Published April 17, 2012
by iris_author
On April 25th, 2012, activists, policy makers, and scholars from around the world will assemble for a global teach-in, commencing with a kick off event at 10AM Eastern Daylight Time and continuing until 4 pm EDT. On April 25th, the first day of the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco, cities around the world will address concrete solutions to the economic, environmental and energy crises.
Seven months ago, on September 17, 2011 the Occupy Movement was launched in Zuccotti Park in Wall Street. With a change in weather and a renewed cycle of activism around the corner, Occupy, environmental, labor, peace and other activists around the world will address the question: “What’s next for the Occupy Movement?” They will do this through a live, interactive broadcast involving lectures, face-to-face discussion groups and action plans showcasing how to promote democracy movements, green jobs and planning, and an alternative financial system. The teach-in will also explore possibilities of North-South cooperation. How, for example, can different regions cooperate on pressing issues like outsourcing of jobs, fighting austerity attacks on public sector trade unions, and solidarity on various environmental issues in common?
This event will showcase the alternative policies needed globally, nationally and locally to constitute a concrete plan of action. Speakers will address the need for not only new tax and budgetary policies, but also the necessity to build new economic institutions from the ground up. These include: alternative banks, utilities, cooperatives and other new economic forms to promote needed economic and ecological changes.
This event has a strong labour component with the Ontario Federation of Labour organzing the local teach in being held in Toronto and participation as well from Chris Townsend, the Washington, D.C. representative of the United Electrical Workers.
The world’s leading thinkers and activists will be involved in this event, including: Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org (US); Gar Alperovitz, founding Principal of The Democracy Collaborative (US); Colin Hines, Convenor of the Green new Deal (UK); Bruce Nixon, environmental author and activist (UK); Ellen Hodgson Brown, Chairman and President, Public Banking Institute (US); Alice Slater, noted peace and anti-nuclear activist (US); Robert Pollin, a leading economist on green economic transformations (US); Pamela Brown, a leader of the movement against student debt (US); Joel Rogers, a leading green activist (US); Oscar Kejllberg, Former President of Sweden’s leading cooperative bank (Sweden); and Dada Maheshvarananda, a leader of the PROUT movement for economic democracy (Venezuela).
Jonathan M. Feldman (Sweden), principal convenor, organized the televised national Green New Deal Conference in Sweden in March 2009 and was a principal organizer of the May 2, 1990 National Town Meeting on the Peace Dividend held in Washington, D.C.
Promotional video: http://vimeo.com/39371903;
Webpage: http://www.globalteachin.com/
Toronto Event: http://www.globalteachin.com/global-teach-in-toronto
Contact information: globalteachin@gmail.com; Jonathan Feldman +46707981634
Posted in: Events
