Prefigurative Politics Event

This isn’t related to FOR per se, but it’s an interesting event that people should check out:

THE PREFIGURATIVE ORGANIZATION
A Presentation by Norwegian Anarchist Kim Keyser

WHEN: Saturday, July 26th at 8:00PM

WHERE: UE & IWW Union Hall
37 S. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60607

Kim Keyser is an activist from the emerging anarchist movement
in Norway, the so-called “social democratic paradise.” He will address
the question “How can we reflect the future we want in our present work?”
The presentation will touch upon subjects such as direct democracy,
direct action, workers councils, anarchist organizing, and involvement
in social movements.

For more information, please contact: chicago-ac@riseup.net

This event is co-sponsored by the Four Star Anarchist Organization and Chicago IWW.

PDF Flyer

Wrap Up

The 2008 FOR conference was a success! We had a god turnout, some good discussions, and hopefully there will be some new organizing projects growing out from these efforts.

This was the 2nd of 3 FOR conferences we’ve been planning, so mark up your calendar for the third one next year. Also, we’re looking for feedback on how this year’s conference went, so if you attended, please drop us a quick note on what rocked and what didn’t on the Feedback page.

Volunteer Reminder

Just a quick note that we can still use volunteers to help out with various tasks during he conference. Check out our call for volunteers and sign up when you register for the conference!

Open Mic at BFBT

There are still open performance slots for the Black Flag Black Tie event this Saturday. Anarchists with talent to share can sign up at the CAFF table during Finding Our Roots or at the door at BFBT. First come first serve…

Conference Location

If you need directions to the conference site — Roosevelt University at 430 S. Michigan — you can find them here.

Updated Workshops

We had some last-minute schedule switching, but the workshop schedule we now have is more-or-less final, barring any unforeseen circumstances. We also added a missing workshop description and took out the Ruckus Society workshops, as they weren’t able to make it. You’ll find it all over on the Workshops page.

Workshops, workshops, workshops

The Workshops page has been updated with a near-complete set of workshop descriptions. You’ll find the schedule there too. We’ll have the few missing descriptions plugged in soon.

Call for Volunteers

We are less than 2 weeks away from the 2nd Annual Finding Our Roots conference, and at this time we’d like to make a brief appeal for volunteers. Even if you have not been active in organizing the conference and are not giving a talk, you can help by agreeing to take on a 2 hour volunteer shift to help make the conference a success.

A pretty small group of people (of which I am only peripherally a part) has been involved in organizing it, and there’s a lot of little jobs to be done on the days of the conference and we’re looking for people to help out so the organizers can actually attend some of the workshops. We’re asking people to sign up to provide childcare, work the registration table, and set up food. If you’re planning on attending the conference, please consider helping out for one or two time slots, as you’ll be benefiting from the hard work of the organizing committee.

We need help with the following:

setup
cleanup
registration table
childcare
videography
veg/vegan friendly breakfast & coffee (sat & sun)
snacks

Please let me know if you can pitch in, in what capacity, and what day and time. Contact us here.

We also would encourage folks to promote the conference to friends, comrades, the anarchocurious, etc.

Updated Conference Flyers

Here are updated versions of the FOR conference flyers, now with actual times and locations.

Flyer One Flyer Two

Precarity Discussion

Precarity: Chicago presents

Centering the Margin: Chicago Theory and Practice in Action
Topic: What is precarity? Can Chicago activism benefit from it?

Centering the Margin is a new and irregularly held series that will explore and crystallize the Chicago progressive/radical community’s formulation of theory, strategy, and application. A central theoretical idea or topic will guide the discussion, with the intent of exploring what that idea/topic means to Chicago activism and whether there is a strategic usefulness to it. A social and friendly atmosphere will be stressed, where the intent is to foster non-hierarchical forms of debate and organization.

Thursday May 1, 2008 - 7:00PM
@ Quenchers Saloon
2401 N Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60647

Precarity : Chicago Debut Celebration

Help celebrate the founding of Precarity : Chicago, a militant research collective organized around analyzing society and culture from the framework of precarity. The idea of precarity centers upon the belief that once welfare and industrial economies shifted toward neo-liberal capitalism, life has become more unpredictable, more intensified, and more oppressive globally. Precarity : Chicago will attempt to link this idea to Chicago activism through discussion, research and publication, social events, community organizing, and artistic expression.

So come out and help us start off right! Come for a fun night, come to get more information, come to see what this is all about, but just come! There will be a safe and fun atmosphere, entertainment, prizes, and other great stuff! A $5-$10 suggested donation is asked. For more information on Precarity : Chicago or any of our events contact us!

This event is co-sponsored by Finding Our Roots.