[mgj-announce] MGJ meeting notes 11/2

[Catherine Benedict]

Mobilization for Global Justice Meeting Notes 11/2/05
THE BIG MEETING, Part 1


REFLECTION ON PAST 2 YEARS

This section started with a recap of notes taken at the MGJ retreat this 
summer, going over what MGJ has done in the last 2 years, as well as 
what MGJ does that maximizes and minimizes our effectiveness in reaching 
our goals.

WHAT WE’VE DONE BETTER SINCE THE RETREAT:
-not as cliquish as before
-improved communication between working groups
-somewhat better about consolidating working groups
-better server for website

WHAT WE HAVEN’T IMPROVED SINCE THE RETREAT:
-still have too few people
-too many working groups

WHAT WE CONSIDER OUR BEST RECENT WORK:
-CAFTA, AFTA pickets (Red Rover)
-Wedding of World Bank and Pentagon street theater – Sept.
-Direct action at Mayflower, and spokescouncils leading up to this – Sept.
-Teach-in on local-global connections – April

WHAT MGJ IS/WHO SHOULD WE BE?
-would like to take more direction from the Global South
-would like to be more collaborative with locally-based struggles
-mass mobilizing might not be where it’s at
-interest in alternative forms – street theater, road show
-we want to be a year-round organization, not just exist for mobilizations
-direct action based
-facilitate networking of global justice groups throughout the country
-be a locally-rooted and globally focused group
-we are open and empowering to people but could be even more so
-should be more diverse
-should be a group that has visibility throughout more of the DC area, 
have a larger geographic focus
-should have more of a consistent presence in DC to draw in new members, 
get more numbers
-should be both part of resistance movement AND part of positive 
alternative/counter culture
-need to figure out how we can work with other groups with related but 
different goals
-if we move toward direct action, we need to provide training, etc. for 
people to understand direct action
-we should have big goals – what do we ultimately want? We shouldn’t 
limit our thinking to short-term goals only
-there is an inherent tension between being welcoming and empowering and 
growing larger; we should be aware of this

DEMANDS AND MISSION STATEMENT
We consensed to keep our four demands and mission statement. There were 
two stand-asides to this consensus.

BREAKOUTS
At this point we broke into small groups to:
-discuss our demands and mission statement
-set internal and external goals (1-2 of each) that are measurable and 
winnable
-report those goals back to the group

SMALL GROUP GOALS BROUGHT BACK TO WHOLE GROUP

EXTERNAL GOALS
1. In one and a half years have a DC City Council resolution on Tax the Bank
2. In April have creative direct actions in solidarity with the call 
from the Global South.
3. Have guerilla/direct actions building up to and answering Jubilee 
South’s call for actions in April (and beyond); being strategic by 
targeting specific audiences for specific purposes; also an emphasis on 
talking to people we don’t usually talk to
4. Deepen our linkages and relationships with local groups struggling 
against structural adjustment here; figure out how to co-organize with 
other groups; rework our demands to include local interests

INTERNAL GOALS
1. Include issues of local concern; activities that build the bigger 
movement
2. Making MGJ bigger (achieving critical mass at our meetings) and more 
diverse (not just who is in the room but also what other groups we’re 
organizing with)
3. Have larger regular meeting attendance (12-24 at a General Meeting); 
personally make commitments to be at meetings or to find someone to 
replace us if we can’t come
4. As part of becoming bigger and more diverse – tie into the NGO 
community more and do targeted outreach to immigrant groups and groups 
working on specific issues
5. Do more internal education – skill and knowledge shares within the group

CONSOLIDATION OF EXTERNAL GOALS
There seems to be a general interest in two major goals:
1. Doing local work/working on local campaigns
2. Answering the Global South’s call for April

DISCUSSION OF LOCAL WORK/LOCAL CAMPAIGNS
-Join with local campaigns (example: Empower DC’s campaign to reclaim 
public property)
-building coalitions/working in coalition
-make connections – understanding that the same policies hurting people 
in other countries are hurting people here
-can also make connections by starting with what’s happening in DC and 
showing how the same thing is going on internationally
-building a city-wide communications network, including food 
collectives, legal collective, etc.
-take Tax the Bank as far as we possibly can
-the best way to help local groups is to go volunteer with them
-we can go out and meet with other local groups to talk about April, 
then call a big meeting and invite people from those groups to talk 
about April – organize based on what comes out of that meeting
-which is more important – public education or direct action? – may not 
have enough energy to do both
-some education can also be direct action

DISCUSSION OF ANSWERING THE CALL FROM THE GLOBAL SOUTH

Jubilee South has issued a call to action, with four parts:
1. debt audits
2. supporting the repudiation of debt
3. days of direct action
4. ?????

-this gives us something to respond to that is coming from people in the 
Global South, but it’s open enough that it allows us to include local issues
-the meeting of the local groups could talk about the Global South call
-we can do direct actions that don’t involve risking arrest, they don’t 
all have to be arrestable

NEXT STEPS
At the next meeting we’ll see if we can reach consensus on two external 
goals:
-connecting with local issues and organizations
-answering the call from the Global South
Sameer, Basav, Tia, Jeff, Morrigan and Catherine will work on 
formulating the proposals.
After that, we’ll create a map/timeline to help us get to these goals 
and to look beyond April to see what it positions us for. (we can save 
this until the following meeting if we run out of time)

FACILITATORS FOR NEXT MEETING:
Jeff and Julia