Dissent! Anti-G8 USA West & East Coasts Infotour

ABOUT Dissent! G8 Infotour

Once a year the leaders of the 8 richest nations meet behind closed doors in secret with no publicized agenda or published minutes, to discuss the fate of the world. They’ve been making empty promises for decades about improving the environment, poverty in Africa, and lots more, but the fact is that the G8 is not the solution to these ills, it is the problem! We are preparing in Germany for large scale protests against the G8 meeting this June 6-8, 2007, and plan to come tell you about what is going on here. We have done over 200 presentations in 25+ countries since November 2005, and are now coming to your town!

In case you haven't had a chance to check out the big number of anti-G8 web-sites we have over here in Germany (or got lost on a German language site looking around for more English), we've attached an overview below of what our normal "foreign" presentation consists of. There are also many links below.

As you can see, there is generally a first part that talks about the History of the G8, including going over German protest experience in Munich '92 and Cologne '99 (20,000-30,000 or more protestors each time.)

The second part is all about the latest going on over here now. If you download any of our English language power points, you might see that some are a few months old. They will be totally updated for the USA infotour, and there will be a lot of English information available about the German mobilization. Discussions will take place with local hosts to determine likely audiences, and whether people already expect to come to Germany for the protests, or whether it is a more general audience that could benefit from other knowledge such as about the G8 in general, or about how such activist mobilizations function in Germany/Europe.

The latest plan for the Infotour on the West Coast of USA is March/April, with a stopover on the East Coast as well the first week in April 2007. Ask us to send you a draft itinerary. Judging from experience, we expect quite big audiences to attend our presentations.

Hope to see you soon!
Jason + Marie
details below:

Presentation about G8, we can alter presentations/films for any audience.
from Dissent! Network Wiki:
http://dissentnetzwerk.org/wiki/Presentation_about_G8
almost all infos downloadable here:
http://gipfelsoli.org/Tools

1. Block on Background of the G8 (circa 40 Minutes)

* Film "Why Close the G8?" (Mobilization film for G8 2005, Scotland; 14. min., Download with most other films and power points at http://gipfelsoli.org/Tools)
* Background on the History of the G8-Summit and protests against it, (lecture with Power-Point-Presentation, ca. 15 min.
* A summary of resistance to the G8, with the possible showing of short films.

We also like to tell about the effects of the G8 from those not from the "Global North". Therefore we often show short films from the "Raised Voices" project made up of short Videoclips with Interviews from people from Africa or South America regarding the politics of the G8. We generally show one or two 3 minute film clips.

2. Block: Heiligendamm, G8 2007 (circa 40 Minutes)

* The political and geographic situation of the immediate region of Rostock, Bad Doberan and Heiligendamm using a Power-Point-Presentation

* Explaination of the main relevant local groups, (Fundus-Gruppe, Kempinski, a Local Citizens initiative, the Left Party, Residents, City and Regional parlaments etc.)
* The situation of various groups mobilising against the G8, their activities and next meetings:

Grassroots + Left + radical groups + political parties…

* The International Mobilisation Camp in August 2006
* Left Network/Linkes Bündnis, BUKO
* No Deportations/No Borders-Network

* Attac
* NGO'S + Pop Concerts
* Militant Actions related to G8 2007
* Social Forum
* Green Party + Left Party (PDS/Linkspartei)
* 4 Bicycle Caravans, coming from N, S, E, and W

* Black Blocs
* Rhythms of Resistance/Samba Bands, Clown Army
* Queer, Women, Lesbian, Transgender-Resistance, etc.

At the close we like to start an open public discussion. Possible topics include:

* Pro and Contra regarding large Summit Mobilisations
* Would the resources for such a big mobilation not be better used for local projects?

* Working together with other groups
* Concrete action plans and ideas
* Possibilities to work together
* How to build/support local structures (in the local place we are)

What the hell is up with the 2007 G8 mobilization for Heiligendamm, Germany?

Massive protests against the 2007 G8 summit meeting of neoliberal globalizers and warmongers at the Baltic Sea resort Heiligendamm near Rostock in Germany are scheduled before and during the June 6-8 meeting. The G8 is the annual meeting of the leaders of the 8 richest nations in the world. Every summer, these people meet behind closed doors, with no published agenda, and no publicly available meeting minutes. For some reason, they invariably meet near a big ass golf course. Many people in Germany, Europe and the world are sick of the empty promises of the G8 — saying they will help the environment or help fight African poverty and then doing nothing, or worse. The G8 meeting is the best chance to show a big fat middle finger to leaders who dominate the world and to show that another world is definitely possible.

Past protests at G8 summits, EU conferences or WTO meetings have played a central role in the deepening and broadening of the movement against the centralization of wealth and power in a few hands, and in favor of economic justice for workers, environmental sustainability, peace and alternatives to corporate control. Activists are mobilizing throughout Europe for protests and counter-summit activities.

To invite people in the USA to come to Germany for the G8 the Dissent! Infotour will be traveling across the West Coast of the USA from February 18 to March 30, 2007, and in New England the first week of April 2007. Not long ago in the city of Rostock, Germany — population 200,000, about 15 miles east of G8 host town Heiligendamm — over 500 local people formed a “flash mob” and stormed the Rostock City Hall to protest city cuts in social services while the city and regional government were spending millions to pay for the locally controversial G8 Summit. In Bad Doberan — population 12,000, about 5 rural miles south of Heiligendamm — this past summer, activists moved beyond stereotypical activist communication methods and passed out 3,000 flyers and leaflets to locals in a mass door-knocking action that was hailed by locals as the most successful singular political action since the wall came down in 1989.

The anti-G8 activists also spoke to every business in the central district to explain their concerns, as well as to talk to locals about why there might be 100,000 protesters visiting their small town area in 2007 to protest the G8. In Kuehlungsborn, — population 4,800, about 4 miles west of Heiligendamm — the Dissent! Infotour has already made two presentations, including one at the 4-star Morada Resort, which will be host to 3,000-4,000 international journalists at the official 2007 G8 Press Center. Locals are not impressed by the fact that the G8 is coming to their region, and they are getting more and more pissed off that their regional government is spending 68 million euros of their tax money to support a closed meeting of the leaders of the eight richest countries at a time when 18% of locals are unemployed.

The largest European left radical mobilization in years is taking place in Germany right now. The German military has announced that they will cooperate on training manoeuvers with police and provide medical and communications infrastructure. The military will also take responsibility for air protection with AWACS and sea protection with warships. Special top G8 cop Knut Abramowski looked nervous when he told a crowd of local business people and politicians that he expects 100,000 activists to protest, and that he hopes disruptions will be kept to a minimum during the G8 summit June 6-8.

Why is Knut so nervous? The truth is that he, just like any of the many full time anti-G8 activists in Germany these days, have absolutely no idea what to expect from protests during the G8. He knows that the first mass protests will take place June 2, when there will be a mass liberal demonstration in Rostock (www.g8-germany.info), and radical antifascist activists will be on the streets to block a planned neo-nazi march. Both could get out of control, even though up to 40 water cannon trucks plan to be on call.

Things are actually more likely to move radically outside police management capabilities by the 5th of June, when Bush and friends arrive at the Laage airport on their way to the G8 summit, and the anti-G8 bike rides and anti-war campaigners will be en masse in the region. Actually, even though there are call-outs by over 100 German NGO’s and various groups to participate in protests in the region, many groups have already said they support decentralized actions and plan to organize major blockades and actions across Germany, from North to South, East to West.

So, has your appetite been whetted? It has not been since Seattle that large protests have shook the consciousness of the global north. However, anti-G8 organizers from Italy (G8 2001), France (G8 2003), and UK (G8 2005) all seem to be in agreement — the German mobilization for 2007 is much larger than anyone has ever seen against the G8. We hope to see you on tour, or even better, on the German barricades in June 2007!

For more info or to find or schedule tour dates near you, check