[GPSCC-chat] US Social Forum planning

[Spencer Graves]

Hello, All:  



	  1.  The next meeting of the San José organizing committee for the US Social Forum is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 5, 6:30 PM at the Low-Income Self-Help Center, 525 Alma, San José.  Anyone can attend or call in at 712-432-0490. PIN 857605#.  (NOTE:  This conference number will close at 6:40 PM if no one is using it.  In case of problems, you might text to 408-655-4567 and / or reply to this email with a complaint — to be fixed for future meetings.)   


	  2.  I’ve so far been unable to find solid documentation on how to apply to help them organize something.  However, as I understand it, they are organizing events before, during and after.  They hope in this way to transform the Social Forum from a one-time event into a coordinating opportunity for many other activities.  In this vein, they currently are planning three different types of events:  Workshops, People's Movement Assemblies (PMA), and "Movement Schools”.  


		    2.1.  A Workshop is 1-4 hours with any format.  To get space at the US Social Forum, it needs to be sponsored by at least 2 organizations recognized by the US Social Forum organizing committee.  


		    2.2.  A People’s Movement Assembly (PMA) 4-6 hours with a more formal structure:  An initial presentation or round table of ~1 hour followed by 3 break out sessions discussing 3 different questions:  (1) Where are we now?  (2) What is possible?  (3) What will you do to to make the possible probable?  This will be followed by a report back period.  These four sessions are 45 minutes each including breaks, so the four sessions take 3 hours, and the entire event can be run in 4 hours.  One PMA is planned for 6 hours including lunch and probably a longer initial presentation.  To get space at the US Social Forum, a PMA must be sponsored by at least 4 organizations recognized by the organizing committee.  


		    2.3.  A Movement School is more like 2 days:  The first is education.  The second is action planning.  


*** One key idea is to organize something to occur before June 24-27 and apply for a slot during that period to repeat and expand on something you’ve already done — and may do again.  


	  3.  I’m working on two issues:  


		    3.1.  A PMA on electoral reform to include citizen-funded media.  Josh Silver, Director of Represent.Us, is eager to participate.  I’m hoping to get representatives also from Move to Amend, Wolf-PAC, and something like freepress.net to participate in an electronic round table conducted via videoconferencing, recorded, and edited into a 27 or 57 minute program for public access television like creatvsj.org and YouTube — while also connecting the event to a Wikimedia foundation project like the Wikipedia article on “Electoral reform in the US” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_reform_in_the_United_States).  


		    3.2.  A PMA on volunteer investigative journalism using Wikiversity to organize and crowdsource the research and public access television (like CreaTVsj.org) and the web (like YouTube) to disseminate the information.  Gar Alperovitz (2013) What Then Must We Do (Chelsea Green) says that the current US government subsidies for big business should be used to democratize capital, supporting coops, companies with Employee Stock Option Plans and participative management, Community Land Trusts, and similar structures that reduce the frequency with which small business and consumers subsidize international capital that routinely leave for communities that provide an even bigger subsidy.  I want to try to create and promote alternative media to support Alperovitz’ vision.  


	  Spencer Graves