Newsletter 52
November 2012
« Penser globalement ; agir localement : les luttes parcellaires, leurs limites et leur nature radicale interne »
***
Thinking Globally and Acting Locally:
the art and science of community organizing,
from the Intifada and the Indignados to the Arab Spring, the Greek
Resistance and Occupy Wall Street in New York City and beyond….
le lundi 12 novembre 2012
à
l’Université de Paris X-Nanterre
dans
Amphi B-2
A. Round Table Discussion #1 :
Moderator : M. Francis Feeley, Professeur à L’Université de Grenoble.
1. Didier Giraud ……..……
2. Kawthar Guediri ….…...
3. Rehan Majid …...……….
4. Dominique Jégou …...…..
5. Hugo Persillet ……..……
B. Round Table Discussion #2 :
Moderator : M. Ronald Creagh, Professeur émérite à l’Université de Montpellier.
6. Kathy Coit …………....…
7. Jordi Forcadas ….………
8. Alexandre Lefebvre …….
9. Christophe André …….…
10. Nicolas Haeringer …...….
C. Round Table Discussion #3 :
Moderator : M. Hugo Persillet, Activiste avec l’association L’ORAGE, un coopérative d’éducation population à Grenoble.
11. Marielle Giraud ………....
12. Christine Majid ……….....
13. Habib El Garés ..................
14. Simon Morin ………….….
D. Michael Albert’s Presentation of Parecon and IOPS.
The Conference opened with Francis Feeley describing some of the contradictions in his life, which in many ways have determined his ideas and behavior over the years. He had acquired anti-organization biases from his experiences as a youth in South Texas, where the Hispanic population living around him were harshly discriminated against by what sometimes seemed as a hyper-organized phalanx of prejudiced people, a convivial community of white middle class bigots who presided over many varieties of physical, economic, and psychological violence against the Hispanic majority where he grew up on the Mexican border. He experienced the truth of the old adage: “The only thing worse than a nigger is a nigger-lover.” In south Texas, if you were ‘white” and didn’t share the prejudices toward Hispanics, you were worse than a “Mescan.” In polite society these feelings were not articulated, but they were nevertheless expressed. This racist community had to be disorganized from top to bottom before it could be reorganized to accommodate the legitimate human needs of all residents. The Civil Rights Movement across the United States, and later the massive anti-Vietnam War Movement were two important political forces which helped to achieve this transition toward a newly organized society where prejudice played a less important role, many years after his departure from the region.
At the First Roundtable Discussion on November 12, speakers referred
to Martin Buber’s notion that community appears to always imply an
external threat –real or imaginary— which serves to bring people into
cooperative relationships. The central question addressed at this first
meeting, between 10h and 12h30, was: What is the role of the organizer
in formulating aims and making people conscious of their motivations?
Dominique Jégou began the discussion by expressing a certain skepticism
about the role played by “outside agitators.” What gives an outsider the
right to enter a community and manipulate peoples’ emotions in order to
achieve a chosen end, even if he thinks his goal is morally superior to
what actually exists in the community? After a brief reflection on this
question of principle, Dominique shared with us his experiences living
in solidarity with harshly persecuted Rom families in Grenoble during
the winter of 2010-2011, where many were repeatedly rendered homeless
due to violent police actions and widely held public indifference.
Didier Giraud, following Dominique, described his activities in a small
town in Brittany, defending Basques (who were not terrorists) and later
the “Voyageurs” in the region who, for Didier, represented a necessary
social diversity which must be preserved and protected. The homogeneity
of French social life is, he said, a threat to life itself, as the
population becomes more paralyzed by a pathological desire to conform to
some imaginary "Norm" (which can never be achieved, anyway). In this
spirit, he described his experience of taking a group of 20 people on a
field trip across the region to visit a series of concentration camps
used by the Germans during World War II to clean up French society by
rounding up the Roms, who were forced to sell their belongings, with the
hope of staying alive a little longer, to the local population looking
for "good bargains".
After Didier, Kawthar Guediri described in some detail her experiences
with organizing Palestinians in Gaza, where each setback produces
greater solidarity. The heartbreaking descriptions of personal losses,
were followed by descriptions of warm reunions and new discussions of
strategies and tactics to remain in the struggle against Israeli
apartheid, selective assassinations, and massive violence against
innocent communities.
Then, Rehan Majid described his experience in Leeds, working with the UK
network, Coalition Against the War, and the diverse ethnic groups who
oppose militarism. His experiences in Kashmir, where the Indian military
have played a heavy-handed role in security and surveillance for many
years now, made him conscious of the psychological effects of being an
object of suspicion in what can only be described as an armed camp of
military personnel., who have usurped all feeling of human dignity and
left most residents highly vulnerable to the caprice of men with deadly
weapons.
Finally, Hugo Persillet spoke about the very real form of popular
education, not just for the tranfer of information, but also for the
experience of sharing. Referring to the works of Paulo Friere, Hugo
insisted that the teacher-student relationship in popular education is
completely dissolved, and community sharing becomes the new norm, where
each participant is both teacher and student. This, he argued, is the
most efficient way to transfer information and ideas, because it does
not construct artificial barriers between people which inhibits the
immediate practice testing new ideas. This empowerment of ordinary
people in popular education is necessary for constructing an authentic
community in which everyone has a vested interest in good
decision-making that produces autonomy, independence, and solidarity,
and reduces alienation.
At 12h30 discussions continued over lunch.
We returned to the Amphitheater B-2 shortly after 13h30. The Second
Roundtable was moderated by Ronald Creagh, who quietly organized the
ground rules of 15-minute presentation, with a 7-minute Q&A
following each presentation. The discussion at this second meeting
revolved around experiences confronting obstacles and constraints while
engaging in community organizing. What are the consequences of
“reductive thinking” when trying to mobilize a community with specific
strategies and tactics? What is the difference between an “community
organizer” and a “community leader”?
Christophe Andre began this discussion by explaining his motivation for
organizing Utopian Festivals in Grenoble. The coming together of
creative people to compare their experiences and to talk about projects
–past, present, and future—constitutes a source of energy by which many
more people become inspired. This experience of synergy has a
multiplying effect, providing new ideas and energy to an ever-growing
community. He uses interpersonal relationship techniques to replace
traditional leadership formations with collective consensus, o that new
relationship are encouraged and opportunities to express solidarity are
plentiful throughout the days of the Festival. He is particularly
interested in broadening the use of films in generating group
discussions.
After several questions, Kathy Coit followed Christophe by describing
her experiences organizing a Squat in 14th Arrondissement of Paris in
the late 1970s. Her motivations for entering into the area, the
solidarity she discovered with the residents of the neighborhood over
the issue of a municipal plan to build a highway through the
neighborhood, and problems she confronted with the ever-changing type of
residents in the Squat over a period of a year-and-a-half. There was
much discussion on changes within the political environment since Paris
in the 1970s.
Summary by Katharine Coit.
THE REVOLT OF THE POPULATION OF THE 14th ARRONDISSEMENT TO A PROGRAMME OF URBAN RENEWAL
In 1975 a few of us found out that there would be a program of urban
renewal in a working class part of the 14th arrondissement of Paris
similar to that which had demolished a large part of the 13th
arrondissement to rebuild hi-rise apartments far too expensive for the
former inhabitants, sending them out to the distant suburbs. We held a
meeting to inform the population of the 14th concerned. Out of this
meeting a committee was created to spread the word and to find ways to
prevent or modify this program. The inhabitants were encouraged to
refuse any offers of rehousing or payment for their homes. In some
cases building were squatted to prevent their destruction. In spite of
no recognition from the city of the association defending the
inhabitants, this action was partially if not fully successful in the
long run. The city was obliged to devise a new program that was much
less destructive, saving the street pattern and some of the buildings,
allowing some of the population to remain.
Next, Alexandre Lefebvre followed Kathy talking about his experiences
organizing the community where he lives in Grenoble. The “outside
threat” which served to bring the community together was the municipal
plan to make a huge tunnel a nearby mountain and build a highway through
the community, along the Isère River. The fear derived from the
well-known practice of wealthy individuals and large corporate interests
coming into this area and violating laws such as the building codes,
with the calculated cost of the fine as part of the total expense.
Historically, legal prohibitions have not always been effective, and the
anxiety of waking with a construction site at your front door was a
real concern. This fear facilitated the organization of resistance,
which eventually won the right for a municipal referendum, which
defeated by popular vote the project of building a high way through the
Ile Verte district of Grenoble. In the discussion that followed,
Alexandre also described his interests in a software exchange project,
in which new software is actually designed for specific purposes and
exchanged free of charge for other services.
Summary (Fr. and Eng). by Alexandre Lefebvre.
L’association Vivre en Ville est née à l’initiative d’habitants du
quartier de l’Ile Verte préoccupés d’une part par les dérives qu’ont
provoqué le nouveau Plan Local d’Urbanisme - PLU (nombreux projets
d’immeubles en lieu et place de petites maisons, frénésie de
densification à Grenoble, troisième ville la plus dense en France, dans
une agglomération où les communes immédiatement périphériques sont bien
moins denses) et du projet de rocade nord. Rapidement, d’autres
habitants d’autres quartiers nous ont rejoint, motivés par les mêmes
questions.
Un premier recours ayant permis d’annuler un permis nous a motivé et encouragé à continuer.
Nous nous sommes documenté en profondeur sur les questions d’urbanisme.
Les pétitions ont permis aussi de faire bouger les institutions.
Nous avons aussi privilégié le dialogue et rencontré la mairie de
Grenoble, qui nous a écouté, et qui a retenu certaines de nos
propositions dans une révision du PLU.
Concernant la rocade, nous nous sommes ralliés à plusieurs associations dans un collectif.
Si plusieurs membres sont devenus inactifs une fois la rocade
(définitivement ?) enterrée, d’autres ont continué à être actifs, en
particulier concernant l’urbanisme.
L’association a depuis rejoint un collectif plus large, Vivre à
Grenoble, qui continue à se battre contre des projets jugés excessifs en
termes de densification. Localement, Vivre en Ville continue à soutenir
des habitants s’opposant à des projets de constructions jugés
déraisonnables.
— -0---
The Vivre en Ville community was created by inhabitants of the Ile
Verte area in Grenoble. Their main motivations were the negative
consequences of the new local building regulations (numerous projects of
buildings replacing houses, excessive densification in Grenoble, 3rd
most densely populated town in France, in an area where the neighbor
towns are much less dense), and also the project of a north ring road.
Quickly, other inhabitants from other Grenoble areas have joined the
community, motivated by the same questions.
A first successful opposition to a building permit has motivated us and encouraged us to move forward.
We have learned about urbanism in detail.
Petitions have also had an impact on local authorities.
We have tried to open dialog and met with the Grenoble town officials,
who have listened to us, and have kept some of our proposals in a
revised local building regulation.
Regarding the ring road, we have joined other communities in a larger anti-ring road movement.
Some of Vivre en Ville’s members have stopped being active once the ring
road has (definitely?) been abandoned. Others are still active, in
particular regarding urbanisation.
The community has since joined a larger community, Vivre à Grenoble,
which fights against construction projects which we judge excessive.
Locally, Vivre en Ville still supports inhabitants in their opposition
to unreasonable construction projects.
Nicolas Haeringer, editor of the journal Movement, described his
coverage of “Occupy Wall Street”. Working in Marseille, he gained access
to major players in the Wall Street movement and followed them closely
as the movement split off into many different factions. Occupy banks,
occupy house mortgages, and occupy student debt are only three of the
dynamic factions that have evolved across the North American continent,
mostly, but not limited to large cities. Nicolas described the new
tactic called "Rolling Jubilee," to buy distressed student debts from
financial firms, and then canceling it so that borrowers do not have to
repay. Public fundraising events provide the capital to purchase these
debts, often for pennies on the dollar. This was just one of the many
creative tactics of taking back public space and public services, such
as education, which should be free.
Jordi Forcadas followed Nicolas by describing his experiences organizing
street theater in Barcelona, and going into Squats regularly to recruit
actors. The scripts are developed by the actors themselves, and the
theater is performed to an unsuspecting audience in public places.
Rarely is the public informed that what they have just witnessed is
theater. The goal of this popular art is to raise public consciousness
of important social issues. Jordi insists that success is measured by
the quality of change in people after experiencing these events, the
transformation from the role of passive victim to consciously oppressed,
thereby joining a group or class identity and learning to push back
against identified oppressors.
Résumé par Jordi Forcadas.
La conférence a essayé de faire une approximation à la méthodologie
proposée par le théâtre et la pédagogie de l’opprimé (Augusto Boal et
Paulo Freire).
Nous avons donc questionné l’actuel système éducatif, celui où deux
cents personnes sont assises devant une autre, appellé professeur, qui
lit ses cours d’un cahier. Ceci est une éducation monologique où, comme
disait Freire, l’éducation devient bancaire et nous sommes dépositaires
de connaissances sans pourtant avoir développé un esprit critique.
Pour mieux comprendre la situation en Espagne, nous avons repris deux
concepts essentielles du théâtre de l’opprimé: victime et opprimé. Notre
situation actuelle mène un grand nombre de citoyens à se sentir
victimes d’un système, où l’envergure de l’oppression structurelle est
si importante qu’il est très compliqué de la changer. Tout cela entraîne
une impuissance qui peut devenir une résignation inopérante.
Notre méthode prétend récupérer une attitude politique à partir d’une
conscience critique. Être opprimé veut dire ne pas accepter les
impositions arbitraires et exiger une justice et une éthique plus
humaines. L’objectif est une recherche collective d’alternatives, tout
en regroupant la plus part de profils sociaux possibles.
Pour continuer le débat, nous avons proposé un exercice plus pratique.
Parmi le théâtre image, le corps des assistants a représenté par moyen
d’images les concepts de politique et activisme.
À travers les interprétations suggérées par les images, nous avons
établi un parallélisme entre les deux mots, leurs points en commun et
leurs divergences. La politique est mal vue par la majorité de citoyens,
surtout par les jeunes. Cela est dû à la situation actuelle et au rôle
que les hommes et femmes politiques ont adopté pour servir avec
soumission la sphère économique.
Pour finir, nous avons énuméré ce qui a été consolidé depuis le 15 mai 2011:
Groupes de lutte contre les hypothèques, groupes de dénonce à travers
l’art et d’autres groupes de résistance. Organisations locales qui
travaillent chez leurs communautés suivant une ligne de résistance.
Les défis les plus urgents à faire face sont les suivants:
Consensus de différents groupes qui sont liés au mouvement des indignés.
Être capables de choisir des représentants avec pouvoir de décision qui
puissent rentrer dans un dialogue social avec tous les agents et
institutions.
Maintenir les groupes existants afin qu’ils ne perdent pas leur élan initial dû à l’usure et au passage du temps.
Following the discussion around Jordi’s presentation we broke for
coffee and cake; then we gathered for the third and final Roundtable
Discussion at 16h30. At this table we continued our discussion on
challenges to community organizing: What compromises and alternatives
have had to be invented to resolve unexpected problems. How have the
solutions to local problems affected larger global concerns, such as
environment, war, health, and growing rates of poverty?
Hugo Persillet moderated this discussion. He invited Marielle Giraud to
begin the discussion by describing her experience with the international
community of Esperantists, of which she has been a member for many
years. Psycho-linguistic resistance to nationalist ideology occurs when
you speak Esperanto; you simply find yourself feeling and thinking
differently, she explained. She gave the example experiences on two
different trips she had made to China. Traveling with a French friend,
she found herself entirely integrated on a bus heading into the
mountains in China. Beside her sat an old man in his 80s. As they talked
she became aware that he was a famous physician, for whom a medical
center had been named in the city of …..
A little more than a year later, she hosted him at her home in a village
in Brittany. In his retirement, he had taken up art, and was
particularly fond of sculpting in wood. In a rather remarkable way, he
was able to fashion his own tools for working the wood. He also made
appliqué panels with sand, wood, leaves, and any other materials which
happened to catch his fancy. The point Marielle thought it important to
note was that individual creativity was as base a collective experience.
The inspiration, the encouragement, the innovation came from social
relations, and the international language of Esperanto tapped new
experiences, and new sources of energy which crystallized unexpected and
often delightful expressions. It represented a successful amalgam of
unity in diversity –one language, many experiences.
Résumé par Marielle Giraud.
RESISTANCE LINGUISTIQUE ET ESPERANTO
Une élite de possédants, une classe moyenne, la masse des deshérités :
cette représentation pyramidale de l’ordre mondial proposée par Alinski
s’applique tout autant à l’état mondial des langues.
Sous l’égide d’une langue dominante, une quinzaine de langues contrôlent
l’essentiel de la communication linguistique. Une centaine d’autres
sont officiellement reconnues. Parmi les autres - environ 6000 - 90%
sont actuellement menacées. Leur extinction, prévue au rythme moyen
d’une langue par semaine pendant un siècle, signifie la perte d’un
patrimoine essentiel sur les plans scientifique, culturel et humain.
Au cours de l’Histoire, les rapports de domination entre les langues ont
largement contribué à la manipulation identitaire des masses par les
Etats en quête d’éléments constitutifs d’ identités nationales
exploitables, notamment en matière de patriotisme. C’est en réaction à
ce phénomène que le Dr L. Zamenhof, né en 1859 au cœur des conflits
ethniques en limite de l’Empire russe, entre Polonais, Lithuaniens,
Allemands, Russes et Juifs, créa la langue internationale Esperanto,
conçue comme instrument d’un pacifisme concret entre les hommes.
Destiné à permettre entre les individus des contacts égalitaires
directs, exempts de conflits nationalistes, ethniques ou religieux, tout
en contribuant à la sauvegarde de la diversité linguistique,
l’Esperanto, « langue sans frontières », a pris place désormais parmi
les outils pratiques d’une résistance originale contre l’ordre
planétaire dominant.
Christine Majid described her experiences founding and directing an
association designed to help the destitute population of immigrants
living in Leeds. The Project Manager for Positive Action For Refugees
and Asylum Seekers (PAFRAS) began as a desperate attempt to find food
and shelter for Christine’s neighbors who were loosing the benefits of a
dying system of social services. The “reforms” of Margret Thatcher were
in full swing, and these people simply had no place to go. Her efforts
aimed literally to keep as many as she could alive, and then to involve
them in the process of pushing back, so that they would not regress
into a passive dependency. She does this by inviting them to join her in
administrative and political work, soliciting funds and commodities for
the more prosperous population and remaining visible on the streets of
Leeds. Their contribution to the community is to remain poor so that
others can become rich, and they demand a recognition and an allowance
for their services, as the Commonwealth degenerates into private
property held by the few.
Habib El Garés followed Christine’s discussion with a presentation on
Arab Spring in Tunisia and its aftermath. He talked about the events
that led up to the Arab spring in Tunisa beginning in December er 2010.
On December 17, 2010, at 11h30, Mohamed Bouazizi, a young a street
vendor, emulated himself in front of a government office in the rural
Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid. The local police had confiscated his cart
and the vegetables he had purchased the day before. Before his death on
4 January, Tunisia’s President Ben Ali made a televised visit to the
hospital room where Bouazizi lay in a comma. Bouazizi’s last words on
the street corner before he lit the match were: “How do you expect me
to make a living?”
The history of Tunisia, according to Habib, is a history of
colonization, wave after wave for the past 2,800 years. The Phoenicians
crossed from the Eastern Mediterranean to establish Carthage around 800
B.C. Between the 5th century and the 3rd century BC, Greeks challenged
the Phoenician dominance of the area; then in 201 BC, the Punic wars
with Rome began, ending with the complete destruction of Carthage in 146
BC. In 439 AD, the Vandals invaded the region; then came the Byzantines
in 533. In 670 they were invaded by the Arabs; then Turkish pirates
came and stayed beginning in 1574. In 1881, Tunisia became a French
Colony, negotiating its independence only in 1956. This colonial history
speaks to a collective experience of organizing a community form the
top down. The invaders brought a kind of social order, based on economic
and/or military might; the indigenous population adapted as best they
could each time to the new order imposed on them, but, as Habib pointed
out, this adaptation was not a passive acceptance; instead the
indigenous population were challenged to learn the rules of a new game,
and to play it as best they could to their own advantage. This explains
the resilience, the resourcefulness, and the creativity of the Tunisian
people today, who are faced with a regressive regime attempting to
impose new constraints on the population in guise of religious dogma. We
may anticipate that the new resistance will take many forms.
The Third Roundtable Discussion ended with a discussion by Simon Morin, who participates with the international group “Post K,” which concerns itself with post-capitalist economics, and the Grenoble associations, “Antigone” and “Faranches.” Simon described his experiences working with economic theory and trying to make theory relevant to the everyday lives of people living in the community where he is active. The need to act and to analyze the effects one is having in the community requires clear communication with people one can trust and interact with directly. When problems arise of many different kinds, the need to have the vocabulary, concepts, and categories necessary to resolve problems, whether in interpersonal relations or with factions within the community, is of primary importance. Simon’s experience has taught him to share the problems he confronts and to rely on discussions with other members of his community to find solutions that go beyond his private interests and meet the social interest of the community for the maximum benefit of himself and the group of which he is a part.
We concluded the day on Community Organizing with a talk by Michael
Albert on “Participatory Economics” and the recently established
association, The International Organization for a Participatory Society
(IOPS). In a very original encounter, Michael provoked his audience with
seemingly aimless questions, which soon crystallized to make apparent
to everyone that democracy in our lives is sorely lacking. He went on to
explain the principles of Parecon and the practicalities of how to make
it work in everyday life. His presentation was conducted in an
unorthodox manner, with much humor and occasional self-criticisms.
Likewise, the introduction he made to the new international network
which he and others from the ZNet Collective initiated about six months
ago, was compelling. Already some 4,000 people, representing local
chapters in cities and towns in over 90 countries, have joined IOPS.
[The home page of IOPS can be found at: http://www.iopsociety.org/.]
Michael described the motivations behind this organization, and the
outline of its mission. It is essentially a bottom-up organization,
based on consensus decision-making. One of its guiding principles is to
nurture an environment of DIVERSITY, so that alternative forms of social
interaction can be invented and develop to prosper in the future. The
future should be determined by those who live it; we today should aim at
improving our own lives with the intention of also contributing to the
well being of future generations, when possible. In the Q&A after
his talk, he emphasized that IOPS was not a political party, that the
political tradition of Democratic Centralism must be reformed to
encourage alternative formations within a consensus to assure the
general well being. Imaginary threats to this collective well-being, and
other manipulations which attempt to legitimate the adoption of
authoritarian “security measures” must be exposed and dealt with, if
diversity is to prosper. Without mentioning it by name, Michael Albert
invoked Robert Michel’s famous political theory, “the Iron Law of
Oligarchy” (1911) and suggested that by adopting specific measures in
decision making, which are now being promoted by IOPS, such a social
division of labor could be averted.
Following the conclusion of Michael Albert’s two-hour presentation,
Francis Feeley concluded the conference at 21h, with a few words,
thanking the participants for their generosity in sharing valuable
experiences at this meeting, from which many valuable ideas were drawn.
The proceedings of the entire conference were filmed and will be
published on the Internet before Christmas.
The next move was our rendez-vous at Le Restaurant Bouillon, Belle
Époque restaurant in the Latin Quarter of Paris; there we gathered to
continue our conversations over good food and drink, until after
midnight.
L’Universié de Paris – Nanterre
Amphi B-2
12 novembre 2012
Biographies
Conférence sur l’art et la science d’organiser dans la société/Conference on the Art and the Science of Community Organizing
L’Universié de Paris – Nanterre
Amphi B-2
12 novembre 2012
Biographies
Michael Albert : Fondateur de la maison d’édition South End Press, Z Magazine et l’IOPS (Organisme International pour une société participatoire) ; il est aussi auteur de plusieurs œuvres et articles critiquant l’économie capitaliste qui offrent au même temps des alternatifs à la société capitaliste aux Etats-Unis.
Michael Albert : Co-founder of South End Press, Z Magazine, and IOPS ( International Organization for a Participatory Society) ; also the author of many books and articles critiquing the capitalist economy, and proposing alternatives to capitalist social relationships in the United States of America.
Christophe André : Né en 1979 à Gap, est designer militant, il vit et travaille à Grenoble. Après un diplôme d’ingénieur (de l’Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, France (INPG)), il choisit de quitter le monde de l’industrie pour développer d’autres modes de production au sein de l’École Nationale Supérieure d’Art de Grenoble où il a obtenu un Diplôme National Supérieur d’Expression Plastique (DNSEP). Dénonçant les méthodes de conception des objets intégrant le principe d’obsolescence programmée qui consiste à produire des objets volontairement dotés d’une durée de vie limitée pour alimenter la société de consommation, il réalise aujourd’hui des objets en "design libre", afin de se réapproprier les savoir-faire, les partager, lever l’abstraction qui entoure nos objets du quotidien, pour devenir des acteurs responsables du monde que nous façonnons.
Christohe André : Born in Gap in 1979 Christophe is a militant designer who lives and works in Grenoble. After graduating from INPG (Nationla Polytechnical Institute of Grenoble) with a degree in engineering he decided to leave the world of industry in order to develop alternate production methods at the National Art Institute of Grenoble where obtained a post-graduate degree in sculpture (DNSEP). Christophe’s current work in ‘free design’ undermines built-in obsolescene, or the deliberate manufacturing of goods with a limited life that propels our consumer society. His works in free design promote a better understand of the objects that surround us in our daily life and help us reclaim autonomy in the world that we shape.
Patrick Breese : Né en Wisconsin Patrick a déménagé à Philadelphie pour passer son adolescence avant de suivre ses études en sciences politiques et philosophie à Lawrence University. Grace à sa mère Française il a toujours eu une curiosité pour la vie et culture francophone qui l’a amener à vivre et travailler en France après ses études. Actuellement habitant de Grenoble il enseigne l’Anglais à l’université Stendhal.
Patrick Breese: Spent his childhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and adolescence in Philadelphia before attending Lawrence University to pursue studies of philosophy and political science. Raised by a French mother and an American father his interest in France and francophone culture came quite naturally. Patrick has been living in Grenoble for two years and teaches English at Université Stendhal.
Katharine Coit : Née aux Etats-Unis Katharine a suivi ses études à l’université McGill, Cambridge et Nanterre ou elle a suivi ses études avec Henri Lefebvre. Sa thèse et recherche depuis traite les diverses formes de l’organisation des mouvements sociaux, action local et la mobilisation des citoyens. Elle a aussi observé et participé dans plusieurs actions et mouvements sociaux.
Katharine Coit : Born in the US was educated there and at McGill University, Canada, Cambridge, England and Nanterre. where she studied under Henri Lefebvre. Her thesis and subsequent research dealt with different forms of community organisation, local action, and citizen participation. At the same time she has been a "participant observer" in several community organizations and action groups.
Ronald Creagh : Né en 1929 à Alexandrie (Égypte) est aujourd’hui professeur émérite de l’université de Montpellier. Docteur ès-lettres. Il est l’auteur de nombreux ouvrages dont «Histoire de l’anarchisme aux États-Unis (1981) », « Laboratoires de l’utopie, les communautés libertaires aux États Unis (1983) », « Sacco et Vanzetti (1984, réed. en 2004) », « Terrorisme entre spectacle et sacré, sur les événements du 11 septembre, l’imagination dérobée (2006) », « Utopies américaines Expériences libertaires du XIXe siècle à nos jours. Editions Agone, 2009)... Outre sa collaboration à la presse libertaire, et à la revue anarchiste « Réfractions », Ronald Creagh anime un site web multilingue et une liste liste de discussion « Recherche sur l’anarchisme ».
Ronald Creagh : Born in 1929 in the city of Alexandria, Egypt Ronald is currently professor emeritus at the University of Montpellier. Doctor of Letters, Ronald is the author of numerous works: « Histoire de l’anarchisme aux États-Unis (1981) », « Laboratoires de l’utopie, les communautés libertaires aux États Unis (1983) », « Sacco et Vanzetti (1984, réed. en 2004) », « Terrorisme entre spectacle et sacré, sur les événements du 11 septembre, l’imagination dérobée (2006) ». In adddition to his collaboration with Presse Libertaire and the Anarchist review Refractions Ronald also hosts an online anarchy research forum, « Recherche sur l’anarchisme. »
Habib El Garés : Professeur à Sciences Po Grenoble en Géopolitique et en particulier en géopolitique du moyen orient et du Monde Arabe. Diplômé d’un D.E.A d’Histoire des Relations Internationales de l’Université Sorbonne Paris I, d’un D.E.A de l’Institut des Hautes Etudes Internationales de Genève, d’un D.E.A de Géographie des montagnes et d’un D.E.S.S en sciences économiques de l’Université de Grenoble. Egalement formateur au centre pédagogique d’expérimentations et de conseils de Lyon, chargé de la formation des professeurs concourant au CAPES d’Histoire – Géographie. Faisant partie de ce centre de recherche en Didactique d’Histoire - Géographie et à ce titre, j’ai participé aux publications d’articles en ce domaine. Membre de l’A.P.H.G (Association des Professeurs d’Histoire Géographie) et membre du bureau de cette association à l’Académie de Grenoble. Egalement Maire-Adjoint chargé de l’éducation, de l’emploi et des relations avec l’Université.
Habib El Garés : Habib is currently a geopolitics proffessor (specialising geopolitics of the middle-east and the arab world) with a DEA in the history of International Relations from the Sorbonne Universty in Paris, a DEA from the Institute for the studies of International Relations in Geneva, a DEA in Mountain Geography and a DESS in Economics from the University of Grenoble. He is also a trainer at the Experiment Pedagogy Center and the council of Lyon where he trains proffessors trying to obtain a CAPES in History-Geography. He has participated in many publications in this domain. Habib is also a council member of the APHG (History-Geography Teacher’s Association) in the Grenoble school district. He currently serves as its Vice-mayor for education, jobs and relations with Grenoble University.
Francis Feeley : Professeur en Etudes américanistes à l’université Stendhal de Grenoble et Directeur du Center for the Advanced Study of American Institutions and Social Movements [CEIMSA], dont le site web est, depuis 2004, hébergé sur le serveur de l’Université de Californie-San Diego: http://dimension.ucsd.edu/CEIMSA-IN-EXILE. Il a enseigné l’histoire européenne et américaine depuis plus de trente ans dans des établissements d’enseignement supérieur des Etats Unis, de France, et de l’ancienne Union Soviétique, où il bénéficiait d’une bourse Fulbright en 1993-94. Il a publié onze ouvrages et plus d’un vingtaine d’articles sur l’histoire sociale en Europe et en Amérique. Il est membre de l’Association Française d’Etudes Américaines et de la Société des Anglicistes de l’Enseignement Supérieur. Enfin il est actuellement associé au CREA (Centre de Recherches Anglophones) dans le groupe PA (Politiques Américaines), à l’université de Paris X Nanterre, où il dirige les thèses de sept doctorants.
Francis Feeley : Francis is a Professor of American Studies at Stendhal University in Grenoble and director of the Center for the Advanced Study of American Institutions and Social Movements (CEISMA), an organisation whose website has been hosted since 2004 on the University of California-San Diego server : http://dimension.ucsd.edu/CEIMSA-IN-EXILE . He has taught european and American history at universities in the United States, France and the former Soviet Republic, the last of which was made possible through a Fulbright Scholorship in 1993-94. He has published eleven books and more than twenty on social history in Europe and the United States. Francis is also a member of the French American Studies Association and the Higher Education Anglophone Studies Society. He is currently associated with the CREA (Center for Anglophone Studies) in the PA (American Politics) section at the University of Paris-X Nanterre where he directs seven doctoral theses.
Jordi Forcadas : Diplomé en Direction Artistic et fondateur du Forn de théâtre Pa’tothon, une compagnie qui organise des ateliers, projets sociaux et locaux, performances et de la formation autour des problèmes dans la justice sociale. Spécialiste dans le théâtre des populations oppressées, théâtre comme forme d’intervention sociale, professeur de théâtre, les humanités. Il organise également des actions sociales dans des prisons, avec des jeunes marginalisés, les handicapés, des immigrés, drogués etc. Il est actuellement chargé d’organiser FRATT (La Lutte Contre le Racisme à travers le Théâtre) prise en charge par l’Union Européen et autres projets sociaux.
Jordi Forcadas : Degree in Artistic Director and founder of Forn de teatre Pa’tothom, a training and facilitation company that designs custom workshops, community projects, performances, and trainings around social justice issues. Expert in Theatre of the Oppressed and Theatre as Social Intervention in Forn de teatre Pa’tothom. Responsible for teaching classes in theatre, humanities, and immigration studies. Co-ordinate extra-curricular activities for the purpose of providing students with a broader exposure to the social arts. Responsible for teaching a variety of theatre and humanities and coordinator of many social projects in prisons, with young with risk of being marginalized, mentally handicapped people, immigrants, drug addicts, etc. Actually he coordinates the project FRATT (Fighting Racism Through Theatre) funded by the European Union and other social projects. Artistic director of Theatre of the Oppressed in Forn de teatre Pa’tothom, Barceona, Spain.
Didier Giraud : Chercheur indépendant, éducateur spécialisé et historien. Vivant en Bretagne, il exerce des responsabilités pédagogiques et culturelles en milieu associatif.
Didier Giraud : Independent researcher, special-ed teacher and historian. Didier lives in Great Britain and works as a cultural education coordinator in the non-profit sector.
Marielle Giraud : Professeur d’économie et de sociologie rurale, historienne et espérantiste, travaille notamment sur les femmes et le pacifisme, l’éducation populaire et l’histoire du mouvement social. Fondatrice, avec Didier Giraud, de l’Association Liber Terre, qui organise depuis 1995 des colloques et expositions sur des thèmes historiques, culturels et contemporains.
Marielle Giraud : Economics and rural sociology professor, historian and promoter of Esperanto, Marielle works in the subject of women and pacifism, popular education and the history of social movements. Alongside Didier Giraud she is the co-founder of Liber Terre, a association that has organized conferences and expositions on historical, cultural and contemporary themes.
Kawthar Guediri : Doctorante en études arabes et islamiques à l’université d’Exeter (GB), sa thèse porte sur les oppositions à la partition de la Palestine et les propositions unitaires de la première guerre mondiale à la déclaration d’indépendance de l’Etat de Palestine en 1988. Elle est par ailleurs membre de la coordination de la CCIPPP (Campagne Civile Internationale pour la Protection du Peuple Palestinien) qui à ce jour a envoyé 175 missions en Palestine, soit plus de 3500 personnes.
Kawthar Guediri : Doctoral student in studies of Arabic and Islam at the University of Exeter, Kawthar’s thesis treats oppositions ot the Palestinian partition and the single state options from the first world war to the Palestinian declaration of independence in 1988. She is currently a coordinating member of the CCIPPP (International Civil Campaign for the Protection of the Palestinian People) which to this day has sent 175 missions, or more than 3500 people to Palestine.
Nicolas Haeringer : Sociologue, membre d’Attac et du comité de rédaction de la revue Mouvements. Il travaille notamment sur les formes d’organisations des mouvements sociaux.
Nicolas Haeringer : Sociologist, member of Attac and the editorial board of Mouvements review, Nicolas works most notably on the different forms of organization for social movements.
Dominique Jégou : Activiste, et éditeur du livre, « Les Coplas poésie populaire andalouse ».
Dominique Jégou : Activist and editor of « Les Coplas poésie populaire andalouse ».
Alexandre Lefebvre : Membre de plusieurs associations, et en particulier de Vivre en Ville (http://vivreenvillegrenoble.free.fr) qui vise à défendre les intérêts des habitants des différents quartiers de l’agglomération grenobloise susceptibles d’être concernés par tout projet de construction ou et d’urbanisme pouvant nuire à leur environnement. Il est également CTO du consortium OW2 (http://www.ow2.org) , association pour le développement et la promotion de logiciels "middleware" en open source.
Alexandre Lefebvre : Member of various associations Alexander is active with ‘Vivre en Ville’ (http://vivreenvillegrenoble.free.fr), an association which defends the interests of citizens of Grenoble that live in areas susceptible to construction projects that could negatively affect their environment. He is also CTO of the OW2 consortium http://www.ow2.org, a non-profit organization for the development and promotion of open source middleware.
Christine Majid : Fondateur et directeur de l’association Positive Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Leeds, UK. Née à Leeds et active dans l’humanitarisme depuis 40 ans elle a vécu en Iran avant, pendant et après la révolution. Elle était membre active du CND (Campagne pour la Désarmement Nucléaire) et également membre du mouvement des femmes qui a viré la base militaire Américaine à Greenham dans les années ‘80 et aussi membre active dans la mouvement féministe dans les années ‘70. Elle tient un diplôme en politique sociale. Reconnu dans la région de West Yorkshire pour ses efforts dans l’humanitarisme elle était aussi membre du Labour Party avant d’avoir déchiré sa carte d’adhésion juste avant la guerre en Iraq, 2001.
Christine Majid : Founder and Manager of Positive Action for Refugees
and Asylum Seekers in Leeds, United Kingdom. Born in Leeds, UK. Has
been involved in Humanitarian work for the past 4 decades, including
having lived in Iran before, during and after the Iranian Revolution.
Subsequently a member of CND - Campaign for Nuclear Disarmement and an
activist in the women’s Group that very successfully got rid of the
American Base in Greenham Common during the 1980’s in the UK. A
prominent member of the Feminist movement during the 1970’s. Has a BA
Hons degree in Social Policy.
A humanitarian who is cherished and highly thought of here in the West
Yorkshire region of the UK. A former member of the Labour Party in the
UK for many years until principally tearing up her membership Card
before the Iraq War broke out in 2001.
Rehan Majid : Lecteur à l’Université Stendhal, Grenoble 2000-2001. Etudiant Erasmus à la Réunion 1998-1999. Etudes en langues européennes et études culturelles à l’Université Bradford, UK. Interprète pour la communauté Française à Leeds. Client Support Worker pour des groupes vulnérables, mai 2005-présent. Directeur d’Amnesty Leeds groupe Refugiés et chercheurs d’asile avant d’être élu co-directeur de la coalition contre la guerre en 2009 à Leeds. Gauchiste, contre la guerre, contre le racisme et fière de l’être, membre d’Unite Against War et supporteur du Rejuvenated Respect Party qui a gagné des victoires (« The Bradford Spring ») au Royaume-Uni.
Rehan Majid : Lecteur at Universite Stendhal, Grenoble 2000 -2001.
Erasmus University student in La Reunion, 1998 - 1999. Post Graduate in
European Languages and Cultural Studies - Bradford University, UK 2001.
French community Interpreter for 2yrs in Leeds, West Yorks. Client
Support Worker for vulnerable client groups - May 2005 - present.
Former chair of Amnesty Leeds sub group Refugees and Asylum Seekers for
some years before being elected co - chair of Leeds Coalition Against
War 2009.
Proud left wing anti war, anti racist activist campaigning against war, racism and injustice.
Member of Unite Against Fascism, Strong supporter (and lapsed member) of
the Anti War, left wing rejuvenated Respect Party which won a landslide
victory - " The Bradford spring" here in the UK.
Simon Morin : Militant autonome actif au sein de la bibliothèque associative antigone à grenoble, participant de diverses luttes sociales depuis 1999 et animant des ateliers d’économie.
Simon Morin : Active autonomous militant with Antigone, a non-profit library in Grenoble, he participates in various social struggles since 1999. Simon also hosts economics workshops.
Marc Ollivier : CNRS, éditeur du livre, « Avec les paysans du monde »
publié par l’Association pour un nouveau développement avec le soutien
du Forum civique européen.
Docteur ès Sciences Economiques (1972). Chargé de Recherches à
l’Université de Grenoble. Responsable de missions internationales pour
le compte de la FAO, du BIT, de la Banque Mondiale en Algérie, en
Angola, au Mozambique, à Madagascar et au Sénégal (1972-1980). Chercheur
CNRS en Sciences Sociales à l’Institut des Sciences Mathématiques et
Economiques Appliquées (1980-1999). Membre du Comité Exécutif du réseau
INES (International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global
Responsibility)
Marc Ollivier : CNRS, editor of « Avec les paysans du monde » published by the Group for a New Development with help from the European Civic Forum. Doctor of Economics (1972) and director of research at the University of Grenoble. Director of international missions for the FAO, BIT and the world bank in Algeria, Angola, Mozambique, Madagascar and Senegal (1972-1980). Researcher at the CNRS for the institutes of Social Science, Mathematics and Applied Economics (1980-1999). Member of the executive committee for the INES network (International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility)
Hugo Persillet : Activiste avec l’association L’ORAGE, Coopérative d’éducation populaire à Grenoble.
Hugo Persillet : Activist with ORAGE, a coop and association that promotes popular education in Grenoble.
Chris Thorpe : 59 ans et né à Sheffield, UK. En 2003 il a déménagé dans le sud-ouest de la France avec sa femme et ses deux enfants, Tasmin (16) et Stephane (13) tous les deux éduqué à domicile. Chris lui-même a suivi une éducation classique jusqu’à ses 20 où il a eu la réalisation que son chemin l’a amené au lieu d’être un propre choix et donc a pris décision de suivre des études en musique au lieu d’en science. 15 années d’enseignement ont culminées dans un autre changement. Il a travaillé pendant 25 ans comme ingénieur-son (parmi ses clients il y a John Fox of Ultravox, Roy Harper, Asia, The Consort of Musik and Emma Kirkby), éditeur de musique qui travaille aussi dans la photographie et rédaction de vidéo. Même s’il n’est pas un survivaliste il vie récemment une vie plus frugale basé sur une petite ferme dans les environs de Toulouse.
Chris Thorpe : Age 59 born in Sheffield UK. In 2003 moved to the
south-west of France from the UK with his wife and 2 children, Tasmin aged
16 and Stephane aged 13 both of whom are home educated. Normal education
to the age of 20 where a realization that his educational path had been
chosen for him, rather than by him, precipitated a change from a
scientific degree to a career in music. 15 years of teaching culminating
in a similar change of path. He has spent the last 25 years as a freelance
sound engineer (working with clients such as John Fox of Ultravox, Roy
Harper, Asia, The Consort of Musik and Emma Kirkby) and music editor
latterly branching out into camerawork and video editing. Whilst in no way
a “survivalist" in the common sense of the word, the last few years has
seen a change in lifestyle to a more autonomous and frugal way of living
based on cultivating a small farm property near Toulouse.
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