA
- 3) Questions & Conversation
- 4) Next steps to face to face meeting
- Upcoming & Ongoing connection possibilities to PMA
- - Southern Strategies process – Highlander is anchor
- Contact Pam McMichael <pam@highlandercenter.org>
- - KY Social Forum (July 31-Aug 2)
- Contact Attica Scott <attica@kyjwj.org>
- - Project South Member Assembly (June 20, 09)
- Contact Stephanie Guilloud <Stephanie@projectsouth.org>
- - Border Movement Assemblies (March 09 & Sept 09)
- Contact Ruben Solis <grulla@swunion.org>
- - NW Portland - Environmental & Economic Crisis Summit (Oct 09)
- Contact Dan Leahy <danleahy43@yahoo.com>
- Background & a little history on PMA
- USSF – 2007 – broke new ground in new ways – the majority who participated were people of color, affected folks participating, not just the advocates
- PMA at the USSF - we gave it bigger standing than the WSF had been giving it
- Contradictions from the beginning = we come, we share, but we don’t make decisions.
- We need to move forward from the convergence spaces with movement positions
- Social Movement Assemblies – to meet and confer, these assemblies have grown and established more prominent role – with resolutions decided by consensus
Belen – Assemblies before the Forum, some during, and some after / broke new ground
- Social Movements Assembly – not enough resonance here, we called it People’s Movement Assembly – needed more time & capacity to develop process
- The next USSF – our potential is greater – we have learned lessons and grown
- The PMA is a space to come in as equals – come in at the same weight and level :– convergence of all the organizations and alliances under one tent – to come out with a unified statement, resolutions, all the movements carry it out / implement the steps
- Evaluation and agreement in September 2007 that the PMA would play greater role in the Detroit process, and would have a staff person to coordinate the work
- Empowering process for people / Entry way into USSF
- QUESTIONS from the group
- How does it work - tactically?
- What are examples?
- What is the difference between regional social forums and movement assemblies?
- How do we document and evolve the process?
- Border Social Forum: position papers, declarations of solidarity, resolutions, call to actions/ Synthesis commission that folded the documents into one / wordsmithing
- Presented final resolution to plenary / gave it approval en masse
- Poor Peoples Movement Assembly: 3 concurrent sessions on Race, Violence, & Poverty
- – groups brought 5 resolutions to larger group and came to full agreement
- Guatemala: captured all the documentation from the workshops and spaces
- Delegations presented the resolutions to the full body
- Fused them together and the statements were presented
- Framework & Organizing Plan
- - Calls to introduce and build the conversation
- - Face-to-face Meeting
- - Organizing plan to connect opportunities & design the process
- - Timeline of assemblies (before, during, and after the USSF)
- - Hiring coordinator, communicating with convergence spaces