"Why Not Organize Ourselves?”
                             
                           - The Winnipeg Citizen
                          Winnipeg 1919 General strike

R.I.P

Mike Sokolowiski
Steve Schezerbanowes

Murdered by the Police, Black Saturday 1919

WORKSHOPS

This is a listing only of workshops (talks, speeches, discussions with at least one facilitator/educator), check the "schedule " section for information on other things, such as films and music, that will be happening.

Thursday May 8th

6 - 8pm Mondragon Bookstore & Coffeehouse (91 Albert St.)

Snapshots of Anarchist History: A Panel on Historical Aspects of Anarchism in a Canadian Context

Travis Tomchuk on “Europe is No Place for an Anarchist: The Network to Aid Italian Anarchists After the Spanish Civil War.”

Paul Burrows on “Anarchism, Colonialism, & Aboriginal Dispossession in the Canadian West.”

About the presenters: Paul Burrows is an activist and writer in Winnipeg, he helped found Winnipeg's Old Market Autonomous Zone (A-Zone),

Mondragon Bookstore &Coffeehouse, and the Rudolph Rocker Cultural Centre. He has written articles on participatory economics, Palestine- Israel,

and other issues. He is currentli finishing his MA thesis in History at the University of Manitoba with a focus on indigenous history and resistance,

treaties, and settler-colonialism

Travis Tomchuk is completing a Ph.D. at Queen’s University on Canadian anarchist history. He has also been known as the anarcho-grindcore

vocalist for the legendary G7 band Malefaction (Where There is Power, There is Always Resistance).

8 - 9:30pm - Rudolph Rocker Cultural Centre (91 Albert st.)

40 year anniversary of paris 1968 events Lecture and Discussion

Presented by:Winnipeg New Socialist Group and the I.W.W. (Industrial Workers of the World)

Friday May 9th

7:30- 9 pm – Mondragon Bookstore & Coffeehouse (91 Albert St.)

Anna Hunter of Anti Poverty Committee Vancouver talks about anti- Olympics 2010 organizing

Anna Hunter is a vancouver based anti-poverty activist who organizes with the anti-poverty committee (APC). The APC is a direct action based anti-capitalist, anti-colonial organization committed to fighting for impoverished people's rights, housing, against police violence and state imposed poverty. The APC has been involved in a campaign against the 2010 olympic winter games and has targeted those involved in the push on poor people in the Downtown Eastside, the theft of indigenous land and the corporations who will profit off the 2010 games. She will be discussing the actions that have been taken since Vancouver won the olympic bid in 2003 and the mobilization that is planned across the country and the continent for the 2010 games

Saturday May 10th

10 am - 6pm – Anarchist Bookfair Workshops

Unless listed otherwise all workshopswill be held in the Old Market Square in the Exchange District (across from Art Space and one block south from city hall)

Pacifism - A Convenient Excuse?

10 am Old Market Square
Does nonviolence promote apathy and the status quo?  Which is more important, the goal, or how we get there?  Are coercion and violence justifiable?  If we think violence is a good option, if we're certain that we're right, what does that say about us?  Are there other options?  Who decides when to fight, about what, and for whom?  How can we raise awareness about systemic violence?  Bring questions/answers for discussion.
About the Facilitator; FuzzyBunny, who is into skepticism, debate and being rational, or at least aware.

Israeli Apartheid 101

10 am Old Market Square

About the presenter: The Canadian-Palestinian Netwoek (CanPalNet)

Shira Newman -  Filmmaker, activist, and member of the Canada Palestine Network - Winnipeg. Shira spent time working with the 
International Solidarity Movement in occupied Palestine
Howard Davidson - adult educator, activist, and founding member of the International Committee on Education and Occupation. Howard is 
a member of the Canada Palestine Network - Winnipeg

Radical Politics & Regressive Pro Sports

10 am Old Markt Square

The realm of professional sports is firmly shaped by the regressive discourses of racism, sexism, and heterosexism, and is intimately tied to militarism, nationalism, and corporatism. And yet, professional sports deeply appeal to radicals who follow their chosen teams through thick and thin. Let's talk about this odd link between radical politics and regressive pro sports. How can politically radical sports fans reconcile radical politics with a love for regressive pro sports? Must we leave our politics at the door when entering stadiums, arenas, and sports bars, or can we extract the good from sports and leave the rest behind? Put in other words, how can one like professional sports without being a douchebag? Together we'll discuss the intersection of radicalism and sports fandom.

About the Presenter: Kevin Schachter is an anarchist / diehard Winnipeg Blue Bombers fan.

"white allies/indigenous resistances", practical advice for supporters of indigenous resistance

Noon Old Market Square

About the presenter: Peter Kulchyski is an activist and scholar who grew up in Bisset, MB. He is professor of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba and has written many books on aboriginal issues - most recently "the red indians" (Arbeiter Ring, 2007). "The Sound of a drum: Aboriginal Cultural Politics in Denendeh and Nunuvut" won the 2005 Alexander Kennedy Isbister Award for Non-Fiction.

Anarchism and Education: The Politics and Practice of Radical Learning

Noon Old Market Square
What is the connection between anarchism and education? This participatory workshop brings together facilitators from diverse backgrounds to explore libertarian models of learning. Topics discussed are likely to include: anarchist models of education, the anarchist critique of existing schooling systems, the challenges of doing radical education work within public schools and universities, homeschooling and unschooling, life as learning, and the role of learning in making radical social change.
Facilitators; Daniel Brandt is an angry teenager who never wants to go to school again.
Patrick McGuire is a class struggle anarchist who works as a public school teacher at a high school in Winnipeg.
Stéphane McLachlan is a professor at the University of Manitoba who conducts  action-oriented research and education in collaboration with rural and  Aboriginal communities across Canada.  His  university-centered (radical) education focuses on individual and systemic progressive change in and outside the classroom, as exemplified by two recent courses: Corporate Campus, Inc and Shaking the Tree:  Activism, Change, and the Environment.
Fiona Muldrew is a parent and teacher who is trying to unschool, decolonize, and learn with her 10 year old son.

Spirituality & Anarchism: Can they co-exist?

Noon Old Market Square
An informal discussion on how spirituality relates to anarchism and  activism, beginning with three perspectives as offered by Thor, Jim  and Gwen.
Facilitators; Jim Sanders is a filmmaker and artist and co-founder of Dada World Data productions. Currently he is learning the ways of indigenous shamanism from Juan Flores of the Peruvian Amazon as well as learning the traditional ways of the indigenous people of Manitoba.
Gwen fits awkwardly under the labels anarchist and Christian, and rejects dogma as interfering with practice. She is working on surviving and community-building in this fucked up society.
Thor Aitkenhead does cultural work in Winnipeg. Thor speaks in the third person.

Information Technology within Anarchism; goals, problems, and approaches

Noon Old Market Square
This discussion attempts to establish a framework of information  technology (IT) consistent with anarchism.  IT is broken into three  aspects: hardware, software, and knowledge.  The facilitator will briefly outline his thoughts, on all three, for what goals we should have for each aspect; problems that we face in each area; and finally what approaches we might take to making progress towards anarchist-compatible IT.  Then discussion is opened to the group.
About the Facilitator; Jamie is a gay vegan transhumanist anarchist who works for the Mondragon and ParIT worker co-operatives.

The Seal Hunt and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

2 pm Old Market Square

Dave recently got back from the campaign to oppose the Canadian seal hunt where he and his crew were arrested by an RCMP swat team for taking pictures of seals being skinned alive.  Come out and discuss the issues of animal rights, international law and being interrogated by Coast Guard officers who watched way too many cop shows

About the presenter: David Nickarz is a long time volunteer with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society with 6 campaigns over 10 years. He has just returned from the Gulf of St. Lawrence where he and his crew were arrested by a RCMP swat team for photographing the seal hunt.

Radical Families Get Together

2 pm Old Market Square
Hey Radical parents, kidz and friends: meet at Old Market Square at 2pm and we'll take the walk across Main to the tot lot. Let the kids play and we can have some time to talk about parenting - problems,
ideas, plans for the future, community involvement, education...

Active Anarchy:  the Power of the Plume

2 pm Old Market Square

Deconstructing English.* Learning how to express yourself in written text "outside the box".  Taking hierarchichal language and using it for accessible and grass roots growth as opposed to elitism.  Participants will write "brainstorming" about language use and impacts, which will be introduced and facilitated by Joy Asham (Fedorick).  You will come away having written a new story or poem for your own collection.  Bring your own pad and pen/cil.
About the Facilitator; Joy Asham (Fedorick) was first published in the New Nation Newspaper (Manitoba's first indepedent indigenous paper) in 1971.  She later edited the paper, and was for a period of time Editor for the Ojibway/Cree Cultural Centre in Timmins.  She presently has a bi-weekly column in the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal, northern Ontario's major newspaper. Joy is a playwright, performer, storyteller and storymaker, most known as author of the essay "Fencepost Sitting and How I Fell Off to One Side", a breakthrough work that has become an international classic. She has written several casebooks (texts and curriculum development) for Confederation College and taught these courses in Thunder Bay and several communities in northwestern Ontario.  Originally from Peguis, Joy spent her early community development
years working in the core area of Winnipeg. "I'm coming home," she said.

Public Speaking for Activists
4 pm Old Market Square

Public speaking is a very powerful tool. While it is very scary to most people, it is a skill anyone can learn with some hardwork and practice. Please bring a topic you can speak about - it can be anything from "Free Tibet" to "Don't fart in elevators" as long as it is something you (in some way) feel passionately about.
About the Facilitator; Daniel Thau-Eleff is a local actor, playwright, director and activist.

Safe Hot Sex
4:00pm Old Market Square

A discussion and presentation of info about safe sex, and how to make it hot.  The workshop will cover different STIs, consent, how to talk about sex, and safety, depending on what participants are into talking about.  There will also be zines handed out.
About the Facilitator; Shelagh likes talking bluntly about safe sex, learning about DIY health, and thinking about anarcho-feminism

"What is crime: a community response to criminality and institutionalization"

2 pm Old Market Square

part two of a three part workshop covering basic incarceration theory and alternatives, and prisoner solidarity work

about the presenter: The Anarchist Black Cross (ABC) is an international network of prison abolitionist groups working to address the

injustices of the prison/industrial complex, educate people about the so-called "justice" system and support political prisoners.

Martial Arts & Self Defense (pt. I)

4 pm Stephen Juba Park - Waterfront Dr. and McDermot Ave.

Aimed at tackling issues regarding street-level conflict and domestic violence pro-actively. Part two of a two-day sedminar for beginners, covering various approackes to protect oneself or others when threatened by those who choose to abuse their power. try to show up 15 min. early and wear something old and comfortable (as it may become stretched and dirty). People of all ages are encouraged to participate and have fun!

Everybody's Working For the Weekend: A Discussion on Anarchist Workplaces
7:00pm - 8:30 - Mondragon Bookstore & Cofeehouse

Sunday May 11

Martial Arts and Self-Defense pt. II

Aimed at tackling issues regarding street-level conflict and domestic violence pro-actively. Part two of a two-day sedminar for beginners, covering various approackes to protect oneself or others when threatened by those who choose to abuse their power.

Try to show up 15 min. early and wear something old and comfortable (as it may become stretched and dirty).

People of all ages are encouraged to participate and have fun!

2 - 3:30pm at the Soccer Field behind West Broadway Neighbourhood Centre