Defragmenting our selves
I did some work in Colombia with REDHER, a network of social organisations, and yesterday discovered that on Saturday (20th July) their office was broken into and computers and other equipment stolen. This appears to be part of a campaign of retaliation and intimidation in response to a Juicio Etico – a people’s tribunal –…
Or somewhat more democratic and inclusive forms of organising anyway – this article is interesting: Carne Ross: our forms must reflect our fundamental political values I’ve thought a fair bit about the prospects for making NGOs more cooperative. Campaigning NGOs could have much more of a two way decision-making process with their donors and supporters….
So who are the re-emerging Colombian left? I met my companions in this small Casanare village at a meeting in Bogotá organized by the group ‘Congreso de los Pueblos’, or People’s Congress. That meeting attracted 15,000 attendees from all over Colombia, mostly from rural areas, many campesinos and indigenous people, but also students groups, women’s…
As night falls over a meeting of student and youth organisations in eastern Colombia, the shadows over the peace process between the government and guerrilla groups become eerily literal. We are in a village in Casanare department, in the east of Colombia, far from the nearest mobile phone signal. As darkness closes in around us,…
Very interesting blog post from Aaron Peters of Novara Media: This short piece intends to outline what kinds of organisation are optimal in this context and how they would emphasize the strengthening and broadening of a currently weak social movement ‘base’. Examples of currently existing organisations that perform similar roles will be given. This is…
I was pleased to read these blogs about organising in Turkey. A few quotes sum up what I liked: #Solidarity – a letter: What pleasantly surprises me is that the Turks are not repeating the errors of the Spanish indignados or the Occupy movement. In almost all of the Spanish occupations, decisions were taken by…
Young people in the Valle de Sibundoy, Colombia, are campaigning against a road to Brazil that cuts through their territory, including an ancient pathway used by their ancestors. “Our worry as indigenous people is that this project was not agreed with the people. There was no prior consultation, they don’t have our permission. This is…
Young people in Tunjuelito, southern Bogotá are participating in free classes to help them get into university, part of a movement to improve political awareness in poorer barrios. Across Bogotá there are now at least six free pre-universitarios that work according to the principles of popular education. They aim to help students who can’t afford…
This post was written following the loss of an interview recording and the notes on that interview, so contains no direct quotes and I no longer know all the names. It still seemed an interesting subject so I have written a quick summary. I met a couple of campesinos from Isnos, Huila, in the nearby…
In 2011 the Colombian government proposed a sweeping marketization program for the Colombian higher education system, including allowing private capital to invest in public universities. Students across the country rose up to fight the proposals. By the end of the year the protests against the reform had forced the government to abandon their plans. Since…