Thursday, May 08, 2008

Call for Participation - NO! G8 in Hokkaido

Stop by Hokkaido in July? Given the current state of economy and inflation, there has never been a better time to make a difference. Email japang8camp(at)riseup.net for more details.

5th July is International Action Day. To be part of the action, click here if you are in London.

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Call for Participation: Towards the Emergence of a New “Alternative Village” space in Hokkaido

“G8 Action Network” Convergence-center / Camp Work Group

• Our Plan
　The G8 will be held in July of this year (200 8) at lake Toya (Toya-ko) in Hokkaido. We expect thousands of people from all over the world will gather in Hokkaido, as individuals and various NGO groups, to take part in a medley of actions. We (Convergence-center/Camp Work Group) look forward to the completion of an Alternative Village, both a hive for the swarm and a place for dialogue.

Action schedule

* 13-14 June (Osaka) Meeting Ministers of Financial Affairs
* 26-27 June (Kyoto) Anti-Foreign Ministers Meetings, Rally and March
* 28-29 June (Tokyo) Anti-G8 Rally and March
* 01-04 July (Sapporo) Themed Actions (Rally and March)
o 01 July (Sapporo) Anti-military base/ anti-war
o 02 July (Sapporo) Anti-WTO, privatization
o 03 July (Sapporo) Anti-neo-liberalism
o 04 July (Sapporo) Farmers’ day, day of AINU

* 05 July (Sapporo) International Action Day
* 05 July (Chitose) Airport Protest
* 07-09 July (Lake Toya) Blocking the G8
* 06-08 July (Sapporo) Alternative Summit

• Convergence-center
The convergence-center will act as your window to a host of knowledge & information concerning the G8; as a studio for printing data & documents; as a studio for creative work & operations; as a meeting place, and as a resting place; as a point of internet access; and as a forum for international exchange. The center will function as an important node, gathering those of us unaccustomed with the land together in order to stimulate collaborative operations, and, at the same time, we will work to ensure that local voices are active in education and discussion.

Facilities for Foreigners

* In Tokyo/Osaka/Kyoto – Convergence Centre
* In Sapporo – Convergence Centre, Camp, Independent Media Centre
* Near Lake Toya – Camp, Independent Media Centre

• Camp
The Camp is provided as an area for those of us coming with (I)NGOs and citizens’ groups to pitch our tents.

We are working with you to plan an international kitchen, concerts, film screenings, a world football tournament, workshops on environmental issues and nature conservation, as well as other events to be held in and around the camp grounds. This is ‘another possibility’, “Alternative Village”. “Alternative Village” will be an experimental environment in which every participant builds the space for participation with their own hands. This is the type of space that has been actualized through the participation of many people against the G8 at Évian-les-Bains in France, again at Gleneagles in Scotland, and again at Heiligendamm in Germany. Moreover, the camp and its surrounding activities provide a chance for those from around the world to interchange and build networks with the local residents.

• Our Goals
The aims of the Convergence-center and Camp are not simply to provide an infrastructure for information-exchange and lodging; more broadly, we hope to help architect a shared space in which we can mutually help out and cooperate. This is a space for the creation of ideas & expressions by all its participants; a solid foundation onto which we may build something anew. The establishment of this free, open space takes a large place among our goals.

• We Need Your Participation & Collaboration!
Currently, we are looking for volunteers to help in creating and running the Convergence Center and to participate in the Camp Work Group. Everyone with interest is sincerely invited to contact us at the e-mail address below.

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posted by they lied @ 10:18 PM Comments: 0