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<b>Dear people,<br><br>
Now I wanted very seriously ask you about attantion!<br>
This is important to react (in positive or negative way): but please
react!!!<br><br>
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). <br>
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.<br><br>
regards, Olga<br><br>
Moja tvoja ne ponimaj - Mines don’t understand yours</b>. <br>
Subtitle: <i>Understanding east-west misunderstanding / redefining
east-west imbalance<br>
</i> <br>
<b>The main idea,<br>
</b>
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.<br>
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. <br>
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.<br>
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.<br>
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. <br>
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. <br>
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.<br>
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. <br>
<br>
<b>With this meeting we aim:<br><br>
</b>· 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;<br><br>
· to find ways to deal with
occurring misunderstandings and cultural differences between westerners
and easterners in an equal, non-hierchial way;<br><br>
· 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;<br>
· 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.<br><br>
<br><br>
<b>Our objectives are:<br><br>
</b>· 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;<br><br>
· 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;<br><br>
· 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;<br><br>
· 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; <br><br>
· 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) ;<br>
· 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;<br>
· 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<br>
· 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;<br>
· discuss further
development of spotykach-mailing list
(<a href="https://lists.nadir.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/spotykach">
https://lists.nadir.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/spotykach</a> as a tool
for described above ideas.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br><br>
<br>
<br>
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