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This page is a working area for the Communications/Media WG for organizing content that will go on the USSF website for the 6/22 kick off. Please add any content you know of from other committees/WGs and edit as needed. Thanks!
Links for website kick off--based upon links for Save the Date email announcement (below)
Working Drafts
Save the Date email announcement--draft for USSF Atlanta participants
Save the Date draft
It's a little abstract & dense for the first public web site, but full of good info, such as list of working groups and the background. ( But I think there should be no personal email addresses, only 1 or more Social Forum email addresses - nancy) Reg has put a second version below the original one.
6-22-09 USSF Press Release--draft
This is web-designed and has a lot of the kind of excitement we need.
Center for Social Media national press release--DRAFT
The press release will be sent from the Center for Social Media at USSF national press release--draft from Karlos
(Edited version below)
- Detroit Selected as Host Site for Second US Social Forum
- USSF to bring boost to the economy and, organizers say, "stimulate hope for the people of Detroit"
.. – Contact Maureen Taylor and William Copeland, USSF staff coordinators at DetroitInfo@ussf2010.org
Detroit, seen by many as ground zero for the current economic crisis, has been named as the site for the 2nd United States Social Forum. More than 15,000 are expected to participate in the Forum, which runs from June 22nd through June 26, 2010. The USSF will bring together social movement organizations from all sectors and regions of the U.S. and its territories to share stories and tactics and to draft strategies for change.
"Our democracy has been hijacked by big money and a type of corporate governance that has resulted in the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer, and decreased services for everyone - Detroit embodies both the problem and potential for solutions," says Maureen Taylor, USSF staff coordinator. "We believe the Social Forum process will stimulate some hope for the people of Detroit and help the people turn this city around."
Organizers hail the Social Forum process as a powerful vehicle for change and as the next stage in community organizing, community governance and democracy.
The Social Forum movement - conceived as an alternative to the World Economic Forum - is a space for social movements and progressive sectors of civil society to meet and discuss ideas and solutions to the world's continued economic, ecological and human rights crises.
According to the USSF2010.org website, "The US Social Forum is a very special kind of gathering. It isn't a conference with an agenda and a program of events; it's a gathering whose participants produce our own agenda and our own programs."
The first World Social Forum was held in January 2001, in Porto Alegre, Brazil, during the early stages of Brazil's democratic transformation that would ultimately lead to the election of lathe operator and union organizer, Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva.
Millions have since participated in the social forum process all across the world - from local and smaller regional forums to larger national, hemispheric, and global forums.
"Wherever a social forum has been held, we've seen a wave of transformation that follows," added William Copeland, USSF staff coordinator. "[The Social Forum], and other events leading up to it, will be seen as a people's bailout for Detroit. Detroit can be a model for a just transition to a green 21st Century economy."
As many as 12,000 participated in the first United States Social Forum in Atlanta, Georgia in 2007.
"[quote that touches on outcomes from 07]"
The fiscal and political responsibilities of the USSF are overseen by representatives from over 40 social movement organizations and who make up the National Planning Committee. They include:
- AFL-CIO (International)
- American Friends Services Committee
- AlternateROOTS (regional)
- CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities (New York City, NY)
- Center for Community Change (National)
- Center for Media Justice (National)
- Center for Social Justice (Seattle, WA)
- Center for Third World Organizing (National)
- Centro Obrero (Detroit, MI)--Anchor organization
- Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice (Detroit, MI)--Anchor organization
- East Michigan Environmental Action Council (Detroit, MI)--Anchor organization
- Grassroots Global Justice (National)
- Indigenous Environmental Network (International)
- Independent Progressive Politics Network (National)
- Jobs with Justice (National)
- Labor and Community Strategy Center (Los Angeles, CA)
- Miami Workers Center (Miami, FL)
- Michigan Welfare Rights Organization (Detroit, MI)--Anchor organization
- National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (National)
- Padres Unidos (Denver, CO)
- People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (New Orleans, LA)
- People Organized to Win Employment Rights, POWER (San Francisco, CA)
- People Organizing to Demand Economic and Environmental Rights, PODER (San Francisco, CA)
- Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, PPEHRC (National)
- Project South (Regional)
- REDOIL (Alaska)
- Ruckus Society (National)
- SisterSong (National)
- St. Peters Housing Committee (San Francisco, CA)
- Sociologists Without Borders (National)
- Southeast Michigan Jobs with Justice (Detroit, MI)--Anchor Organization
- Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice (Regional)
- SouthWest Organizing Project (Albuquerque, NM)
- Southwest Workers Union (San Antonio, TX)
- Technology Working Group (May First/People Link)
- The Praxis Project (National)
- TOPS (Dothan, Alabama)
- Union de Trabajadores Agricolas Fronterizos (El Paso, TX)
- Women Watch Afrika, (International)
- Women’s Media Equity Collaborative
To volunteer or get involved, contact one of the local host organizations go to the website at ussf2010.org
From Detroit LOC suggested schedule for kick-off day
Posted 6-4-09
Detroit Local Organizing Committee
Preposed schedule for June 22 Year-Out Kick-off Event at CUMC from 6-9pm
- 6 pm People arrive, there is music and art to entertain
- 6:30 pm Press Conference (maybe with two USSF Detroit organizers and additional local draw)
- 6:45 pm Orientation about the USSF with new PowerPoint (presented by the Outreach Committee, question and answer facilitated by who?)
- 7:10 pm Food and mingling
- 8:00 pm More live music (and maybe even dancing!)
Need the help of the Communications and Culture Committees
Guidelines for participaton in site wikis
Taken from email discussion. It's important to have guidelines people see right away, so if we tell someone their content isn't appropriate, they can't say it's political or they're being singled out. We should probably keep them short as possible. Edits, suggestions welcome.
list of principles that every contributor should follow:
- No name calling or obscenities;
- Please be constructive and don't contribute if you don't believe in the mission of the Social Forum (link);
- No calls for violent action;
- Assume that all who follow these guidelines are honest, intelligent and committed activists from the same large movement for change.
One of the key things about working wiki style - is that when you see something like that, you simply revert, remove or reword it (obviously keeping the meaning) so that you have to spend very little time worrying about it. If a single contributor continues the behavior - then you have a conversation with them about it. Best, MarkDilley
These notes from 6/9 LOC meeting could be useful:
6-9-09 LOC meeting at MWRO Offices
- Spanish, Arabic translations
- acronyms need to be spelled out at least once
- talk about solutions
- we are the ones we've been waiting for
- concrete examples of neo-liberalism
- describe how we are going to bring people together
- captions under pictures from Atlanta
- images of Detroit
- labor information, vacant homes, closed factories, school closings, increase in food distribution in churches, community gardens, Detroit bucks
- what is Detroit
- show what corporations are doing to us
- examples of what will be in USSF 2010