- cross-posted to:
- anarchism@slrpnk.net
- cross-posted to:
- anarchism@slrpnk.net
cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/34210598
Note: I have no affiliation with the organizers; I attended one of their gatherings years ago though and had an excellent time!
This event is a space to network, to workshop, to skill-share, and to strategize about building dual power in our region. All levels of experience are welcome, from longtime organizers to folks who are completely new! The gathering will take place October 3-5 at a campground in southern Michigan, near Kalamazoo. The address of the campground will be released to folks who RSVP in the weeks leading up to the gathering. To RSVP, select “Donate and Tickets” above and select one of the RSVP ticket options. … This event is a space to network, to workshop, to skill-share, and to strategize about building dual power in our region. All levels of experience are welcome, from longtime organizers to folks who are completely new! The gathering will take place October 3-5 at a campground in southern Michigan, near Kalamazoo. The address of the campground will be released to folks who RSVP in the weeks leading up to the gathering. To RSVP, select “Donate and Tickets” above and select one of the RSVP ticket options.
Campground lodging will be available starting Thursday evening (October 2), as the gathering will kick off promptly on Friday morning.
There are cabins on-site, but folks are are also welcome to bring their own tents and sleeping bags. ADA-accessible bathrooms and running water are available on site, as well as electricity, and vegan food for all participants. Cell service is available at the campground. We will have a shuttle service, but you will need to contact us so that we can coordinate pickup. If you need help finding an alternative place off-site to sleep, like in a hotel or on a couch, let us know and we’ll try to set this up (resources are limited.)
Families with children are also encouraged to attend! There are even plans to have youth-organized sessions so kids and teens can take an active role in creating the event. Please let us know if you would like any help with childcare during the gathering. Service animals and pets are more than welcome.
We want the event to be as accessible as possible: if you have any access needs or questions about the accessibility of the event, please feel free to get in touch by emailing us. We will do our best to make accommodations. At this event, we hope to mitigate the spread of COVID. You can read more about our COVID and masking policy here in the Orientation Guide.
Attendee participation fuels this gathering. It is structured as an “unconference”.
What this means is that at the start of each day, we will gather and collectively create a schedule of sessions for the weekend. Everyone attending will have the opportunity to put unconference sessions on the schedule.
In past years, we’ve had a range of different types of sessions: from the formal to the informal, the prepared to the spur of the moment, the demonstration of a working tool to the whiteboarding of something completely new. This event is what you make it! Here are a few examples of previous sessions:
- Food Sovereignty, Foraging, and Farming (hands-on skill share)
- Conflict in Social Movement Spaces (roundtable discussion)
- What is Dual Power? (presentation and conversation)
- Indigenous Values vs. Capitalist Values (presentation and discussion)
- Narcan Training (hands-on skill share)
- Worker’s Cooperatives and the Labor Movement (roundtable discussion)
- Radical Media: Reflections and Scheming (roundtable discussion)
- The No Borders Struggle in Europe: a Reportback (presentation and conversation)
- Countering White Supremacy Culture (presentation and discussion)
- Radios for Community Defense and Disaster Relief (hands-on skill share)
- Bodywork and Co-Regulation as Mutual Aid (hands-on skill share)
Participation in the gathering is open to everyone, not just those camping: feel free to participate on any day in any activity or session that you choose to!
In addition to the self-organized unconference sessions, you can also expect shared meals, folk dancing, live music, and collaborative art making.
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Could someone explain to a European what “Dual Power” is? Sounds a bit like “White Power”, is that intentional? The links that claim to explain the idea lead nowhere for some reason.
Just to be clear, there is no intention for “Dual Power” to be confused with “White Power”, there is no link there.
Dual power is a political term that means different things to different people. In the context of this gathering, it can be defined IMO as
In our view, dual power is comprised of two component parts: (1.) building counter-institutions that serve as alternatives to the institutions currently governing production, investment, and social life under capitalism, and (2.) organizing through and confederating these institutions to build up a base of grassroots counter-power which can eventually challenge the existing power of capitalists and the State head-on.
. . .
This framework of building popular power outside the governing institutions of our present system, to challenge and eventually displace those institutions with truly democratic ones of our own making, is the heart of dual power.
Source: libsoc DSA caucus, since disbanded IIRC
It’s not used exclusively by libertarian socialists but by mutualist-leaning folks looking for a theoretical framework that promotes both engaging against traditional power structures/institutions while building independent movements at the same time. FYI, the EN wikipedia article on it is constantly being edited by people of opposing political views, this is the relevant subsection: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_power#Modern_usage_by_libertarian_socialists.
FWIW I haven’t seen the term used as much in European lefty circles as in North America, but it definitely attracts anarcho-leaning folks.
Ah, thanks. So it’s Lenin’s term, which I’m certainly familiar with. It’s quite clear that the due to nature of phenomenon its definition would constantly be in state of being disputed. I just haven’t seen it being used for a long time.
