[Spotykach] to be or not to be?

[olhas]

Dear people,

Now I wanted very seriously ask you about attantion!
This is important to react (in positive or negative way): but please react!!!

the time comes that it need to be realized or 
implemented what have been discussed for one year 
in small circles and also on the list concerning 
the seminar (look reminder information below). Or 
leave it not implemented. The original idea was 
to do it togather in not institualized way, as a 
alternative to mainstream way to organize 
seminars (organizers do a work, participant 
consume and in the end all it forgotten).
The question is for the seminar: to be or not to 
be. The reason why the question stays in this way 
is because of recent slow-down of the discussions 
mainly because of my less involvement (cause of 
baby) and others cause of many other reasons. 
This all show that we still far a way of working 
without pushing by one or two on mutual 
respectful way towards others input. Then those 
one or two also getting down without feedback. 
This is how it works: the initiative has 
puninished in the end. So without a lot of 
bla-bla, now I need to ask directly and 
personally (we are 24 people on the list), please 
give us a short reply who is interesting in 
continuing discussion and realy to meet in 
Berlin. If there is not much interest, then we 
probably will decide to do just workshop on our 
topic on ESF in Athen, Greece, 4-7 of May and try 
incorporate it into the frame of this event.

regards, Olga

Moja tvoja ne ponimaj - Mines don’t understand yours.
Subtitle: Understanding east-west 
misunderstanding / redefining east-west imbalance

The main idea,
              Since the Berlin wall fall down two 
extra polar politically and artificially 
established worlds of the East and the West try 
face each other presence after being a long time 
isolating from each other. Unfortunately 
invisible wall still exists in minds of people 
together with intention of some to rebuild a wall 
back. Unbalanced relationships between western 
and eastern socially active and politically 
engaged people still exists, not saying about the 
rest, in a sense of perceiving each other and 
tolerate each other identities/past/the way of being.
              Western European politics, 
economics, concepts like 'civil society', and 
lifestyles are generally considered as one 
standard for all, and uncritically copied and 
implemented in Eastern Europe. East-West 
cooperation is often carried out as a rather 
one-sided process: West pays and “has right” to 
show the East how to work and live.
              During previous meetings especially 
Eastern participants have pointed out that this 
tendency has huge impact on the way western and 
eastern activists interact, often with a 
predefined sense of dominance from western 
counterpart. Such an 'eurocentrism' prevents 
alternatives from blossoming and needs to be 
critically examined. We want to disrupt the 
fatalism of the ‘transition’ from real-socialism 
to capitalism and from a ‘soviet’ union to a 
European ‘union’. We do not want a ‘transition’ 
from A to B where B is defined by Western and 
global interests, but a collective search for new ways to shape our lives.
               For this we want discuss as recent 
development/experience of already happened 
east-west communication with all positive and 
negative achievements, as try a new 
ways/approaches in giving more space for eastern 
initiatives, projects, ideas to be presented and 
discussed with intentional reduction of the 
experts (know better) involvement from the West.
              The detailed translation of all 
presented information might be a main target 
according to the tendency that English-speaking 
activists have more chances express themselves. 
Such decision is a lesson of many round-tables, 
conferences happened, which had a 'the West for the East' viewpoint.
              Eastern Europeans make themselves 
fit to the “European standards“ and thus 
increasing hypocrisy in relationships between 
both sides. Western organizations charity 
(financial supports, covering travel 
reimbursements) produces certain level of 
passivity and NGO-tourisms where people learn to 
play “beggars” and consumers of information 
without having really a ground for it.
              As a result a civil society in the 
east loose its authentism and self-initiative. 
The barrier of misunderstanding, which exists as 
a real obstacle due to different 
social-economical developments, covered with 
certain politeness from both sides. Proposed 
schemes to challenge patriarchat, gender 
disbalance relationtions, implement democratic 
principles coming as a “plan from above” which 
after many years experience with soviet type of 
authoritarian style of ruling and plan economy is 
a dangerous way which suppress an autonomy of 
eastern population and their right to come to a 
civil society in own way according to the local 
need in freedom and justice. Acceleration of such 
a process violently might be a bad experiment of 
Western theorists try approbate on obedient 
subjects that due to bad surviving conditions 
pushed to serve and can be trained in any 
possible way. If an older generation need a 
longer time realize such disbalance and danger, 
young activists might be more open to discussion as the future belongs to them.
                Realization and discussion of 
mentioned problems we see as a necessary topic to 
establish a equality, justice and freedom not 
only in the East but also improve/reconsider it 
in the West which in the end might loose notions: 
mines, yours, west, east etc.

With this meeting we aim:

·        to find ways to overcome predefined 
organizational and psychological east-west 
inequalities and make intercultural and political 
east-west dialogue and cooperation a truly 
multi-sided process with equal participation and input from all sides;

·        to find ways to deal with occurring 
misunderstandings and cultural differences 
between westerners and easterners in an equal, non-hierchial way;

·        to bring together previous experiences 
and achievements in the fields of intercultural 
understanding, east-west cooperation and 
non-hierarchical organizing and to use these 
skills to train ourselves and others;
·         to bring down to proportion and 
reconceptualise the ongoing tendency of 
'east'-'west' thinking, partly being a persistent 
notion of polar thinking as a rudiment of leftover cold war discourse.



Our objectives are:

·        define and reconsider a notion the west 
and the east: what is perceived under it and till 
which extent it makes sense keep using it as 
reconfirmation of past centuries political schemes;

·        analyzing differences in perception of 
globalization process, feminists and autonomous 
theories, socialist/capitalists ideas due to 
different historical and political 
development,  educational systems, societies 
moral values (collectivism/individualism), 
philosophical schools, clichés, prejudices and 
develop concrete tools for both westerners and 
easterners to avoid falling in predefined and 
prejudiced traps of east-west thinking and 
behavior by means of libertarian, non-hierarchical way of thinking;

·        look for a new solution in coexistent 
and collaboration of different autonomous youth 
groups according to the common ideas and 
aproaches out of geographical or political frames 
to overcome an isolation of groups from each other;

·         discuss a need of political, 
environmental and feminists engagement of 
activists from a whole European continent as a 
common project to fight with common social 
illnesses: hidden patriarchat/matriarchat (gender 
inequality), rasism, prekarisirung, corruption, , 
oppressions etc which belongs as to the West as to the East;

·        critically examine western 
'eurocentrism' and democratic missionary and 
eastern subordination (EU, NATO, WTO enlargement) 
with proposing multilateral warning about 
possible traps each side experience from own 
perspective (negative/positive aspects of social 
experiments: capitalism, socialism, anarchism, utopias, globalization etc) ;
·         analyze a diffusion phenomenon of 
uncritical cultural exchange (folk-rooted Eastern 
European music expansion to the West) and public 
space isolation culture (night clubs life, parties etc) to the east;
·         create an anti-east-west network of 
young activists who want work together abolishing 
paternalist national, geographical criteria’s to 
stand up for common human needs using libertarian principles
·         propose and discuss a conception of a 
newsletter “Bread and salt” (“Western salt and 
eastern bread” as an issue of provoking polar 
discussions, reflection to get a new dynamic in 
anti-east-west approach with following esteem and hospitality to each others;
·         discuss further development of 
spotykach-mailing list 
(<https://lists.nadir.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/spotykach>https://lists.nadir.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/spotykach 
as a tool for described above ideas.






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