Assembly July 27th

We were 3 people: 2 men and 1 woman

Agenda:
1.Open round
2.Use of alcohol during the assemblies
3.Text to send to other groups
4.International group for October 15th
5.Publicity

1.Open round

Nobody had anything to say during the open round so we moved on to the next point.

2.Use of alcohol during the assemblies

This topic was discussed, because even though it doesn’t affect our decisions, sometimes at the end of the assembly people are too wasted and it gets more and more difficult to have a discussion or reach a consensus, often leading to the group having 2 or more small conversations at the same time. Maybe we could try to have a more productive and faster assemblies so afterwards we can continue discussing friendly and drinking alcohol. Also, it would be important to begin with the discussion on time. If we start 60 or 90 minutes later than planned, then we don’t have time for the “after discussion”. Maybe sometime come late because of work or other reasons, but everyone should know that the date and time for next assembly is always open for discussion. Until now every meeting was programmed at 19:00 hrs, but everyone is free to suggest another time (or date) in case they know beforehand they won’t be able to come on time. In order to have this “fast” assemblies, it would be important to stick to the points in the agenda, and this should be easier with the possibility of open discussion afterwards. Sometimes this discussion enriches us, but sometimes leads to nowhere because we always have to cut it at some point and the topic is never truly discussed. In order to prevent this change of topics during the assembly, we will use the “change” symbol (both hands rolling around each other), as it is less aggressive than with words, but can also be seen as feedback.

For all above mentioned we agreed on some kind of program, like from 7-8 to 10 having the assembly, where people should try not to drink much (just one or two beers) in order to keep their heads clear and the assembly to be productive. Afterwards, the assembly would be closed and we would just enjoy a friendly discussion while drinking something. This would apply from the point of view of self-control. Everyone is responsible for her/himself.

Afterwards, we discussed about the logistics of alcohol supply. Maybe organize a visit to a beer brewery and get in contact with them. Ask questions about the production (why they don’t manufacture biological beer, why not other sizes like 1 liter, etc.) and also buy beer directly there.

3.Text to send to other groups

During this point we read, discussed and modified some things from the text that can be found in we-rise-up. Here is the modified version of it:

Wir haben unterschiedliche Beweggründe aus denen wir uns treffen, jeder von uns ist ein individuum.
Die meisten von uns haben jedoch gemeinsam dass wir unzufrieden sind, unzufrieden aus den unterschiedlichsten gründen. Über einige Gründe sind wir uns einig, über andere nicht und über andere nur teilweise. Wir glauben aber, dass es vielen ähnlich geht wie uns. Eine diese Gründe wäre die ungerechtigkeit in unserer welt. Ungerechtigkeit begegnet uns ständig, sei es die ungerechte verteilung der güter in der gesamten welt, als auch bis hin zu den einzelnen schichten in unserem nahen umfeld, sei es ungerechtigkeit im umgang mit gesetzen , menschenrechten, soziale ungerechtigkeit, ungerechtigkeit bei gehältern…
Wir glauben dass es auch schon viele bewegungen und initiativen gibt, von dennen viele schon viel erreicht haben, aber wenn wir alle zusammen arbeiten, erreichen wir vielleicht wirklich einen umschwung.
Wir versuchen, unsere ziele und projekte möglichst offen zu halten.
Wir sind uns bewusst, dass wir nur ein paar der spitzen der eisberge sehen, aber je mehr augen zusammenarbeiten, umso eher können wir den kurs auf dem wir uns bewegen ändern – auch wenn die musiker bis zum schluss spielen :)
Wir glauben dass es wichtig ist zu erkennen – so verschieden (oder auch ähnlich) unsere beweggründe auch sein mögen – dass wir an einem strang ziehen müssen, um dieser Umschwung zu erreichen.
Wir arbeiten im konsensus – das mag länger dauern als im parlament eine 51:49 mehrheit abzustimmen, die entscheidungen haben aber eine wesentlich tiefere Wirkung auf die Gruppe (und vieles mehr :) )
Wir wissen, wir können die welt nicht an einem tag ändern aber auch Rom wurde nicht an einen Tag erichtet…
Je mehr menschen anfangen, ihre augen zu öffnen und wieder mehr nachzudenken – die dinge zu sehen wie sie sind – umso gerechter und lebenswerter wird unsere welt
Wir wollen uns selber und allen anderen zeigen, dass wir nicht alleine sind – dass unsere ziele und wünsche, unsere empörung und hilflosigkeit alle ein und denselben ursprungs sind: WIR WOLLEN EINE BESSERE WELT
Auch in weiterer folge den noch immer anhaltenden (friedlichen!) protesten in europa und der ganzen welt (die meistens von den medien ignoriert werden), wollen wir uns an der Organisation eines „Patchwork Event“ für den Weltweiten Aktionstag am 15. OKTOBER beteiligen.

DAS VOLK VEREINT IST STÄRKER ALS ES SCHEINT

We have different backgrounds and motivations for why we meet – each of us comes here as an individual. Most of us have in common to be unsatisfied though– unsatisfied for different reasons
some of the reasons are shared by most of us, some not at all some of them only partially. We think that many other people feel the same way. One of these shared motivations would be the injustice in the world. We face injustice daily, may it be the unfair distribution of the worlds goods, as well as in our close surroundings, may it be the injustice in executing laws, social injustice, injustice in salaries…
We think that many movements and initiatives have already achieved much, but altogether united we could really achieve a significant change.
We try to keep our goals and projects as open as possible so far.
We are aware that we may only see some of the spikes of the iceberg, but the more eyes work together, the faster we can change the course that we are heading to – even if the musicians keep on playing :)
We think it is important to recognize that – no matter how different our motivations may (or may not) be – we all pull on one single string in order to achieve this significant change.
We work in consensus – that may take more time than to vote a 51:49 majority decision as in the parliament – but these agreements have a deeper effect in the group (and a lot more advantages :)
We know, we cannot change the world in one day but then … Rome -Wasn’t Built in a Day…

The more people start to open their eyes and start to think more again – and see things as they are – the more livable and fair our world will be.
We want to show ourselves and the others, that we are not alone – that our destinies, wishes, outrage and helplessness, have all the same root: WE WANT A BETTER WORLD
Following the example of the still ongoing peaceful protests in Europe and the whole world (even though most of them are being ignored by the press) we will celebrate a “patchwork” event during the Global Day of Action on OCTOBER 15th.

THE PEOPLE UNTIED WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED

4.International group for October 15th

During this point we discussed about the facebook group where many international groups are in contact for the organization of October 15th (see protocol for July 06th, point 5). At the same time we are having the assembly, they are having one of their “mumble” assemblies. It would be interesting for us to participate on one of these discussions, but maybe not yet. We can check their information and maybe use their texts, posters or slogans, and once we have more information to share, participate on their meetings.
For the moment it looks like they don’t have a discussion platform (wiki, we-rise-up or whatever). One of our members will try to promote our Europact project within this group.

5.Publicity

For now, we have 2 documents for publicity (one flyer and one poster). There is another format for a flyer but it’s still not on we-rise-up.
Next Monday will be the meeting at GEWI where we could try to get a room for our meetings. To this assembly, we will try to bring as many printed information as possible (flyers, posters and brief summary of our assemblies) trying to get the attention of more people.
We will try to print and distribute as many flyers as possible (we will print them without the date for the next assembly, so we can always use them even after the next assembly) with our information on the internet. We also thought of using the same design for the flyers and the posters, just adding the text (we…are…) at the front. At the end of the poster, we would cut little pieces with our about-me address (like a telephone number) so the people can take it home and check our site later.

At this point, someone mentioned that our about me site is becoming a little crowded, making it more complicated for people interested in participating. We thought about using the 15o site, but someone mentioned this website doesn’t work anymore.

Then we discussed about a new website (not forum, blog or wiki), where we could put our texts for the people to read (little essays about our motivations, movement in Spain or Greece, or whatever).

Then we discussed about the need for everyone to be able to change information on our sites (like calender dates and things like that). If everyone of us can do it, then it will be easier to keep all these things updated.
At this point we decided to close the assembly.

Next meeting will be held on August 3rd (Wednesday) at 8 pm Altes AKH Hof 2 (WUK Beisl in case of bad weather or rain).