[Street] Actions Assembly + Call to Workshop/Table Proposal (street at lists.occupyboston.org)

Katie Gradowski (Google Docs) katie.gradowski at gmail.com
Thu Jan 5 15:35:36 EST 2012


I've shared an item with you:

Actions Assembly + Call to Workshop/Table Proposal
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11We4Vdm_aOenIzYvpMl3_iLM8XsFwbNJvhNZrAeGLms/edit?invite=CMjYupEK

It's not an attachment -- it's stored online at Google Docs. To open this  
document, just click the link above.

Hey friends!

So a few days ago, Noah  tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Hey, Katie!   
We've been pretty inward-focused lately.   What if we cut the number of GAs  
in half, took a weekend night off, and gave over one GA tonight to ONLY  
doing outreach to the wider community?"  Sounds crazy, right?   And  
potentially awesome?    I'm really excited about this proposal, and wanted  
to lay out a brief sketch of what Noah described to me, as well as a quick  
update on some other ongoing initiatives that I think could really help OB  
come together and organize as a community.

Here's a brief outline of Noah's proposal.   There is an additional section  
on modifying existing GA structure, which I've left out here, but which you  
can read in the attached document.   This is likely to come up at tonight's  
GA - I'd be grateful if you'd take a moment to read and share your  
thoughts!  What follows is an abridged version, for easier reading.

All best,

Katie

*******************************************************************************

Proposal:  Replace One GA per week with a Action Assembly using Open Space  
Technology

Time & Location: This would replace the Tuesday GA and take place at the  
Episcopal Church in Harvard Square.

Purpose:

1) To provide a more appropriate meeting format for the discussion of  
political, economic and societal issues.
2) To provide a time for Occupy Boston to come together and reflect on and  
plan targeted direct actions and campaigns with clear and powerful messages  
in order to maintain the occupation of the public conscience in the  
post-Dewey era.
3) to aid the formation of direct action affinity groups and enhance the  
collaboration and involvement in direct actions of working groups, affinity  
groups, and individuals.

Details of Proposal:   (paraphrased)

1.   One GA per week will be replaced with a "working GA" or "strategic  
action assembly," where we gather together to plan ongoing campaigns,  
proposals, and collective actions that we want to accomplish as a group ---  
and then we plan, implement, and DO them!

2.   Each assembly begins with a round of proposals for actions and  
campaigns, either "sparks"  (initial ideas to be floated to the groups)  
or "propositions" (fleshed out ideas that are midway through, but still  
need help with implementation)

3.   Proposals are listed, and summarized, with facilitators leading a  
discussion as to which ones we want to work on, and prioritizes them  
accordingly, based on which are the most pressing, which generate the most  
interest, etc, and divide them into 4-5 that will be discussed that night.

4.   Break-out groups to discuss and plan actions, followed by reassembly  
and report-backs.

5.   Everyone goes back to their working groups, affinity groups, what have  
you, and makes shit happen.

(that last one was my addition)

***********************************************************************

The idea is that if we do this EVERY WEEK -- and make outreach (and  
actions) a central part of our organizational structure -- we will develop  
a culture of doing, rather than reflecting.   in the process, we will  
create a support structure by which autonomous actions can still be planned  
and organized with an eye to ongoing campaigns and projects. This is very  
much in line with some initiatives that are already in the works -- the  
Monday community gatherings, the biweekly action summits -- which have  
already demonstrated a huge potential for connecting people across working  
groups, and solving some of the logistical problems of communication and  
organization.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  I'm tremendously excited by this  
proposal, and its capacity to reshape and recontextualize what tends to be  
a series of isolated projects within working groups  (whether DA, outreach,  
street, what have you) into community-wide initiatives.   It's in no way  
meant to replace the working groups -- instead, I believe it will create a  
collective, community-wide space that will then allow the working groups to  
break and work on more specific and actionable details of these plans,  
while also making better use of our time at GA  (by insisting that, beyond  
making decisions together, we also sit and work together to figure out how  
to act on those decisions).

This has already been discussed at GA, and will likely be coming up again  
tonight.   Please share with anyone whom you think would be interested, and  
encourage them to come show support or constructive critique!  The more  
eyes we have on it ahead of time, the better the final proposal will be

With love and solidarity,

Katie!

-- 
Due to the present financial situation, the light at the end of the tunnel  
will be switched off to save on electrical costs until further notice.
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