[Nettime-bold] How to be an Obstacle: direct action, street politics and antiglobalisation

["ricardo dominguez" <rdom@thing.net>]

How to be an Obstacle: direct action, street politics and antiglobalisation

ICA LONDON

November 10th and 11th 2001


Saturday November 10th

10.30am - 11.30am (theatre)

Opening session: What is a political action?
Speakers include: Charles Secrett, UK Director, Friends of the Earth;
Leonardo Vilchis, from Ultrared, a Los Angeles-based audio activist group
producing street actions, radio broadcasts, performances, recordings and
installations; Sam Wild, a DIY media activist involved with Indymedia, an
internet-based media collective; and Kath Ainger activist and co-editor of
New Internationalist. In the chair: Tim Jordan, co-editor of the forthcoming
journal, Social Movement Studies and author of Cyberpower: The Culture and
Politics of Cyberspace.


11.45am - 1pm

 A Challenge to the Protest Movement (Nash Room)
How do we stop a protest message being lost in violent confrontation? Can
protest embrace disruptive behaviour, or should it always be
non-confrontational? Is there a place for alternative summits when the
coverage will be of violence in the streets - or do they just assuage the
minds of the NGO's taking part? This session is hosted by the New Economics
Foundation, whose code of protest can be found at www.neweconomics.org .
Speakers include: Liana Cisneros, from Jubilee Plus; Ed Mayo, executive
director, NEF; and Lucy Pearce (People and Planet). In the chair is Andrew
Simms, director of global economy programme, NEF.

LUNCH

2pm - 3:15pm
The Internet: An Activist's Playground (Nash Room)
The internet has become an essential tool in the kit of the modern activist.
>From aggressive hacker techniques to inclusive global networking
activities - but how well is it being used, and to what effect? While
undoubtedly widening the reach of a political action, does the internet take
away from the passion and impact of face-to-face interaction? Speakers
include: Stefan Magdalinski, creator of upmystreet.com and faxyourmp.com;
Paul Mobbs, from the electrohippiess; and James Wilsdon, head of strategy at
Demos, currently working on a report on hactivism for Forum for the Future.
In the chair is Paul Taylor, author of Hackers: Crime in the Digital
Sublime..

 What's Wrong with a Travelling Anarchist Circus? George McKay in
Conversation (Brandon Room)
George McKay in conversation with Tim Jordan. They will be speaking about
the resurgence of anarchist ideas in DIY culture; the importance of culture
in recent social movements; and the historical view of protest. George McKay
is author of Senseless Acts of Beauty, an exploration of cultures of
resistance since the 1960's and DIY Culture, which maps the radical culture
and direct action politics of contemporary society.


3.30pm - 5pm (theatre)
Antonio Negri (commissioned video)
Radical philosopher, political activist, now an independent researcher and
writer and an inmate at Rebibbia Prison, Rome (for offences supposedly
committed in the 1970's), Antonio Negri's most recent book, written with
Michael Hardt, is Empire, the new bible of the anti-globalisation movement.
In this video, he is in conversation with John Foot, lecturer in Italian
History in the Department of Italian, UCL and author of Milan since the
Miracle. City, Culture, Identity. Foot will introduce the video and take
questions.

6pm onwards (Nash)
 A selection of screenings by independent film makers Undercurrents and
Indymedia: from hunt saboteurs to antiglobalisation demonstrations.

Sunday November 11th

10.30am - 11.30am

 Electronic Civil Disobedience: the computers byte back (theatre)
Depending on who you speak to, they're cyberterrorists or on-line Ghandis.
Ricardo Dominguez, spokesperson for the New York based Electronic
Disturbance Theatre, discusses with Paul A. Taylor, author of "Hackers"
whether electronic civil disobedience is a meaningful form of protest or
just more E-hype. The Electronic Disturbance Theatre have carried out
numerous successful acts of "electronic civil disobedience" using such
innovative on-line tools as Floodnet.

11.45am - 1pm

 Have we Been Here Before? (Nash Room)
Are recent examples of 'direct action', from the fuel protestors to
anti-globalisation protests, a radical endorsement of the power of
collective action? How do some of the more creative actions of the last 10
years differ from previous attempts to blast apart political apathy? Does
the immediate playfulness of much current political protest mask a poverty
of ideas about how to bring about significant social change? Speakers
include: Peter Tatchell, who has moved from conventional party politics to
'single issue' campaigns and actions; John Lloyd, associate editor of The
New Statesman; Paul Hilder from openDemocracy, a global network for debate
and invention; and Emma Bircham, editor of Anticapitalism: A Guide to the
Movement. In the chair is Bruce Kent¸ formerly vice-president of CND.

Workshop and film screening (Brandon Room)
Led by Sam Wild, from Indymedia. A look at the changes which have provided
the opportunity for people to create their own media and address politics
and protest in new ways. Using the Indymedia film about the protests in
Genoa, Sam will explain how over 100 people working on video projects in
Genoa went about collating and editing so much footage in such a short time,
and show how its done: final editing, continuity, distribution, recouping
costs, marketing and original ways to use the video.


LUNCH


2pm - 3.30pm
Zapatismo and the Carnival: direct action in the 21st century (Nash Room)
The years 2000 and 2001 saw changes in direct action politics. From the
discipline of zapatismo to the demonstration as carnival and temporary
autonomous zone, social movement politics has intensified. Do tactics such
as the paddin gup of the tute bianchi or white overalls movement, or the
violence of the police in Genoa, signify changes in the antiglobalisation
movement and in the understanding of direct action? Where does the politics
of direct action go now? Speakers include: John Jordan, artist,
anti-capitalist activist and co-editor of forthcoming We are everywhere: the
irresistible rise of global anti-capitalism, Eva Gilmore, an Italian civil
disobedience activist; and Tim Jordan, editor of Social Movement Studies and
author of the forthcoming Activism!: direct action, hacktivism and future of
society. In the chair is Adam Lent, author of British Social Movements since
1945: sex, colour, race and power.

"Have I Got Truths For You": the Ambivalent Status of News in the reporting
of direct actions and counter-culture spectacles (Brandon Room)
Media reporting is an intrinsic part of any action, protest or spectacle.
But the media is rapidly polarising between a mass audience mainstream which
is 'objective' and impassive and a proliferation of community led
alternatives who confess to being 'subjective' and involved. While all the
mainstream reporters are banging on the doors of the alternative news
networks for better sources, will they ever get the 'real' story as long as
they remain disinterested? Without attempting neutrality and autonomy, will
the 'new media' only ever preach to the converted? Can the two camps be
bridged to bring about meaningful news that leads to change - and makes
readers/viewers contemplate getting involved? Or is that simply not the job
of a reporter? Speakers include; Lucie Morris, reporter (undercover in
Genoa) The Daily Mail; Gibby Zobel, founder of Schnews and news editor The
Big Issue; Paul O'Connor, founder of Undercurrents; and Darius Bazargan,
producer BBC news. In the chair: Guardian environment editor, John Vidal

4pm
 Where do we go from here? (theatre)
In a climate of extremism, but with the wealth of options discussed
throughout the weekend, how can direct action be harnessed to bring about
change? Is it possible to remain radical while engaging constructively with
business, politics and the media? Is tempered radicalism the way forward?
How can you widen engagement without diluting the message? Speakers include
Jem Bendell, activist and consultant on Corporate Social Responsibility;
Stan Vincent, Head of Actions, Greenpeace; representative from the corporate
world tbc; and Noah Tucker, activist, also closely involved in the union
movement and in community campaigns. In the chair is Hilary Wainwright,
editor of Red Pepper


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