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(please forgive formatting issues, notes disappeared and had to be reloaded from a word doc back-up. will try to format better tomorrow!)

US Social Forum National Planning Committee Meeting Jan 8-10
Next steps at the end of the meeting
In PMA – a synthesis commission will work to come back with a document for the NPC to use moving forward
for NPC expansion, NPC empowered Oya, Cindy and Adrienne to vet the current applications and bring back a recommendation
all working groups, integrate the evaluations that were given to your group
for outreach – all organizations need to give real numbers to the Outreach committee for who they are planning to bring


In attendance:

Will Copeland, Detroit Local Coordinator; Diana Copeland, EMEAC; Rocio Valerio, EMEAC representing Centro Obrero; Tapeka Dixon, Michigan Welfare Rights Union, logistics; Robby Rodriguez, SWOP, Resource Mob; Maureen Taylor, Detroit Local Coordinator; Maryann Barnett, AFSCME, NPC applicant; Jackie Smith, Sociologists without Borders, Communications; Kaajal Shaw, Praxis Project; Salima, Praxis Project, Fiscal Sponsor; Carl, observer - Alaska; Walda Katz-Fishman, Program and Culture, LRNA; Mayowa, Gender Justice, Women of Color United; Derek, Youth, People's Institute, PMA; Rose Brewer, Gender Justice, PMA, Program and Culture; Jerome Scott, Program and Culture, LRNA; Sylvia Orduno, MWRO, National Coordinator; Brigitte Flaherty, Pushback Network, Outreach; Cindy weisner, GGJ, Outreach, International Solidarity; Lee Sustar, CESRC, NPC Applicant, Outreach; Danielle Mahones, CTWO, Outreach; Tammy Bang Luu, Labor Community Strategy Center + Busriders Union, Outreach, Resource; George Friday, IPPN, Evaluation and Documentation, Gender Justice; George Martin, UFPJ; Tom Goldtooth, Indigenous Environmental Network, Indigenous Working Group, Program and Culture; Sara Kershnar, IJAN + Generation 5, PMA, International Solidarity, Program and Culture; Lissett Lazo, Labor Community Strategy Center; Ruben Solis, Southwest Workers Union, PMA; Genaro Lopez, Southwest Workers Union, Resource, Finance, People's Freedom Caravan; Karlos Gauna schmieder, Center for Media Justice, Communications Co-Chair; Sara, National Day Laborer Organizing Network, NPC Applicant; Benishi Albert, Center for Community Change, Indigenous WG; Emily Kawano, Solidarity Economy Network, International Solidarity; Darryl Jordan, American Friends Services Committee, Outreach; Kanre Umi (?); Dan Leahy, PMA Working Group, Observer; Eddie Acosta, AFL-CIO; Michael Guerrero, GGJ, Resources WG; Corina, Project South, Youth WG; Tracy Chacon, Youth Working Group, SWOP; Emma Sandoval, Youth WG; Felicia Aleman, SWU, Youth Working Group; Sandra Garcia, SWU, Youth WG; Oya Amakisi, DLOC, Culture + Program; Sharon George, DLOC, American Indian Health and Family Services, Culture, Personnel; Scott Byrd, Sociologists without Borders, Communications; Rosalita (?), National Working Group on Food Crisis, Center for Social Justice, Community to Community Development (washington state); Cindy Domingo, Center for Social Justice, US Women and Cuba Collaboration (Gender Justice), Outreach; Josue Guillen, Mayfirst, Language Justice, Technology; Alma Rosa Silva-Banuelos, SNEEJ, reviving Queer Visibility Working Group; Alfredo Lopez, Mayfirst/People Link, Communications/Technology; Monica Cordova, SWOP; Maria Poblet, Causa Justa/Just Cause, Language Access; Sarita Gupta, Jobs with Justice, Outreach, Resource, Personnel; Steph Guilloud, Project South, PMA, Personnel and Finance, Logistics; Adele Nieves, Communications; Akudo, National Field Organizer; B Loewe, National Field Organizer; Sha Grogan-Brown, Resource Mobilization, Finance Committee, Development Staff Roberto , Language Justice/Access; Fred Vitale, DLOC; Ivory Martin, DLOC Outreach, People's Movement Assembly; Bill Bryce, Southeast Michigan Jobs with Justice, Communications; Mallory Knodel, ICT, National Technology Coordinator; Cheri Honkala - National Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign; ??, SWOP and Radio (NM); Mark Randazzo, Funders Network; Joe Donlin, Michigan; Kamelya Youssef, University of Michigan, US Palestinian Community Network; Andrew Dalack, University of Michigan, US Palestinian Community Network; Sara Coffey, DLOC; Ilana "Invincible" Weaver, DLOC and Detroit Summer; Rishi Awatramani, Leftists Lounge; Makani Themba-Nixon, Praxis Project; Anjali Taneja, Casa de Salud, NM; Byron Gudiel, Freedom Road Socialist Organization; Eric Murillo, Adam Martinez, Celia Aguilar, Daniel Macias, Nancy Lechuga and Monica Garcia from El Paso



Friday, 1-8-10 Agenda at a Glance 9-10:30 Welcome and greeting 10:30 Getting on the same page 11 Evaluation 1 PMA 4:15 Break 4:30 Outreach 6 Dinner break 7-10pm Working groups meet Community Agreements Step up! Default to trust Be aware of time Speak from your own experience Use the "woah" Respect difference Healthy conflict, clear resolutions! Role of observers Welcome, glad you are here Mindful participation Ask your NPC buddy In large group, facilitators will prioritize NPC members Sorry, you can't vote Decision making process Post presentation--ask clarifying questions Presenter re-clarifying proposal Call for consensus Any other clarifying questions Stand asides Blocking concerns Call for consensus What does it mean to be a member of NPC? Work and more work! Mobilize--sector, region Resources--in kind, $$$ Set political frame And work--working group, committee, NPC calls/meetings If you are LGBTQ let George Friday know, she's keeping eval and doc info on demographics.

For observers or new representatives, there will be a review and orientation at lunch time. Look for Jerome, he'll be at the table where this is happening. This afternoon we'll have a person coming from Juarez who will need interpretation, so if you are able to help interpret please talk to Roberto. We need more than one person, normally two hour shifts + need two people per shift. This person will be here all weekend, so we'd like to have a more formal schedule so that no one person is overburdened. Also please be mindful when you are speaking that there will be interpreters trying to keep up with you. Even if you haven't used the equipment before we can team you up with someone else who has done it before. Please feel free to orient and welcome folks who are arriving late.



Working Group Reports: Getting On the Same Page

Communications/Media
We have a media plan together and project plans on the wiki
Five-month project plans
Welcome Adele to Communications staff (Reg had to step back)
We'd like to hook up with ICT, Culture and Outreach and Eval/Documentation
Writers' Network
go to get involved link on the main ussf site, we're trying to use all media possible to link up with folks - Writer's Network is an important process to get compelling, relevant stories from around the country
Prometheus Radio will be doing live broadcasts, are asking for folks to fill in line-up
Scott spoke w/ Democracy Now in Copenhagen, DM said they'd be covering
Grit TV wants content on USSF
ForaTV (http://fora.tv) is interested in taping and broadcasting from Forum (They charge a small fee.)
Need compelling stories about getting to USSF and activities/events leading up to forum
Looking to shift messaging from the "we" (how great the USSF is) to the "you" (what YOU can do to make the USSF great) We want to transform identified audiences into actors in the social forum process...
Will be working with AMC to share media resources for media space during the forum
We have great relationships with MAG-Net (http://mag-net.org), a local to national network of media policy change organizations and Indy Media Makers; the Progressive Communicators Network (http://www.progressivecommunicators.net/), a regional to national network of progressive communicators, and the Media Consortium (http://www.themediaconsortium.org/), a network of progressive news and opinion outlets.
(this is Labor Outreach)
Committee to bring Labor to social forum, got endorsement from AFL and national AFL-CIO appointed Eddie Acosta to be NPC rep
Gender Justice
Focusing on regional face to face meetings
Webinars as outreach
Ensuring there are Gender Justice WG members on all other working groups
Looking to hook up with youth, indigenous, poverty working groups (others i missed??)
Indigenous
Re-engaging the working group after having to step back for 4 months
Will be hiring Heather Milton Lightening, she was the Native Organizer in 2007, she'll be doing outreach in indian country in the US and Canada and Alaska
Action Camps to inform indigenous communities about what social forum is
Identifying indigenous leadership in different regions
Black Basin Water Coalition (?) in South Dakota (did i get that right?)
Looking to get plugged into other working groups: PMA, program & culture,
some folks want to have a social pow wow at the USSF
Red Road to Detroit
Looking for native performers to participate
Detroit is so close to Canadian border that we have lots of interest from first nations on the canadian side of the border -- we focus on the Mexico/US border as well as the Canada/US border
Discussing native caravan down Highway 2 to Detroit
Language Access
hoping to build staffing infrastructure for language access
need to meet with all working groups, everything intersects
communications, ICT, need to make everything accessible
pipeline for interpretation, bringing in interpreters, how to take care of them while we're at the USSF
need to work out equipment for the forum, might need funding
we need to have a serious conversation about what it means to officially have Arabic as an official language of the USSF
ICT is building a site for organizing, and we'll be testing it with online infrastructure for translation. We need all your help, anyone you know who does translation.
Everyone in this room find one person who can give one hour a week, so we can turn documents around quickly.
Logistics
We have about 60% of what we will need already. Site will be Cobo Hall, as well as Hart Plaza.
Expanded activities to secure meeting spaces, every church and hotel in downtown hotel except for MGM. forget them, don't go there. We'll have list by end of January of meeting spaces.
Hotel accomodations: we've negotiated with expensive hotels, so we have $71-$129 rates for hotels. Dorm room access. 40 houses for Solidarity Housing: move in and pay what you can pay.
Tents will be available for outreach
Transportation: negotiating fare from airport. Working with the People Mover to get a lower rate
Mental Health and Healing Network: working with local doctors
Registration process: 6 working groups participated in developing process (ICT, big ups!) Folks have been meeting for the past month and a half. Soft Launch (what date?), final Hard Launch for January 20th.
Adrienne, Marie and Steph will be reaching out to folks to build registration subcommittees this weekend.
Peoples Movement Assembly Process
how do we get folks to Detroit and once we get there
want to know what folks are bringing to Detroit and what we should know about Detroit
prepping a PMA tent for the full 5 days
working with program working group so that folks can schedule a 4 hour workshop slot if they are working with multiple organizations
hoping to provide a PMA toolkit
developing a pretty good documentation of the PMA process since it is new
we'll have a session later today at 4pm.
Poverty Working Group:
officially formed, in touch with a couple 100 orgs and connecting to the forum
ensure the most diverse and active representation of those in poverty (across region + issues)
connecting with various WGs and organizations and figuring out ways to create linkages
March from Gulf Coast and Mississippi Delta that will end at detroit
3-month process with outreach and PMAs, including teach-in and events leading up to the forum
Connecting national to global issues of poverty
Program and Culture
Preparing for the submission process that will be launching January 20th
Working with Detroit expanded so that culture is brought to the world and across the nation so that they can be a part of the experience
Making sure culture is incorporated to all aspect of the forum and the organizing work
working on murals throughout Detroit
Connecting with the youth working group to ensure their participation
Connecting with ICT and communications, Detroit artists are interested in making CD
Utilizing culture activities throughout the country on the road to Detroit
Want to be the voice and the song for USSF
Program
primarily concerns with the self-organized events of the forum
on-line submission will go up with registration on January 20th
Online submisssion form will go up in Jan. 20 with the workshop proposal. Will go down March 20
How many self organized events will be determined by how many spaces are available -- NEED to build national logistics working group to make sure that happens!
Resource Mobilization
Just about to hit final deadline for foundation submission - raised close to $450,000
Shift to grassroots fundraising (registration and online)
We didn't make any call out to recruitment in the Resource Mob since defacto we are all part of raising the funds to make USSF happen
Youth
Want to give up to SWOP (Tracy and Emma helping to pull the working group together)
Wiki will be coming up in a week or two
Meeting with Monica and Kristy to download the ATL experience
Had a couple of national calls + connecting with local areas that are in motion for the forum
Working on a 6 month plan that will be presented tomorrow "Youth Road to Detroit"
Will come up with Youth Outreach Packet
Connecting with Culture and Indigenous working group
Derek from New Orleans is the other co-chair with Carina from Project South
International Committee
facilitate international participation in Detroit
putting more emphasis this time around
not simple to have folks come in but to integrate them into the work that we are doing in the US, connecting with the intl counterparts - developing strategic alliances with folks doing similar work
NPC doesn't have money to bring in intl folks but organizations around the table + country can do that
integrating through a cross-sectional approach with orgs/networks to connect with
will be putting out a letter to the WSF and IC
had a training call with Bill Martinez
working with Program and Culture to have input, esp on the Intl Day
ICT
7 forms that the USSF is now using (registration, workshop now finished)
Real launch on January 20th! Program will walk us through how it works
Social Forum has 5 websites (www.ussf2010.org, and specific website for specific organizational purposes)
workgroup is going into weekly schedule thru USSF was previously on bi-weekly schedule for the last 10 months
We are going into project group systems
30 task before us leading into USSF, weekly meetings will function like a report back on those projects/tasks
DLOC
word is out about USSF in the activist communities in Detroit
need to increase the word in the general community of Detroit, need to meet the challenge through implementing new strategy to go beyond the activist community
work brigades, coordinated actions, tours will need to be facilitated to gain political experience and what it means to be in Detroit
need to increase the number of ppl involved, on local and national level
will need to re-organizing exisiting structures, + increase those involved
important that Detroit communities are involved hosting the social forum and not just specific ppl or orgs
participation from Detroit at the various working groups have been a challenge, pls connect with Will to figure out how to connect Detroiters
will be hosting an outreach working group face-to-face to connect with Detroit outreach
have work that doesn't have natl forms - religious, disablity, health/healing and ej, immigrantion committee, senior committee
Anchors
pls bring all work brigades and tour in Detroit to the anchors so we can coordinate and ensure they are projects that are led/informed by Detroiters
interested in comunity governance models-if anyone has that please share with us.
need a white ally and white previlege training for all folks engaged in the organizing process as well as a people of color leadership training
bookkeeper is overloaded, all the financials that were national are now being handled locally -- Victor will need support around this
OC
met yesterday

decisions:

develop go-to contact list (working group, committees, etc)
CT is now an on-call body (made up of finance, logistics, anchors, resource mob)
logistics is a primary goal for the weekend -- need to build up national logistics working group!
commitment to efficiency and not freaking out at each other.
Evaluation: Now talking about how this work is happening - 17 sheets around the room for each area of work (with plus/delta columns). Take the next 15 minutes to fill out the charts throughout the room. This is an evaluation/feedback to help working groups determine the work in the next 6 months.
NPC membership updated, been the work for the last month. Most updated list (active and dormant) is up. Endorsement and support space will be created, less commitment than being on the NPC.
Will add another sheet for missing sectors/audiences.
State of the NPC (including NPC expansion) will be discussed in agenda item this afternoon
ICT will be putting applications online with voting process
Staff had a meeting last night and clarified roles. Everyone is going to write up what they understand their role is and what they do and streamline overlap. We have job descriptions and we will meet with the :staff and review it.
There will be a table during lunch on freedom caravans and roads to Detroit.
Health, Healing and Liberation
national call
work: encouraging series of workshops in healing and transformative track; organizing a healing practice space during the USSF; PMA to set direction for that work
conversation came up on a spirituality track (organized religion)
health and healing distinct from a religious track
not yet a formally recognized working group



Evaluations time -- please fill out the feedback sheets around the room
Evaluation Report Backs: Logistics: Reource Mob: positive- $ is coming in, Improvement we need pledge sheets to come in from orgs and tracking system, strengthen local fundraising strategies, more contact : with y'all and process for in kind donations; need strong youth involvement Communications we are happy to have a staff member, social media work (twitter/facebook); improvement: changes on messaging from how great the forum is (we) to you- how you can make the forum great, integrate planning with DLOC, ICT and communications; Need for strong local Detroit comms and media plan and peoples media center in detroit, need to develop long term narrative for online engagement (resource has great draft) and get all online communications on same page from all working groups, we need to bring folks who wouldn't normally attend the forum, looking for a retreat between ICT and Comms in coming months; need strong youth involvement OC- great meeting Thurs, good communication, adrienne & sylvia did great job, communication connections needs to be better among certain groups especially personnel and staff- good to have master work plan amongst groups, need to put those online to be shared; need strong youth involvement NPC- positive-NPC application online will be useful, folks have felt like it's hard to get engaged, not sure where to go, great there is a new system on the horizon; need national to handle national so that local can focus on local, Need a universal work plan, accurate list of NPC members, less focus on logistics and more on polictical vision; less reaction and more good will-shared commitment to liberation; need strong youth involvement DLOC- positive- regular attendance of 40+ ppl formation of disabilities group, bi-weekly meetings; improvement- address tensions btwn suburban and urban folks, class tensions and race tensions, respect leadership of people of color; better relationship between tech and communications with DLOC; need strong youth involvement Staff: positive: stepping up to chair committees & set structure for local work, projects & committees; love energy & commitment of staff; building good relationship betw national and local; improvements: job responsibility- need to make expectations on work load clearer, make transparent the expected workload vs. contracted hours; get clarity and collaborative approach to resources & benfits; coordination weekly meetings between all staff; improve connections with NPC & OC to ensure staff is getting what they need; need strong youth involvement Poverty WG: significant connections with struggles across the country: youh, education, foreclosure, evictions, water, heat, healthcare, poverty in immigrant & indigenous communities, low wage workers, unemployed, urban/rural, etc; great group of folk in Detroit and nationally, organizers across the country have decades of extensive experience in organizing poor; improvements- we need to increase info in low income areas about the forum, and ensure that poor can get to Detroit, radio and flyers, low tech outreach- everyone isn't online. Reach out to Voices: Organization in Spokane WA; Bring other work groups together to ensure participation and outreach to the poor in Detroit, Michigan, & US; need strong youth involvement Gender Justice: positive- great job on framing and inclusiveness; involvement: DLOC needs to reach LBGT communities, please include folks from Northwest, for example Rural Organizing Project (ROP) in Oregon. need clarity whether Outreach to orgs is being done in addition to individuals to join the work group; need strong youth involvement Anything else/gaps: 1. eval/documentation needs to be a working group --it's more than just evaluating and documenting; 2. Provide a reading list of books about Detroit people can read before USSF, 3. reach out to educators, students, academic pressure, 4. students participation for credit, 5. missing immigration piece, 6. childrens' forum, 7. should have place to organize local vendors to provide food & drink & other goods for sale Indigenous: positive: it's getting started! Red Road to Detroit sounds amazing, amazing groups of folks from detroit & nationally, make it a big part of every aspect of forum; improvements: need more indigenous people internationally beyond this continent; get connected to ICT for Red Road; expand working group; limited access to technology in indigenous communities; need strong youth involvement Outreach: nat'l group coming to Detroit for a retreat, updates and new staff; reached consulta goals; Improvement: we need a coordicator to do list by region and city and sector, more open participatory process with other WG's- ICT especially; document outreach to different sectors, need process to track recruitment of NPC orgs; specific targetted outreach to communities with no technological access (especially in detroit, rraly areas, indigenous communities); ; need strong youth involvement PMA- positive- PMA happened in Portland; detroit still moving toward objectives; improvement: more emphasis on Detroit and Midwest, need more PMA's to take place around the country, links with political movement in Latin America, climate-energy movements, global, etc.; Organizing caravans to help people to get there; need strong youth involvement Youth WG: positive- it's formed and working! improvements: please include youth from northwest and Alaska; we need more youth in general and more youth leadership at USSF; create youth hostel at USSF, outreach packet for high schools and university student unions; develop division of labor between student outreach and youth outreach; we need a Detroit local youth committee, every NPC org that has youth must have an active youth rep on Youth Working Group Finance- positive- sending money directly to DLOC, resolved huge fiscal sponsor issue! people/systems in place, good qualified folks; improvements: need more info about ads to start selling them (in program booklet?), more members of NPC and USSF supporters should find ways to raise money; need regular system of reporting/updates; clarity & collaboration with staff about cash flow, contracts, etc.; need strong youth involvement Personnel- positive: moving on job descriptions; having est'd personnel committee change: what is process to deal with grievances, concerns etc for staff and for NPC members? meet 1-to-1 with all staff. what is evaluation process? need to have clear reporting policies on mgmt structure between salaried people and contracted people. staff need to have clear reporting lines. youth strong involveent in this area.
International Solidarity
Positive - strong relationships with international committee, great possibilities for national/global day of unity training
invitations to ICC
relationships with IC, HC, soial movements assembly and othr struggles
great possibilities for nat'; global day of action, global unity
Challenges - people who've wanted to be involved but encountered bariers, challenges connecting other forums
need to get invotes/outreach going, link with indigenous people's movement in other regions, connect with mining movements, need to develop shared understanding of local-international relationships.
there have been challenges with people who have wanted to be involved who have encountered barriers/lack of welcome
extend IC invitation to other people in other SF held in other countries
link with climate justice folks from south
link to energy -climate justice globally
need to get invites, outreach, communications going
mining movements
need to figure out program, int'l day of action
need to develop shared understanding of and commitment to locall int'l mvmt bldg of relationships and struggle
must have strong youth involvement in this area
ICT
positive: relevant accessible technology, awesome
improve: more coordination to/from/with communications WG
what are the 5 websites
what are ways to share name/contact info of registrants after the forum? maybe a check box for those willing to have name shared
more coordination from comunications
give out info on the online info on USSF
develop low-tech communications strategies that inform and connect viewers to th USSF and vision
is there a ussf app for that?
villages/rural alaska severely lacks capactity
should have youth involvement in this area
Logistics
need to know whether Detroit has hostels and housing, will there be any spaces available for networks/caucuses to meet before/after the formal program of the ussf
having space facilities for movement building
need accurate info without multiple contacts
seek support from NPC to confirm part time staff for this work
need assessment of available venues
please include black firefighter as good orgs for running first aid with the hospitals/doctors/nurses,
use NOI for security, they will volunteer - work well with Detroit Police. (Salimah has a contact)
need youth involvement in this area
need to know ways that non-Detroit pople can help with local logistics
Program and Culture was missing- we'll during after lunch.
Please take name tags ( put NPC or observer)
New people ???
Camera's for documentations, if anyone has any that can help.



People's Movement Assembly
Participants in the process, the facilitation team came out of the larger PMA process, including Steph, Ruben, Dan, Derek, Sara, Michael
We are thinking about: - vision. what advances have been made in our movements 1 day after the social forum? what about 1 year after the scial forum? what about 5 years? what has shifted in the U.S., globally? Writing this on our post-its, to answer the above questions. Note what is hard about this?
Guidelines: - We're not going to assume that we agree, not going to assume we DON'T agree - Take responsibility for our own experiences - Trust the process and evaluate it afterwards (write ideas in the parking lots for later) - Respect each other strengths and weaknesses All agreed with the process/guidelines Goals:
Structural - - introducing the PMA to this body as a process - walk-through the PMA in order to give feedback and critique
Political - - naming the political moment that the USSF is being organized, and mapping that - naming the possible strategic oppotunities coming out of the forum - committing to concrete action steps before and towards the forum, and after the forum
This will be walking through the resolutions and process.
We're bunking the laundry list of issues with this process. We also could just keep going with this but all the political minds in this room, but we want to debunk the idea that this is just an event.
We have templates, a resolution template, maps, etc.
As there's stuff that could be added or subtracted, add it to the parking lots. At the end we'll have an evaluation and evolution phase to take in that feedback.
One thing we do at Project South is connect all our work to political process, and this is a chance for that - we want to tie this to historical assembly process, this isnt new. In South Africa there were processes like this that grew and advanced the Freedom Charter for demands and actions. Another example is in the US South where sit-down actions were happening that were spontaneous - Ella Baker called a convening to ask what we were collectively trying to do, SNCC emerged from that and began moving the Civil Rights movement from that youth perspective. There's many more, but we wanted to ground this in US and global context - that dialogues and assemblies have advanced our movements.
When we think of Peoples Movements Assemblies, we need to take a few steps back. Look at the 70s at the black brown power movements - Black Panthers, Brown Berets, indigenous movements - spoke to identity and liberation. That was powerful. We also had another side of it - 'you white folks go work the white communities, brown work brown, etc'...we were a seperate but equal approach. but we had understanding of our approach. However, this seemed to atomize and deconstruct the movement. On top of that was infiltration and cointelpro - this all impacted the question of what do we do. There were debates - where does national liberation fit in with gender, youth...to really build together.
Then in 80s and 90s, we developed a catch-all phrase about people of color and indigenous communities. While that no longer had the national identity piece, it meant in movement we began to share our different struggles. Then there was the question of what comes next after people of color...the mass movement building piece. How to build, mass, not be dependent on nonprofit structures...after that challenge, came into the late 90s, the Battle of Seattle. We saw the growth of a new base - which didn't include POC and indigenous but we worked our way in. This led to a convergence of new movements, where the structure and thinking is hampered or ideologically conflicted.
That was the context for looking at open space for the USSF. Then out of that was the questin - how do we bring everyone together under one tent, one room, to develop a common agenda for action. We coined the movement assembly process from the south in the U.S. as the People's Movement Assembly.
We have a before process (traditionally it's only been AT the forum) - we want to have before, during and after process. There tends to be a drop after the forum, so we want to figure out how to engage after the forum. We're entering a new stage.
More on the social movements
Michael:
invasion of Iraq, largest mobilization in the world in history. Shutdown and defeat of FTAA. Folks who were involved included Via Campesina, World March of Women, number of brazilian based groups. Some eclectic mix - some base building, some think tanks. everyone has been spread out in local and national fights Copenhagen provided a catalyst for a lot of these movements to come together.

Important note about USSF- we didn't separate out the process for the assembly and the Forum. We were criticized for that by founders. They don't believe there should be on meta activity they think it should be separate self organized space. We ned to take into account how we think about what's on te other side- movement wise. It provides us opportunities for cross sector, cross movement organizing.

Quick questions: Can anyone name assembly processes that have been helpful in deliberating and getting to group process decisions?
World court of women- held with people in armed conflict around the world.
International Aids Assembly
That sticky wall technology. It's a process to come to a consolidation of ideas that can help move large groups of people to concensus/action plans
La Asemblea National of National Day Laborers meets every two years throughout our network that then guides our programmatic work.
Hemispheric ...
International Migrants Forum
AFSCME Convention- used the stciky wall and there are quite a few unions that pull members together locally regionally, nationally and internationally
National Domestic Workers Alliance
United Youth and Youth workers in Boston- came up with alternatives to the city budget to impact youth violence in Boston
El Salvador teh FMLN won the presidency last year- they did a whole consultaion process all over the country to bi
International Indigenous Assembly- met in South Africa
Inter continental Indigenous Summits
Assembly in Copenhagan during climate debates went well
Early process of Black Radical Congress
Equal Voices Campaign- came out into a families platform by grantees of Marguerite Casey
Hondo- assembly with 300-400 people for change at city government level
Centro Obrero is planning a big community town hall for community to elect major issues as immigrants
1-3 years later youth will be leading the social forum planning process. New Mexico Water Asequio (sp??)- landbased people doing agricultural work come together to share our water and the knowledge from our elders. Goal is to maintain the intergenerational relationship and that it's not one or the other leading but we are leading together.
Naming the Political Moment last decade and a half of major movement moments Part of vision is also looking back especially over last decade. One thing in terms of global justice movement and social forum process is to look back at Battle of Seattle. Lots of folks in this room were there. WE can say that this body in Seattle was not represented in what was taking place there. The AFL-CIO had their plenaries well organized. Environmentalists also had their platform and hotel secured. Folks out in the streets say the youth and Black Power Bloc had their venue in the street. Where was the poor and indigenous peoples movement? From the experience one step backward from 1994 and NAFTA and Zapatistas in Mexico and what it meant as an assembly and popular power... you had other groups defining globalization from a more economic academic framework. Right after the Battle in Seattle we had a discussion about what we as poor peoples movement needed to to. We wanted the global south movements to come north and get to know our movements- becuase they usually came to the Beltway and got to know little about grassroots movements. We needed to be in international arenas to speak for ourselves, because larger Beltway groups were going there and speaking on our behalf without knowing what was going on at grassroots level. We began to see the connections in our neighborhoods, streets, communities. WE have to think about in 1999- after that we faced 9/11 and the repression that came down and the ground that was lost as a social justice movement. The momentum from Seattle - government sought to cut it off. We thought we'd struggle to regain that momentum but if we look ahead to 2003 and the WTO meeting in Cancun and the Free Trade meeting in Miami with the Root Cause march with Coalition of Immocolee Workers, Power U and Miami Workers Center we were able to rebound and show our intersections as a social movement. 2006 we experienced the Southeast Social Forum and the Southwest Border Forum. WE had Katrina that exposed the racism still present in US. May 1 2006 general strike of immigrant workers rescued May Day as international workers day- it wasn't laboror the traditional Left that that did it-it was this group. Landing the first USSF in 2007 in Atlanta. We saw the coming of age of this grassroots social movement in the US that passed up many of the labor unions and tradional irganizations- we broke new ground. Now moving to Detroit it's not about repeating the event but bringing together even more people that makes it clear for us in our experience and methodology..."if the US is one of the main causes of problems in the world"- we were challenged- "what are you in the US doing about it- we have begun to answer that call?" We can have differences and debates and still work together.
We need to underline our accomplishments because they are big in the context of the US. Also Obama was elected. The consolidation or reconsolidation of the Right wing and the attacks not just on imigration, but healthcare, queer marriage etc. How are we within this context goingto consolidate our forces, our power? What are the lkey things we can go after collectively that could make a breakthrough locally regionally and nationally? What does it mean the day after the USSF in terms of the power that we hold?
Summarizing history is important- there was a special area set up for poor and homeless people to not get hurt ( in Battle of Seattle). They were the first that filled the jails. For National Welfare Rights Organization and PPEHRC we brought 100 people to World Social Forum in Venezuela along with people from GGJ.
What is the State of the State?
on global level relationship between people and governance with corporations and capitalism
state of our communities?
state of our movements?
and the relationship between all of this?
We will be adding these big context piece in pink (on a map of the US)
How can the Organzing of the social forum build power to resist opposition and advance social justice? with break throughs and alternatives.
Get into 6 small groups, and spend some time thinking about:
FRONTS: Given this political moment, what are we fighting for? (what are we trying to win? not just in ideal but tangibly...this goes on green circles); barriers/opposition/backlash we face (blue triangles)? what are the opportunities/breakthroughs/convergences/wins (yellow squares)?
What are the forces, organizations and coalitions? (we want this last part of stickies - who is making a difference on what...not just forces but the actual key players)
We're not looking for an exhaustive list! We're trying to get a sense of how we plan and organize the forum. We've been doing this, but we want to use the USSF to build the most cohesive understanding of this : whol big picture and keep clarifying it and building towards the forum!
Break into small groups: ask yourselves "what are you fighting for?"--refer to FRONTS
bring your location (where are you coming from?)
local and regional
nat'l and int'l
community
sector
movement
Group work
Introduction of self
Part 2 Debrief:
How to map pieces that stretch across seveal issue areas?
Summary (as an example):
We're trying to bring together a movement in this country across all our movement work.
Is it a crisis or consolidation of capitalism...how are we moving it towards crisis and away from consolidation? There are pieces up here about resisting, pushing back, and exposing capitalism. Also a lot on alternatives (cooperative economics, worker owned cooperatives, socialism, etc). As we think through planning for the forum - how are we addressing this at the forum - what workshops, plenaries, caucuses, etc...
Also - are we in a moment when we can handle and prepare for exposing this and the crisis? What can we actually do?
One step might be - ending corporate personhood. connected to that might be lack of jobs, jobs for youth instead of recruitment in military service. what does that look like in terms of this economic crisis. Environmental Racism and Degradation, Anti-Immigration are connected to this.
At this moment, looking at all of this, what can we do at the USSF - there's the self-organized part, but what does the NPC take responsibility for bringing? What types of PMAs are we looking for?
What movement are we at in movement building?
The USSF is a place for us to come together and have these conversations.
We are at a moment of incredible fragmentation, and are really isolated in certain ways. Cannot expect to come out with a unified agenda for a mass movement, is organized for resistance to backlash etc...we are taking a step. We want people organized around alternatives to have a space to come together. Folks at different points of the work may form a larger platform, but that may not happen, so even if we had more clarity and exposure to each other, that might be a relevant step.
So what?
Now we are talking about the clear steps and resolutions that need to move forward - we have a template.
Because of the (conditions/political moment), and because the US offers (strategic opportunity), we commit to (action steps - before, during, after).
we commit to feed the convergence and mobilize to the USSF get people to the USSF and building and occupying sactuary housing, occupying GM, the bridge and puling down the
we commit to building and occupying houseing, housing for homeless veterans, blocking the us-can bridge, pulling down detroit incinerator
economic crisis --> oppty to see 30 yrs of crisis --> we commit to putting Detroit voices front and center in program and plenaries
backlash vs corporate role --> cleaning up enviro messes corps have created, raising a message about jobs, raising a new economic base for jobs in communities, multiple spaces to engage in work brigades that show job fights vs work fights, and hold govts acct for holding corps acct.
failure of un to reach a real solution to the climate crisis in copenhagen --> and key role us played to derailing process --> and ussf is oppy half way between 15th and 16th COP --> we want to build solidarity, political awareness beforehand by holding action camps, integrating into PMAs, and creating spaces to organize at forum, possibly a plenary, and building solidarity throughout the year into Mexico
failed capitalism --> promoting policies and campaigns to promote alternatives
 ?? --> end dependence on fossil fuels and ??
 ?? --> new ways of self-governance, and educating folks not just on activism but on governance, also might be important to have conversations about independent parties of the people at the forum
right wing is obsessed with gay marriage --> opty of broader framework of gender justice --> commit to queer visibility
 ? --> radicalize communities and rebuild the left --> commit to connecting movements around land rights (help)
we commit to mobilize different sectors of food justice to the ussf, to intersect as many of the food justice ??, lead a food justice group, plan post ussf actions and legislation
us and canada are pushing false solutions (carbon trading and carbon market regimes of cap and trade) and ussf brings together indigenous, youth, workers --> popular movement of resistance to false solutions
 ?? --> we commit to bringing k-12 youth into the process
economic crisis has been devastating --> the ussf offers the oppty to build just and sustainable solidarity economy practices --> we commit to bridging the gap between practitioners and social movements to build a more integrated movement.
we commit to educating and organizing 100 people to attend the forum and break down the collapse of...??
prison industrial complex and funding cuts to prison and police --> commit to transformative justice in our communities (networks and workshops to learn each others models, reclaim abandoned spaces like police stations in Detroit)
funding cuts to education and schools --> prison industrial complex --> furthering discussions and think/act tanks AND reclaiming our spaces and establishing permanent schools and community sites
school - prison pipeline exists --> we commit to youth connecting ??
This is the close of the first PMA for the NPC! Let's put the declarations into action
What worked? How could it be more useful?
Worked:
  • template
  • facilitation
  • great stuff at beginning on analysis and history
  • thanks to facilitators on intentionality of questions
More useful:
  • definition of USSF and/or PMA with template, i.e. can USSF commit to?
  • what the different shapes went with what concept- maybe trained facilitaor in each small group to help move it quicker
  • clearer about the type of process- broad about problems or if at the end we needed to come up with something doable- we struggled with that. But the template helped.
  • when i look at strategy- we were talking about an abstract enemy- maybe more time talking more about the enemy and how they can undermine our plans. In small groups and geographically too. Or maybe to think of them as targets.
  • Let people reflect a bit on what we heard in big room.
  • Maybe having more of us participate i the history/analysis part- make it more participatory some how
  • using political moment more to be able to visualize next steps
  • wht's next- will statements be compliled, synthesized can groups endorse statements etc
  • see all of the resolutions- capture on a big butcher paper.
  • PMA needs a tagline ( ie think develop, do)
  • we got caught up in process- how can we get it so that people feel like they can participate as individuals and organizations and buy-in at the time
  • more time in small groups- we did discuss enemies and opportunities.
  • we're supposed to formalize the timeline so that we don't leave any historical moments out. Not enough time to name the moment and next step- but we see how the resolutions will come after the social forum- how can we make sure the prep work happens moving into the forum, before people get there, with an eye towards a mass audience- and more importantly after the social forum.
  • note- there will be a living timeline at the forum
  • more intentionality on constructing the small groups- by region or sector so that more useful conversation can happen- also some kind of tech support on seeing the discussions
  • note- the organizing template is open for modifcation by communities.
  • because of time and keeping a level of unity we agreed without deep agreement on the issue areas. We struggled and there was difference but no opportunity to debate that. How do we get to a place where we don't just want unity for the sake of something clean- but allow space to name the contradictions.
  • what's exciting about the PMA is to get movements to make a declaration- ut not that much intersection- that's what I like about having people from mixed sectors.
  • tomorrow we will talk more about different processes of social forum. add to tool need to id contradictions
  • what's the ongoing process beyond the forum? is there an organized group of committees and reps moving beyond the forum and inform our practical work together
  • we had a tension with the 4 bubbles. ie human rights ( principles) versus if we all worked on something what could it be. we broke into smaller groups. we will end up with a list again- are we trying to develop a platform- or something for people to work on together? Need to explore this more
  • Can we build in one more round? There was a lot of overlap. Maybe using open space technology- some resolutions could merge. People can self select into what they want to work on
  • useful to make a distinction between the forum and the PMA. Otherwise it's confusing. Follow up forum processes, and pma processes etc.


Proposed Next Steps:

  • a synthesis commission and start with what we have, buikd on it and come out with a synthesized document that the NPC wil use moving forward ( living document). We can use a lot of the work that the consulta group did as well.
  • We need support and help in supportng process. We want to ask for that investment from everyone here. We want to build in as much feedback process as possible.


OUTREACH map of 2007 attendance http://www.onpointconsortium.org/ussfmap/2007attendance.html
map of consulta responses http://www.onpointconsortium.org/ussfmap/consultamap.html

What We Believe

We, the organizers of the first United States Social Forum:
Believe that there is a strategic need to unite the struggles of oppressed communities and peoples within the United States (particularly Black, Latino, Asian/ Pacific-Islander and Indigenous communities) to the struggles of oppressed nations in the Third World.
Believe the USSF should place the highest priority on groups that are actually doing grassroots organizing with working class people of color, who are training organizers, building long-term structures of resistance, and who can work well with other groups, seeing their participation in USSF as building the whole, not just their part of it.

Believe the USSF must be a place where the voices of those who are most marginalized and oppressed from Indigenous communities can be heard--a place that will recognize Indigenous peoples, their issues and struggles.

Believe the USSF must create space for the full and equal participation of undocumented migrants and their communities.
Believe the USSF should link US-based youth organizers, activists, and cultural workers to the struggles of their brothers and sisters abroad, drawing common connections and exploring the deeper meanings of solidarity.
Believe the USSF is important because we must have a clear and unified approach at dealing with social justice issues, and meaningful positions on global issues.
Believe that a USSF sends a message to other people’s movements around the world that there is an active movement in the United States opposing U.S. policies at home and abroad.
Believe that the USSF will help build national networks that will be better able to collaborate with international networks and movements.
We believe the USSF is more than an event. It is an ongoing process to contribute to strengthening the entire movement, bringing together the various sectors and issues that work for global justice.

Gaps Identified in October NPC meeting: Priorities and who is not at the table in Detroit:

  1. community members (not organized) – Detroiters (poor Black)
  2. Arab
  3. Indigenous communities
  4. Asian community

Midwest (already existing structures in the region that we should tap into):

  1. think through working class white people on the regional level – often ignored on the national arena
  2. farming and agricultural, looking at food sovereigty
  3. rural communities
  4. Latino immigrant communities (huge hub in the Midwest)
  5. Muslim community (Black, South Asian, European and Arab Muslims)
  6. Especially in the smaller towns outside the city = faith communities
  7. Growing population of African immigrants
  8. Midwest has a very strong union infrastructure, historical rank and file leadership
  9. Midwest Social Forum
  10. Youth of color
  11. Midwest is full of universities where students will be drawn
  12. Given history of the region with deindustrialization, there is a lot of organizations representing poor people – specific poor people’s organization
  13. Huge holes in the Midwest – North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Indiana

National:

  1. LGBTQI
  2. Criminalized groups/prison/detention organizing

Midwest: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Michigan

(South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas = Great Plains states are going to be important because they are the next region over. And some would claim Western Pennsylvania and New York State).


We need to know about forces in motion. We need all work groups to let us know who is planning to come to Detroit and what are they planning to do. Identifying regions and gaps above.

All of us our doing outreach as part of NPC. We want to look at these focus areas and create a 6 month work plan for the field staff and we need input from you on this. There will be a whole strategy with air, ground wars, guerllia theater etc to get word out about the forum

6 month plan:

  1. Collecting all events, marches, conferences, actions that we can get presentations at these spaces
  2. Work with field organizers on regional work
  3. id meetings with ley organizations and npc
  4. hold bi-monthly conference calls ( 1st and 3rd Tuesdays)
  5. Jan 20 Registration drive begins-
    1. goal to get 500 that week
    2. 5,000 by March
    3. 10,000 by end of April
    4. 15,000 by early june
    5. 20,000 total registered by Forum
  6. Facilitate the mobilization of 600 volunteers in consultation with DLOC and Logistics.

Other areas we are committed to identifying gaps within the working groups.

Ex. We are helping to mpve more interpreters into Language Access
Communications- if we will have a massification strategy we need 25 spokespeople at least 7 from Detroit and splatterings from other working groups so we can get stories out about who's coming to Detroit, articles, radio shows etc.
There's a proposal that we a re collectively responsible for sheparding the political context of the Forum. Who do we represent and how will we expand the NPC in a responsible way?
What are the gaps on this body and who do we need to pull in?
We feel the movement will be built by people on the ground.Ona national level we can't reach out to individuals, but organizations, movements collectives etc. In Detroit the question is different- we don't want just organizations, ut Detroiters. There will be srategies to outreach to unorganzized folks.
The PMA working group, Poverty, Youth, Indigenous have been thinking about these questions. PMA and outreach has started to develop databases. WE need to consolidate those plans. Poverty has 100 diff groups they want to activate- we need to know who they are so we don't duplicate.
There are organizers in different parts of the coutry- there are already people organizing local commitees to get poor folks to the social forum- where do you put resources and how do you decide?
At OC there needs to be a team on travel subsidy and the second is id'ing sectors and regions- the goal is to get organizers in those regions and sectors to self organize their constiuents.

part of freedom caravan- we are looking at 6 cities to host and get people mobilized and energized.

We just need to come up with process for all of the NPC to share information so that it is getting gathered. We need to tightenup that processs and what is it that NPC members need to support the outreach activities.



NPC Expansion Convo:

37 Active NPC orgs
11 Dormant or not active orgs
11 applications in hand
18 application requested
http://www.ussf2010.org/npc-applications


everyone needs to write down the numbers they are committing to mobilization and feel are solid in terms of outreach NOW. 


We've done a lot of intentional work of what it means to be on NPC and what our values are.


We need to remember that we don't and can't reflect the whole movement, but we can do the best we can.


We have 29 organizations that have mentioned that they want to apply.  We have 11 applications to review today, they are posted on the website.


Who on the NPC, and who we haven't heard from and cleaning up the NPC for those who are active participants.  If you don't show up for 2 npc meetings you will be knocked off.  To look at the 11 applicants/organizations.

  1. Jubilee USA
  2. Black Radical Congress
  3. NDLON
  4. AFSCME
  5. Illinois Adolescent Health
  6. Freedom Road Socialist Organization
  7. Right to the City
  8. US Human Rights Network
  9. Latin American Solidarity
  10. Center for Economic Research and Social Change
  11. Women's Int'l League for Peace & Freedom
Intentionality of the expression of leadership-NPC has been criticized for not having breadth that includes people to the rigt and left of us.
Guidelines/values of NPC that we don't all meet
"What We Believe" Statement-living document we need to review/modify it. Does it reflect this body?
WSF Charter Principles is the main road map (are we remaining true to them?)
Expectations/ job description for NPC
Form of Organization that is represented (can anarchist collectives be part of NPC, can small orgs be part of NPC, can revolutionary groups be part of NPC)
Some organizations raise questions of capacity- to attend and participate in meetings and are they accountable to a base or are they an organizational banner with no base?
Adrienne is now the recipient of all of the NPC apps and she responds to them and tells them to join a committee/work group. And also to let us build relationships with people through doing work together.
Some groups are better suited to be endorsers of the USSF rather than NPC members.
Outreach is now taking up the responsibility of reading and vetting the apps and matching with gaps we need to fill, will make recommendations, but full NPC will make final decision.
App will be open to April 1, 2010. We encourage all of us to help id orgs that fill the gaps. 
We have gaps--identified in Oct 2009
Queer
Unions
Muslim
Arab
Indigenous
Asian
Students
Youth of color
Faith
Poor people
Midwest groups
Plains states
Rural organizations
Farm/food
Detroiters, namely poor blacks


What is our mandate of prioritization? How do we do intentional outreach from here till April 1?


We don't have a lot of time to review the applications, but would like to hear the recommendations to go to every application.


There is an on-line voting mechanism. Each npc organization has one vote on-line.


Close off voting at 6:00 tomorrow.


We want to give time to hear from the organizations that are here today. 


A group of people take a deeper dive and analyze back to the npc Move ahead and have the groups in the room to listen to them right now, the apps are on-line, and end of day tomorrow can follow through


Not able to have extensive discussions on these organizations.  2 mins each to provide discriptions on the listed organizations, if necessary.  There are 5 questions for the process.


Defer option:  Another NPC conference call coming up Jan 20. 

We will come up with a better process tomorrow.



Presentations from groups 4 groups present

Center for Economic Research and Social Change (CERSC) organizes annual socialist conferences. Publisher of International Socialist Review, also Haymarket Books, numerous other titles, visit website Haymarket Books. org. Each conference had about 900 people each. Immigrant rights, LGBT, militarization, etc. We mobilized for the USSF in Atlanta. We think the WSF has been critical and it's important to build on Atlanta at a time when workers are being asked to take a steep cut in living standards and a permanent war. We are enthusiastically behind this process. We are based in Chicago and have ties throughout the Midwest.


Nat'l Day Laborers Organizing Network (NDLON)- network of 40 member organizations of immigrant worker centers. We were formed out of gap in the labor movement of workers not covered by the labor movement. We have grown and our network has become stronger and we have focused increasingly on civil rights and fighting against the attacks on immigrants and people of color. By 2013- the US wants immigration checks in all US jails. In the last year we have been fighting against the onslaught from the government and anti-immigrant policies. We have grown from an immigrant rights network to a broader view of racial justice.


AFSCME (American Federation of State, Couty and Municipal Employees) we are a union and fulfill one gap and we work collaboratively with other unions and work with AFL-CIO. We can play a role in reaching out to other unions. We already have a union member represented on the Local Organizing Committee- we helped put the labor committee together there. We have 20,000 members in Michigan- many of whom are unemployed. We can bring some resources through registrations, we have 1 million members nationally. Excited and happy to be here. We are a democratic organization, our members vote. 


Freedom Road Socialist Organization- Group of revolutionaries struggling to build movement strategy in the US in the labor movement, student movement and oppressed communities throughout the US. We participated in WSFs. We have collaborated with other orgs to put together workshops. We believe the USSF is critically important. We are looking forward to engaging with your questions.


Process:


Permission to empower Oya, Cindy and Adrienne add any other NPC members who would like to join us in vetting the 11 applications and put together assessment/recommendations on pending applications, and find space in the agenda tomorrow.



Language Justice will meet in Ballroom 7pm
Program and Culture will meet in lobby at 6pm
Int'l Solidarity will be meeting 7pm at Pizza around the corner
Logistics will be meeting in the lobby (huddle right when we end)
Outreach will meet at 8pm tonight in the Lobby
Comms/ICT will meet 8pm in lobby
Youth Working Group already left they are meeting at SWOP from 8-10pm.
Tomorrow Queer Visability will be tomorrow- tbd
Finance Committee/Personnel 7:15pm in lobby
Plenary needs to huddle directly after the meeting
Poverty WG 9pm in the lobby

END OF DAY 1 NOTES:

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