A Regional Gathering on Autonomy and Survival
Invitation and Registration Survey - May 20-22, 2022 in Ridgewood, New York
This May 20th-22nd, Woodbine and Symbiosis will host a northeast regional gathering in New York City, to discuss the last two years of our organizing for survival. From our experiences and experiments with mutual aid and disaster relief, what are our present and future needs for coordination and confederation in order to build autonomy and dual power?
Over a densely packed weekend, we will offer some shared time and space for open assemblies, panel discussions, workshops, communal meals, and partying. As we work together to put this gathering on, we look forward to talking in all the in-between moments throughout the weekend, to make connections and strategize, to build relationships and community, to develop and share ideas.
A confederation of collectives seeking to build a democratic and ecological society from the ground up, Symbiosis launched in 2017 and held a continental congress in Detroit in August 2019. Woodbine opened its doors in 2014 as an experiment in building neighborhood autonomy in Ridgewood, Queens, and in November 2020 moved into a new 5000 sq ft space. For many this gathering will be the first time we are all able to meet, talk, and hear about each other’s efforts over the last years and decades. This weekend is not meant to be a space of individualized critique nor of decision making, but rather an assembly of those getting organized with others, putting their lives in common, and trying to build power together.
What are the obstacles for getting organized and growing, for connecting our projects, for creating truly cooperative economies and prefiguring the political life we want to live? What has worked for us so far, in all of our various contexts and histories? We hope to come away from the weekend with new models and a new sense of our shared potentials. To do that we need to meet new and different people, and to learn about everyone's approaches to these questions. Ranging from rural land projects to urban neighborhood experiments, how can our networks and projects expand in the years ahead? We want to encounter and think with those currently involved in this kind of movement and world-building.
The gathering is open to all affiliated member organizations and partners, as well as fellow-travelers, the curious, and those who hope to join us in building a dual power confederalism in North America. We are asking all those interested in attending to fill out the registration survey below, so we can learn more about who you are and what you'd like to get out of and see during this gathering.
Registration Survey
The gathering will be free to attend, but if you are able to contribute we are asking for a sliding scale suggested donation of $50-$200 to help cover the costs of food, travel, and lodging for other participants. You can contribute here, at the bottom of the page: withfriends.co/woodbine/join