Anarchist(?) education workers' conference
May 12 2006
here it is.
so, it looks like a few people are up for organising a conference/gathering
- later this year
- for people working in the education sector
- probably in dirty manchester
- co-ordinated by EWN, AF and IWW
the question is getting it off the ground...
May 12 2006
#2
It might help if the good people at Libcom could be persuaded to provide a nice, neutral forum for this. Maybe under the announcements section?
It shouldn't really be too hard for the Mancs in SF and AF to work together, as long as we all agree its a good idea. We get on well enough after all. I'm just jealous of JDMF's web design skills, that's all. 
May 12 2006
#3
good plan.
admin overlords, get moving!! Admin - moved
May 12 2006
#4
I take it this is an actual proposal, yes?
May 12 2006
#5
yes.
May 12 2006
#6
just a clarification: why are there three groups? Aren't all AF educators in IWW?
If IWW, then it wouldn't be able to be an anarchist event, right?
How many people are there in the IWW edu workers thing?
May 12 2006
#7
I'm not sure how many AFers are in the IWW. Not all, I'd guess. At moment, there are about 15 in our AF- based network. Quite a few are also IWW. In any event, it'd be good to meet up and have a chat about practicalities.
May 12 2006
#8
In answer to your question we certainly wouldn't see it as restricted to anarchists - but it should be restricted to those on our common wavelength.
May 12 2006
#9
JDMF wrote:
Aren't all AF educators in IWW?
I'm an pretty inactive member of the AF, but I am an education worker, not in the IWW and no plans to join, fwiw.
May 13 2006
#10
Quote:
we certainly wouldn't see it as restricted to anarchists - but it should be restricted to those on our common wavelength.
cool, i was thinking it would be something like that
Quote:
How many people are there in the IWW edu workers thing?
don't know about most of the country, but there's a few of us down in london, plus knightrose, myself and gentle revolutionary on libcom. i certainly think that there'll be enough in all three groups to make a gathering worth it.
Jun 21 2006
#11
Well im been handing out Anarchist related literature around University Sheffiel University, i would be up for making this happening, especially ewn emphasis on workers and students, rather than some middle class anarchist youth student groups
yer us anarchists need to get this moving
Jun 21 2006
#12
aye.
hey check out www.ewn.org.uk i think there is one (!) member in sheffield uni if i remember correctly...
Has there been any movement with this conference idea? Ideas are easy, it is the implementation which is the tricky bit 
Jun 21 2006
#13
Dont we just need a date and then for a transparent steering group to make some a possible agenda?
Jun 21 2006
#14
Quote:
Dont we just need a date and then for a transparent steering group to make some a possible agenda?
The chunks of this thread that got lost in the hack had people from EWN, IWW and the AF group (does it have a name?) suggesting a slight delay so they could get their shit together before the conference.
I think there was some consensus around October/November as a date and there were some good ideas for topics on the thread, not all of which I can remember.
This is what I recall of the ideas:
Relationship between academic and non-academic staff
Casualisation
Relationship to the unions
Models of libertarian education
And other stuff I'm sure.
Jun 21 2006
#15
yeah, the plan was to hold it a few weeks after the @ bookfair, i think, which would make it early november.
Quote:
Relationship between academic and non-academic staffCasualisation
Relationship to the unions
Models of libertarian education
indeed, but you missed the most important people of all- geography postgrads! no, seriously, the top one is interesting, but should include students (not just postgrads, we should discuss the annoying little undergrads too).
i would also add that under 'relationship to the unions' we should make it a more general workplace organising strategy thing, i reckons.
Jun 22 2006
#16
Cant we have a get together/discussion at the @ bookfair? This is the most viable and a way to attract some interested parties, it also leaves us till August/September right....
Jun 22 2006
#17
sounds like a plan. how do people go about getting a slot in the @ bookfair?
Jun 22 2006
#18
ticking_fool wrote:
AF group (does it have a name?)
EdCom. At least that's the address used for the e-mail list.
Jun 22 2006
#19
Might i also reccomend that you at least discuss the FESAL-E (E for education?).
Jun 22 2006
#20
The AF have set up an email list to discuss edoucation matters. It is something we wanted to make available to others interested in revoltuionary change, not reformist types wanting to make education nice. It goes by the very uninspiring name of Edcom and at the moment is pretty low volume. We'd welcome participation from people on this list who've demonstrated an interest in the conference idea. It's not an open list, but we'd not rejetc any of the posetrs on this list. There are a couple on the list who aren't AF.
So, October, JDMF and co, if you want to join, just send me an email. Then we could set ourselves up as an ad hoc steering group. personally, I'd rather deal with comrades that I know and trust than leave it to a discussion at the Bookfair, which I hate and seldom go to.
Email me at education(at)afed.org.uk or manchester(at)af-north.org - I put the silly (at) thing in to stop gettign spammed. You repl;ace them with @
Jun 23 2006
#21
hehe, SolFeds EWN has exactly same kind of email list. It has been running for years and is open to non-solfed members as well, 29 subsribers in total at the moment.
http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/ewn
way to go! 
Jun 23 2006
#22
I think its reasurring to know that 28 other people agree with me
I think the bookfair idea is good, I think we need to check with our respective networks first. But it should hopefully be a springboard for people interested in doing something outside of reformist or authoritarian channels. And there should be a fair few punters interested if we get it organised in the short term.
cheers
Jun 23 2006
#23
Quote:
29 subsribers in total at the moment
that'll be thirty if you let me in 
Jul 6 2006
#24
JDMF wrote:
hehe, SolFeds EWN has exactly same kind of email list. It has been running for years and is open to non-solfed members as well, 29 subsribers in total at the moment.http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/ewn
way to go!
Maybe some kind of merger of the two e-lists is in order.
*legs it*
Jul 7 2006
#25
ftony wrote:
Quote:
29 subsribers in total at the momentthat'll be thirty if you let me in :)
did you get in? I think some old email addys were cleaned so the number is now actually lower!
Jul 7 2006
#26
ftony wrote:
sounds like a plan. how do people go about getting a slot in the @ bookfair?
All the details are on the website.
Jul 8 2006
#27
I made some suggestions on the EWN list, but for some reason Ive been booted 
Could that be related? 
Does anyone want to follow up on my suggestion?
Jul 8 2006
#28
I gues I could drag myself down to the Bookfair . It'd make sense to have a face to face meeting with as many people as possible. Then make practical plans for a non-sectarian, but class struggle orientated conference. The AF's suggestion is Manchester as a venue. It's central and is conveniently close at hand for a lot of potential attendees.
Jul 9 2006
#29
Dear Knightrose,
What exactly is a "non-sectarian, but class-struggle orientated" invitation?
Peter Good (TCA)
Jul 9 2006
#30
Quote:
What exactly is a "non-sectarian, but class-struggle orientated" invitation?
Including all groups already organised in the sector and interested individuals but with sessions organised which assume a shared class struggle perspective. I guess that would mean that we assume that attendees' interest in education will be as workers, whether students, teachers, administrators or support staff (and any category I might have left out).
That's how I'm thinking about it anyway.
things i can think of off the top of my head:
- will it be explicitly anarchist/for anarchists?
- how can the three groups co-ordinate this thing productively?
- what format will it take?
- why am i not doing stuff i ought to be doing right now?