On Saturday, June 25, 2011 the First Peoples Movements Assembly (PMA) took place in Berkeley, California at the Lutheran Church at University Avenue, with 65 registered participants. The all day PMA opened with a presentation of the PMA process by Ruben Solis, co-chair of the Peoples Movements Assembly working group, describing the PMA process of organizing PMA BEFORE the US Social Forum II held in Detroit in June 2010, DURING the social forum and now the AFTER-USSF II follow up. The Southwest Organizing Tour (June 1-30) of the Peoples Movements Assembly is part of the After-USSF II plan. A Southeast PMA organizing tour is also taking place at this same time.
The PMA-Berkeley is the first step towards organizing the East Bay Social Forum in 2012, and as a first step it was noted by some of the participants that the process needs more inclusion of people of color and grassroots social movements because the audience was not representative of the make up of the East Bay.
The goal of organizing an East Bay Social Forum, and of starting the organizing process in conjunction with the PMA national working group makes possible a local process that is integrated into the national process and seeks to bring together as many of the East Bay area social movements to lay the groundwork for another Bay Area is possible, another US is necessary for another World to be possible and to start the construction of 'Another World is Possible'.
Hi Ruben -
ReplyDeleteWhich wonderful East Bay organizations that you know are interested in planning the East Bay Social Forum? I know we all face limitations of time, energy and money, and yet the potential power of bringing all the parts of our growing social movement together would be a great use of resources. Can you make some connections, and help us all find a way to work together on this? Thanks, Laura