[bru-info] REMINDER: Sept 14 - Info night for the School for Grassroots Organizing

[bru-info at lists.resist.ca]

School for Grassroots Organizing Information Night
Thursday, September 14th, 6:30pm
672 E. Broadway, Organizing Centre for Social and Economic Justice
Join organizers with the Organizing Centre for Social and Economic Justice
for a multi-media presentation on our model of organizing and an
introduction to the School for Grassroots Organizing.

 Organizing Centre for Social and Economic Justice Presents...
THE SCHOOL FOR GRASSROOTS ORGANIZING
October to December 2006

APPLICATION DEADLINE: September 24th, 2006

Initiated by the Bus Riders Union in January 2004, the school draws on the
experience of organizers of the newly launched Organizing Centre for Social
and Economic Justice to train new and experienced activists and organizers
in strategic organizing. The model of organizing emphasizes building a
strong understanding of the world around us and a practice that organizes
our working class communities around immediate concrete needs and for
long-term systemic change.

The School for Grassroots Organizing since 2004...
28 graduates working with grassroots organizations locally and
internationally
"I learned that our history is connected and continuous, that people have
never stopped struggling against oppression and exploitation, and how I can
contribute to that history of resistance.  I took away the ideological tools
and concrete skills to organize, and gained hope and inspiration for the
life-long struggle for social and economic justice. The SGO is a supportive
environment for those who want to grow and develop as grassroots organizers,
and for those who are committed to doing the day-to-day practice of
organizing for a better world."

                              - Yuly Chan


School Grassroots Organizing 2006
How is the school organized?
The School for Grassroots Organizing combines theory and practice.
Participants will attend an introductory weekend for an eight-hour crash
course in organizing, followed by discussions every two weeks on the themes
outlined here. Participants will integrate with one of the participating
organizations to learn organizing from experienced organizers in action and
their own practice. Participants are expected to commit 5 to 8 hours a week
to the school and to attend every session.

Who is the school for?
For new and experienced activists and organizers who are hardworking and
eager to sharpen their theory and practice and to train for a lifetime of
organizing for social and economic justice. We prioritize working class
people, women, in particular women and men of colour, as well as people who
speak Cantonese, Punjabi, Hindi and Spanish. There is space for up to 8
participants.

How to apply:
1.    Join us for an information night on the School for Grassroots
Organizing on September 14th.
2.    Fill out the attached application form and mail or email it to the
Organizing Centre for Social and Economic Justice by September 24th.
3.    Selected applicants will be contacted for an interview following the
application deadline.

Honoraria:
Honoraria is available to some participants to facilitate the participation
of working class people. Honoraria for childcare is also available.


School for Grassroots Organizing Themes
Discussion sessions will include readings, case studies, presentations,
activities and discussion.

*    How do we understand the world around us?
Deepening out understanding of neoliberalism, imperialist globalization,
class & capitalism, anti-racism & anti-sexism, public health & environmental
justice.

*    Grassroots Organizing for Social and Economic Justice
Organizing the unorganized; direct contact organizing: going into our
communities; popular education: moving from experience to analysis to action
and back again.

*    Beyond multiculturalism: Anti-racist organizing
Examine the history of racism and resistance by communities of colour and
Aboriginal people in Canada. Develop strategies for addressing interpersonal
and systemic racism in the context of past and current colonialism and
national oppression.

*    Power to the Sisters: Anti-sexist Organizing
Examine women's exploitation and oppression as workers and unpaid workers in
the home, as well as the ideological war waged against women. Strategize on
how to build a women-led movement against exploitation and oppression.

*    Strategic Organizing
Reform and revolution; campaign planning to meet immediate needs and make
structural changes; building organizations for the long-term struggle.

*    Imperialism and Building an Anti-Imperialist Movement
Integrating our understanding of capitalism, national oppression and
patriarchy. Strategize on how do we can best contribute to an international
movement for social and economic justice.


Participating organizations
The Bus Riders Union fights to put the needs of bus riders, majority women
and disproportionately people of colour, at the centre of public transit. We
fight the privatization of public services and the drive to make profit at
the expense of working class communities, and TransLink's systemic racist
and sexist policies. The BRU develops campaigns that address working class
people's concrete needs and link them to political struggle for structural
change.

The Alliance for People's Health (APH) is an organization of health workers,
grassroots organizers and people committed to the struggle for health for
all.  We envision healthy   communities where everyone has access to health
care, housing, education, transportation, childcare, food, and meaningful
employment; a healthy world is one with a just distribution of wealth,
national self-determination, and liberation from unjust trade,
militarization, occupation and war. APH struggles through service to our
communities and international campaigns for social justice.

Justicia for Migrant Workers (BC) is a grassroots organization that works
primarily with Mexican migrant farm workers to educate them on their rights,
analyze their situation of migration and exploitation, and support workers'
organizing to improve their work and living conditions both in Canada and in
Mexico. Our objectives are to organize Mexican and other migrant farm
workers, as well as to educate and prepare ourselves as organizers,
prioritizing Latinos, other people of colour and indigenous peoples, and
those who have a life-time commitment to organizing for social
transformation.


For more information on the School for Grassroots Organizing, call or email
the Organizing Centre for Social and Economic Justice:
Email: schoolfororganizing2006 at gmail.com
Phone: 604-215-2775
Address: 672 East Broadway (at Fraser)
Vancouver BC V5T 1X6

The Organizing Centre for Social and Economic Justice initiates, supports
and sustains organizations and political campaigns rooted in working class
communities and with an explicitly anti-racist, anti-sexist and
internationalist perspective.
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