common place philosophy¶
(from: www.thecommonplace.org.uk/about-the-com...
Our aim is to create a place in the city centre in which together people can enjoy a sense of community, affordable entertainment and food; a non-commercial place to relax, talk, be creative, meet people and find information on political campaigns, issues and actions.
The Common Place is run horizontally and voluntarily. By this we mean without leaders and hierarchies and by everyone for everyone. Acting and thinking in a non-authoritarian and non-discriminatory way does not necessarily come naturally, and since we are educated to blindly follow rules and leaders, we believe it important to develop the principles and skills needed for non-authoritarian working practices and relationships. The Common Place is committed to radical social change and equality.
Nobody gets paid, and nobody is making any profit. There is no ‘executive’: the fortnightly members’ meetings on Thursdays are the main decision making body. This reflects the kind of society we want to live in – it’s all about self-organisation and mutual aid.
The Common Place attempts to be flexible, pragmatic, open to creativity, experimentation and new/different ideas; people are involved for different reasons with different expectations and so it’s constantly changing and evolving.
An atmosphere of tolerance and respect is of the utmost importance here. Any kind of discriminatory, aggressive or violent behaviour is not welcome. The Common Place is open to all individuals to use, but representational political parties, profit-focused or repressive organisations may not use the space.
This is an inclusive place where we ask members and guests to respect diversity. We want everyone to feel comfortable here.
Anyone who likes the above can apply to become a member – it costs just £2 a year. If you want to get involved in helping run the centre, come along to the organising meetings on the first and third Thursday of each month at 8pm.
constitution¶
from: www.thecommonplace.org.uk/images/cp_clu...
About the common place¶
(from: www.thecommonplace.org.uk/about-the-com...
The Common Place Collective
The day to day running of the Common Place is carried out voluntarily by a non-hierarchical collective – no bosses!
Membership of the collective is based on equal participation and responsibility and there’s no joining procedure other than nominating yourself as a member and making a commitment to attend meetings and put in a fair share of the work. The Collective is open to any member of the Common Place to join.
Come to a meeting and join the collective – Meetings are every first and third Thursday of each month at 8pm.
The Common Place – Physical Attributes
The Common Place is a venue, cafe and meeting space housed in a former warehouse. We only have use of the ground floor which is split into two large rooms, one with a bar and PA system and the other houses a cafe area.
Access
The venue is accessible to wheelchair users or those with specific access requirements through the back door. There is parking space at the back aswell. There is also a ramp that can be put down from the bar area to the dancefloor (it is stored against the wall, opposite the bar, on your right as you walk into the gig room). The toilet facilities are designed for wheelchair use.
If you have any difficulties re access, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
common place physical attributes¶
The Common Place – Physical Attributes
The Common Place is a venue, cafe and meeting space housed in a former warehouse. We only have use of the ground floor which is split into two large rooms, one with a bar and PA system and the other houses a cafe area.
Access
The venue is accessible to wheelchair users or those with specific access requirements through the back door. There is parking space at the back aswell. There is also a ramp that can be put down from the bar area to the dancefloor (it is stored against the wall, opposite the bar, on your right as you walk into the gig room). The toilet facilities are designed for wheelchair use.
If you have any difficulties re access, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
Each room is approximately 3/4 of a tennis court in size and there’s seating and tables for about 80 people
Volunteer at the common place¶
(from: www.thecommonplace.org.uk/volunteer.html)
Please email info@thecommonplace.org.ukThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for help in finding out how to get involved.
There is also an email list that we send out volunteer requests to. Go here to check it out:
lists.riseup.net/www/info/commonplacevo...
Help out at an event: Jobs include serving on the bar, helping out on the door, sound engineering, setting up lighting – loads of fantastic events happen here (subject to our licensing)! You’ll be given any training you might need.
Join a usergroup: All kinds of groups use The Common Place for meetings, socials, advice drop-ins, English classes, film showings, licensed events (gigs and that), talks and discussions and much more. They are all completely open to new members. Have a look in the usergroups section for details, get in touch, and see what help they might need.
Join a working group: Want to help one part of The Common Place keep running and be brilliant?
Working groups and collectives sort out the everyday running of The Common Place and are all totally open to new members. They are Bookings, Finance, Membership and Bar. Some involve more work than others and they involve different skills such as maintaining the PA or inducting people in how to run licensed events. Have a read and get in touch with the contact person for the group/s you are interested in and they will be able to tell you more.
Come to General Meetings: One of the main goals of these is to try to get new people involved in as much responsibility and decision making as they want. These meetings are open to anyone to come along to. Meetings are every first and third Thursday of each month at 8pm.
CommonPlace Membership¶
(from: www.thecommonplace.org.uk/membership.html)
The Common place is a Private members club. This means that to attend a licenced event at the common place you have to either be a member or the guest of a member. We would like to ask you to join the common place as membership subscriptions do contribute to much needed funds.
If you’re looking to come to one of our clubnights, gigs or film screenings, you need to join at least a few days before you come along, else you’ll need to be introduced by a member.
Membership only costs £2 per year (though don’t let us stop you paying more). You can download this form and take it to The CommonPlace with your two quid or post it with a cheque made out to Leeds Social Centre to the address at the top of this page (please mark the envelope ‘membership’ so it gets put in the box).
You can also join via PayPal. The following links will allow you to pay by card or log into your PayPal account.
Click here to pay exactly two pounds.
Click here to specify your own amount, at least 2 pounds, please.
If you would like to make small monthly donations to assist in the running of The Common Place you can download a standing order form. All donations are very gratefully received and will go to helping us keep the centre open and making improvements.
According to our rules, membership lasts from January to January. However, because we got the license back with only a few months of 2009 left, 2009 memberships will remain valid until 1st January 2011.
The people who deal with membership issues can be contacted cpmembership@thecommonplace.org.ukThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
What now?
We won’t send your card out to you (unless you really need us to), but your name will be on a membership list in not sooner than two days. We’ll try our best to have an up-to-date membership list for each licensed event. To get into an event, tell us who you are at the door, or show us some other ID, and we can check your name against the list.
We don’t print membership cards until we’ve got a reasonably large batch, so your membership might well be active before you receive your card.
If you arrive at an event, and you’re not on the list as a member, and you’re sure you sent your application in, we apologise, but you will need to be introduced as a guest.
When you get a chance, send an email to cpmembership@thecommonplace.org.ukThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it explaining how you joined and when, and we should be able to sort it out.
