Community Organising: How Can We Build Class Power?
Thu 25 May 2023 at 18:30 | Eventbrite
We are at a time of multiple global systemic crises: housing, cost of living, climate, information, mental health, racial justice and more. Crises that those in positions of power seem to be ignoring or addressing in completely self-interested or shortsighted ways. And yet many of us feel powerless to make change in our very own communities let alone our countries, or the world at large. How do we return power to the working classes? And how do we cultivate cooperation and collaboration?
In this event we bring together researchers and community organisers to speak about community resilience and class power today.
This is a SPACE4 discussion event where we invite speakers to discuss and debate topics around tech for good, progressive economics, and left-leaning politics.
Drinks and refreshments provided. We are grateful to be funded by the Disrupt Foundation.
Speaker Bios
Aidan Harper is an activist with Unite for a Workers’ Economy and a trade union organiser. He has experience organising and winning with foster care workers, charity workers, cleaners, private hire drivers and gameworkers at the IWGB trade union. Aidan will talk about how Unite the Union is investing in communities around the country that feel alienated by politics and are being left behind by the broken economy and cost of living crisis. Unite are taking direct action rather than waiting for politicians to save us.
Twitter: @Aidan_Harper_
Joseph Kiggins works at ACORN, a mass membership organisation and network of low-income people organising for a fairer deal for our communities left behind by companies, councils, and parliament. What began with a few local residents trying to tackle slum housing in their neighbourhood has quickly developed into a national organisation with thousands of members and branches across the country. ACORN will speak about what they do, how they do it, and why their structure is set up for sustainability and building long-term power in communities.
Twitter: @ACORNunion
Anaïs Carlton-Parada is a researcher at Loughborough University London. Her research is focused on organisations and communities who employ commons and commoning practices, with a goal of working toward community sustainability and resilience. Her experience lies at the intersection of design and anthropology, particularly from a feminist framework. She will speak about the Uncommon Knowledge: Education for Local Democracy project which aims to co-design open-access educational resources for democratic decision making, care, governance, and other transformative daily practices.