Breakout Group: five members.
Ellen Friedman:
We've been asking if occupying 24/7 is valuable or not.
How do we create a commons: The common should be reclaimed.
How do we build coalitions?
How can we use the tools of participatory democracy.
We could not foresee that this movement would start nor how it would develop. What wee need now is a strategy to keep it growing.
Ron Czecholinski:
There's too much chaos and not enough effective organisation.
I see two big opportunities:
To work at hearing each other and turning that discussion into decisions for action.
To move this conversation into our local neighborhoods and workplaces.
Ian Adair:
We need to Occupy Peoples Minds.
Iwanka Kultschyckyi:
Philadelphia, PA in Facilitation and Dilworth Plaza Working Groups.
Lots happening here. Our challenge and opportunity is to find reasonable solutions.
Our Dilemma: We find ourselves practicing what we see in Congress. This is our educational opportunity to change that.
John S Veitch:
Occupy Christchurch is mostly young people. Little political experience and limited organizing experience. They are learning a lot. They need time together.
There's opportunity to use the tools of the movement, like the People's Mic, but the technique needs to be practiced and people need to be confident about using it. Brilliant done well.
In Christchurch, NZ, we have two local losses of democratic control. One regarding the earthquakes we've been having, which puts the city under the authority of a government appointed organisation, not answerable to the public. The City Council has been sidelined. Two; regarding the use of local rivers for irrigation, conflict arose between farmers and the local regional authority regarding the allocation of water rights. The government chose to dismiss the regional authority an appoint a board of officials instead.
There is opportunity to protest in many places, but the group don't know the issues, they are difficult to motivate to prepare signs and shout outs. Lots of room for training and planning and effective mobilization of our resources.
Ellen Friedman:
There is an opportunity to see our work from the systems level; both micro and macro activities.
We have problems with our own communication on the ground.
We are also participants in maintaining the system that is harmful to us all.
Notes by John Veitch.
