2014
Sheffield Anarchist Bookfair, Sat 12th July 2014, at Showroom Workstation
2014 Programme of Workshops
Room 1
Avoiding arrest
Getting arrested is no joke. If you think you might one day run the risk of being arrested, find out what to do in that situation. You can massively reduce the risk of prison, fines, community service etc. You owe it to yourself and your friends to wise up.
Capitalism and Distress: Causes, Consequences, Solutions?
Discussion of people’s experiences of distress and alienation as a result of living and working under Capitalism. People will have the opportunity to share experiences they feel comfortable with in small groups. Also looking at existing ways of helping, and for the future asking what services we want to assist those who experience distress.
England’s Forgotten Revolution
The events of the English Civil War were more than a struggle between King and Parliament. In reality it represented an uprising of the English people as riots in London and the rebellion of ordinary people inflicted the first defeats on the Royalists, leading to the rise of the Levellers, Diggers and Ranters.
IWW Organizer Strategy Taster Session
An exciting opportunity to learn about workplace tactics used by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), a revolutionary union which seeks to overthrow the employing class and abolish the wage system.
Receive a basic training session on how to apply techniques to your own workplace to start the fightback against the bosses, delivered by workplace organizers from IWW Sheffield Branch.
What would a popular Left be like?
What would it take to leave the margins and make Left ideas and action popular. And are there some forms of a popular Left that wouldn’t be desirable?
A talk and discussion led by Plan C.
WW1 – ‘The First World War’
It’s the 100th anniversary of the first great imperialist slaughter, 1914. The 1964 anniversary was greeted with anti-war sentiment but in 2014, militarism is rising, military charities mushroom, and the nature of war changes to remote assassination. Last year’s Olympics nationalistic orgy shows the ruling class want celebration, not reflection. Wouldn’t it make sense to revive the idea of “No war but the class war” amongst revolutionary groups of today?
Room 2
Online Security for Activists post Snowden
Sysadmins from Webarchitects Co-operative will present an overview of the threats facing progressive activists from criminal, corporate and state surveillance, followed by an open discussion of mitigation steps.
20 USB flash memory sticks with Tails software will be given out at the meeting.
Background reading:
Encryption Works: How to Protect Your Privacy in the Age of NSA Surveillance
The CryptoParty Handbook
Practical Security Handbook
Introduction to the IWW
This meeting will consist of an introductory presentation and discussion about the aims, principles and history of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), a revolutionary union which seeks to overthrow the employing class and abolish the wage system.
Housing the Radical Routes way
What it’s like to live in a Radical Routes housing co-op and intentional community. A talk, Q&A/discussion with a co-operator who’s lived in small co-ops in Leeds and Swansea. Radical Routes is a network of co-ops and individuals seeking to reject the forces of greed, capitalism and materialism by taking control over our housing, education and work.
Bakunin
19th century activist and writer Mikhail Bakunin, who argued for the replacement of the state by federations of self-governing workplaces and communes. He joined the socialist International Working Men’s Association, in which the anarcho-socialist trend rapidly grew, leading to a showdown with Karl Marx… A talk by Anarchist Federation.
Stop NATO
A talk on the anti-NATO mobilisation following with a discussion led by Stop NATO Cymru. The next summit of NATO is due to be held in September, at Newport, South Wales.
2014 Stalls
Dysophia (Dysophia WordPress site)
IWW (Industrial Workers of the World)
Northern Herald Books – Tel 01484 721845
2014 Films
Various open commons films were screened during the Bookfair, in the Film Room (on the ‘mezzanine level’ above the entrance area).
The films have Creative Commons licences, they are free to download and watch – click on the links below
Fralib occupied factory
The 2014 Workers’ Economy Conference was hosted in France by the workers of the Fralib factory. Closed by its capitalist owners, it was successfully re-opened by former employees, and this short film touches on some of the vital issues in worker-owned industry.
Future Suspended
This film traces the multiple transformations of crisis-ridden Athens. It explores the legacy of mass privatisation before the 2004 Olympics, the shrinking spaces of migrants, the devaluation of their lives and how this turns into a generalised condition; the rise of the authoritarian-financial complex, fueling social despair and anger.
Grasp The Nettle
Kew Bridge Eco-Village was a piece of land in London squatted by land rights activists. Despite promoting a radical alternative, it was inevitably linked to the wider city and the capitalist system. Disruptive characters – alcoholics, drug-addicts, homeless, victims of the system, themselves, or both – would enter and even settle. The little community dealt with the friction between idealism and reality; struggles with government, big business – and itself.
Introducing IWW Sheffield Branch
A short film in which members of the Industrial Workers of the World in Sheffield talk about why they’re in this particular union.
The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz
The life of writer, political organizer and internet activist Aaron Swartz. The film explores the questions of access to information and civil liberties that drove his work.
The Politics of Knives
The rise in funding, media coverage and membership of Greece’s neo-Νazi party Golden Dawn was largely unexplained. Its apparent success was mirrored in anti-immigration and anti-fascist moves by the government, and rising racist attacks. This film shows how, after a GD member stabbed to death anti-fascist rap musician Killah-P, the GD leader, MPs and members were arrested and deep connections to the Greek security forces and political establishment were exposed.
Vio.Me: Self-Organization in Greece
“Every extra profit we make will be given out to people who need it. Our plan is to offer help to unemployed people or others who are in great need.” The Vio.Me factory was occupied in a strike, and production was re-started under the control of workers seizing the means of production without bosses, producing only goods that are needed, and distributing them through solidarity networks.
We don’t like Samba
Many Brazilians no longer see a better future in their country’s credit-based boom. In the lead-up to the World Cup and three years before the Rio Olympics, mass movements erupted. Public transport price rises caused fury, young women mobilized against the Pope’s visit, people fight urbanization projects and favela residents resist militarization and forced displacement.