encuentro 5

A Discussion with Aarti Shahani, Mizue Aizeki & Joe Nevins

Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 5:30 p.m. Immigration reform will soon be on the national legislative agenda. All options on the table punish immigrants for global economic and policy failures. To consider the different bills, in particular the one that many progressives may offer critical support--HR 4321 aka the Guiterrez Bill--three important thinkers, Aarti Shahani (founder of Families for Freedom), Mizue Aizeki and Joseph Nevins (most recently authors of Dying to Live: A Story of U.S. Immigration in an Age of Global Apartheid) will join us for an early evening conversation and light dinner.

See here for summaries: 1. from the Immigration Policy Institute (this is an Adobe Acrobat [PDF] file)

Connecting the Issues: the Economy, the Climate Crisis, & War and Peace

Wednesday, December 16, 7:00 p.m. This conversation brings together 2 outstanding, long-time labor-movement activist intellectuals. It focuses on strategies for labor at this critical moment, particularly those that involve systematic collaboration with the peace/anti-war movement, climate justice movement, the single-payer health movement and the diverse coalition that elected Obama.

It also introduces the Majority Agenda Project as a potential solution to the strategic dilemma facing labor organizers: They care about a number of important issues that fall outside the traditional collective bargaining relationship but have to concentrate their work on areas prioritized by the needs of current campaigns.

A Journey into the Heart of Venezuela w/Director Pablo Navarrete

Monday, December 7, 2009, 7:00 p.m. February 2009 marked 10 years since Hugo Chavez took office, following a landslide election victory, and launched his revolution to bring radical change to Venezuela. While wildly popular with many in the country, Chavez's policies and his strongly-worded criticisms of the U.S. government have also made him powerful enemies, both at home and abroad, especially in the media.

Saturday & Sunday, December 5 & 6, 2009, 9:00 - 5:00 p.m. This is a two-day workshop for interpreters and organizers working for language justice. It is presented by Roberto Tijerina who is formerly of Highlander Center Multilingual Capacity Building program. This training costs $55 – BIC members and $65 – non-members (includes morning coffee & lunch). Space is limited, please reserve your space by calling 617.999.0888 or by emailing BIC at info@interpreterscollective.org.

Saturday, November 21, 2009, 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. Join South African social movement activist from the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign.

South Africa will be on the global stage as host of the 2010 World Cup. Yet, with one of the world's highest rates of economic inequality and social protest, it is likely that the country's glaring contradictions and its militant poor, perhaps more so than the "beautiful game," will be center stage next summer.

How to Launch a Transition Town/Transition Initiative in Your Community

Saturday & Sunday, November 21 - 22, 2009, Starting at 9:00 a.m. The Transition Network and Transition US (www.transitionus.org) are offering the two-day Training for Transition course as developed by Naresh Giangrande and Sophy Banks of the Transition Network in Totnes, England (www.transitiontowns.org). The course is an in-depth experiential introduction to Transition for those considering bringing Transition to their community. It meets the training requirement for local initiating groups to become an internationally-recognized Transition Town.

Thursday, November 12, 2009, 7:00 p.m. Join Russ Baker, an award-winning investigative journalist and founder of the nonprofit reporting website whowhatwhy.com, in discussing his latest book, "Family of Secrets: the Bush Dynasty, the Powerful Forces That Put It in the White House, and What Their Influence Means for America." The new book is available in hardcover and will be coming out in paperback this Fall. Gore Vidal calls it, "one of the most important books of the past ten years."

Friday, November 13, 2009, 7:00 p.m. An analysis of the events and the future of Honduras after the signing of the Guaymuras Accord of Tegucigalpa/San Jose for national reconciliation and the strengthening of democracy. Featuring: Rodolfo F. Pastor, Visiting Prof. of History -Faculty of Arts and Science, Harvard University and former Minister of Culture of Honduras under President Manuel Zelaya and Simon Rios, founding member of the Committee in Solidarity with Honduras and musician. Sponsored by the Commitee in Solidarity with the Honduran Resistance

Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 7:00 p.m. "My name is Martha Lucia Giraldo Villano and I was born on June 22, 1978 in Cauca, Colombia. I am the daughter of José Orlando Giraldo, a small-scale farmer who was the victim of an extrajudicial killing by the National Army. In my country, there have been many extrajudicial killings that are also categorized as false positives (the killing of innocent civilians to pass them off as guerrillas killed in combat within the context of Colombia's armed conflict). The execution of my father is an example of a 'false-positive' murder."

"I am part of the Victims of State Crimes Movement. Along with other victims, we work together on organizing and training in order to demand our rights to truth, justice and reparation."

Saturday, November 7, 2009, 6:30 p.m. Mexico-US Solidarity Network invites you to join us for a discussion of popular education in Zapatista indigenous communities and the role of urban academics as resources in constructing an autonomous education system.

Patricia Hernández, a sociologist specializing in education & gender, has worked since 2001 with indigenous communities to develop their primary and secondary schools, following a model of "autonomous education." She worked intensively with indigenous teachers—called "education promoters" (promoter@s)—to develop the secondary school for indigenous children living in the Zona Selva Tzeltal. Local leaders, who oversaw the project, wanted the community's demands for land, food, peace, justice and democracy to serve as the content for classes on history, language and mathematics.

Sunday, November 1, 2009, 6:00 p.m. On Wednesday, October 14, 2009, the encuentro 5 community lost a friend, Van Lawton passed away. A creative mountain of musical talent, Van helped us transform e5 from an old textile factory into the space it is today. He also performed at several fundraisers for the space as a member of the Reagan Babies. More recently, we enjoyed Van's participation in the 3rd Sunday Batey.

Thursday, October 29, 2009, 7:00 p.m. Join Overcoming Zionism author, Joel Kovel, in challenging the notion of "exceptionalism" and the resultant alienation of people and environment. Joel weaves together deep historical and structural analysis with insights into the development of the psyche. Wikipedia provides a useful overview of his thinking. However, it fails to provide a full account of the price that he is paying for publishing his critique of Zionism. For a complete list of his books, see Joel's website.

Thursday, October 22, 2009, 7:00 p.m. Grahame Russell of Rights Action, recently returned from Honduras and Guatemala, speaks about popular resistance to mining and the coup in Honduras. The event is a kickoff for the Committee in Solidarity with People of El Salvador (CISPES)'s anti-mining campaign. Contact the organizers, Boston CISPES [e-mail bostoncispes speakeasy net], for more information.