Counterforum full timetable-you can book your place in advance...

Discussions include: how mass protest can change the world; revolution and imperialism in the Middle East; tackling Islamophobia; The working class and the movement today; from economic crisis to slump

Event details

12 - 6pm

Upper Hall, ULU, Malet Street
London WC1 7HY
Map

Free entry, please register in advance

sam@counterfire.org

07872481769

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Timetable

Session 1) 12.00 - 1.15pm

The next steps: how protest can change the world

with:
Sanum Ghafoor, activist and maker of YouTube hit March 26th London: what really happened
Lindsey German, convenor of the Stop the War Coalition,(pc) socialist and author of several books including Material Girls:Women, Men and Work
Chris Bambery, socialist activist, author and National Secretary of Right to Work (pc)
Joe Glenton, ex-soldier who went to prison for refusing to return to Afghanistan

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Session 2) 1.30 - 2.45pm

From crisis to slump

with:
James Meadway, New Economics Foundation (pc), regular commentator on the economic crisis

Islamophobia: tackling the new racism

with:
Shamiul Joarder, Friends of al-Aqsa and the Enough Coalition against Islamophobia, and others

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Session 3) 3.15 - 4.30pm

Counterfire: What we do and why we do it

with:
Jo Gough, UNISON activist and member of Counterfire editorial board
Chris Nineham, vice-chair Stop the War Coalition (pc) and author of Capitalism and Class Consciousness: the ideas of Georg Lukacs

The working class and the movement today

with:
Neil Faulkner, writer, historian and officer of the Coalition of Resistance (pc)
Dot Gibson, pensioners leader and socialist activist

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Session 4) 4.45 - 6.00pm

Revolution and imperialism in the Middle East

with:
Egyptian activists from Cairo
Joseph Daher, Middle East commentator and student activist
Lowkey, rapper, activist and member of the Equalities Movement
John Rees, eyewitness from Egypt and Tunisia and author of Imperialism and Resistance

Book launch & party for Springtime: The New Student Rebellions

The New Student Rebellions

Edited by Clare Solomon and Tania Palmieri

OUT NOW in the UK; Published September 2011, USA

Book launch and party on:

Thursday 7 April, 2011, 6.30pm – 11pm

At The Venue & Gallery bar @ ULU, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HY

Free entry / All ages / All proceeds to PalestineConnecthttp://www.palestineconnect.org

Come early for drinks reception

Books available for purchase at discounted price of £7

With talks and readings from:

Clare Solomon, (President of ULU)

Jody McIntyre , (Equality Movement)

Dr Nina Power, (Roehampton)

Jo Casserly, (UCL)

Ashok Kumar, (LSE SU)

Kanja Sesay, (NUS Black Students Officer)

James Meadway, (SOAS)

& more tbc

And open mic, poetry, live graffiti wall, music and projections by:

Noel Douglas, (Globalise Resistance), Tyler Perkin, (Havering Sixth Form College), DJ Steaz , Logic MC, (The Peoples Army & We are Dubist), Zain (Words Apart poetry group)

The autumn and winter of 2010 saw an unprecedented wave of student protests across the UK in response to the coalition government's savage cuts in state funding for higher education, cuts which formed the basis for an ideological attack on the nature of education itself. Middle-class students, teenagers from diverse backgrounds and older activists took part in marches, teach-ins and occupations, and also creative new forms: flashmobs, YouTube dance-offs, and the literal literary resistance of colourful book blocs.

The protests spread with wildfire speed, mainly organised through the unprecedented use of social media such as facebook and twitter. Web-savvy, media-literate students developed Sukey, the anti-kettling phone app, publicise their demands through online and traditional media outlets and continue to build ever-denser international networks of solidarity.

The winter of discontent now gives rise to the new spirit of rebellion this spring with a broader, stronger resistance to austerity measures. We have already seen the astonishing events in the Arab world, trade union rallies in Wisconsin on a scale not seen in America since Vietnam protests, direct-action by tax-justice campaigners UK Uncut – and 26 March will see 'March for the Alternative' the largest national anti-cuts demonstration yet. SPRINGTIME is both an inspiring chronicle of and companion to this movement: "the formulation of an experience" of a generation.

Rather than considering them a series of isolated incidents, this new book locates the student protests in the movement spreading across the entire western world: ever since the financial crash of 2008 there has been growing social and political turbulence in the heartlands of capital and beyond. From Athens to Rome, San Francisco to London – and the stunning events in Tunisia and Egypt that captured the world's imagination – students are playing a key role in developing a strong, coherent social and political movement.

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CLARE SOLOMON is President of the University of London Union and has been centrally involved in the student protests.

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ISBN: 978 1 84467 740 5/ $14.95 / £9.99 / Paperback / 296 pages

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For more information or to buy the book visit:

http://www.versobooks.com/books/799-springtime

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Become a fan of Verso on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Verso-Books-UK/122064538789

And get updates on Twitter too!

http://twitter.com/VersoBooksUK

Brilliant video of the WHOLE March 26 march

What an absolutely brilliant video. Paul gets the whole thing including speeches, music and even him chatting away or trying to avoid being removed! Flick through to see all the different banners, colours, actions and so on. Well done Fourmanfilms.

Re-elect Clare Solomon #1 ULU President. ALL* University of London students can vote, ie, you do NOT need a ULU card.

Well, the elections have started with a bang. At 11am Friday morning (so 47 hours after voting opened) over 1,200 votes had been cast. For the whole week last year, there were around 2,000. I feel confident that my manifesto pledge of last year to increase turnout to elections will be not broken.

Clare and Tariq drink radical beer! Thanks to the students of Courtauld Institute for this lovely publicity-it certainly lubricated the campaign trail

We’ve had loads of lovely endorsements so far and people from many different groups are helping out, from FOSIS to the African – Caribbean Societies, from Women’s to Football teams.

I have support from lots of ULU colleges:. Here’s a selection of some of them:

Daisy Jones, President of the Courtauld Institute and the crew there made these fantastic beers –>

Daniel Lemberger Cooper Royal Holloway President-elect and ULU Senator

Active, campaigning and creative unions of the kind that Clare has developed over her short time at ULU are going to be key in fighting against the government’s public spending cuts and their devaluing of education. She has been central to the movement’s upsurge, a committed organiser who has made the University of London Union relevant again! Vote Re-elect Clare Solomon #1 ULU President

Tahmeena Bax Queen Mary

Vote to Re-elect Clare Solomon #1 ULU President for a President that will fight against racism and not stand by as students are intimidated, kettled, beaten by police and liberation campaigns smashed and silenced!

Wanda Canton Queen Mary Women’s Officer.

Clare Solomon has genuinely worked hard to resist the appalling and discriminatory cuts of the coalition. Considering the heightened controversy of the student movement this year, she has stood by us and led a ULU union with integrity and honesty. If don’t want to stand by whilst fees hike, public services are obliterated, and the poorest, least represented communities are isolated further and blocked from education and welfare; VOTE CLARE #1 brap brap!

James Haywood Goldsmiths President-elect and ULU Senator

Go Clare! 100% support! Been absolutely amazing for ULU to have Clare as President, we need another year of it!…For a University of London Union that will campaign like it used to against Apartheid in the 1980s!

ULU Tango Society: Tangology Org

Claire offered ULU students the “gift of tango”, a life changing hobby. We hope to be able to resume activities soon. Thank you Claire!

Mark Bergfeld

Clare is at the heart of the struggle. She has made ULU the hub of the students’ movement and will continue to make it the centre of the movement. I wish Clare all the best in her campaign!!!

Sky Yarlett

Clare has been at the front-line of the student movement, representing thousands of students voices, showing the government that students will not back down and take £9k fees!

I personally and professionally know Clare is one of the hardest working women out there! She doesn’t understand the idea of office hours and can be found working at all hours!

Re-elect Clare Solomon for ULU President!

Sky Yarlett

NUS LGBT Committee (Open Place) p.c.

Aaron Kiely

Go Clare! Stunning in her defence of students and her attack on the Tory-led government’s destructive policies. There is only one choice and that’s for Clare Solomon!

Bryan Simpson

Clare is simply one of the most charismatic and inspirational student leaders in Britain at the moment. She has the fire and commitment to further solidify ULU’s reputation as the centre of the anti-cuts movement. Vote Solomon #1 for ULU President.

Here’s my hustings at 4min 26 secs. Then Q & A’s. Hear all the hustings for all the positions, from those that came, in this lengthy video courtesy of the fantastic QMTV. Loved the question ‘What is Liberation and how would you campaign for this?’ at the end of the video…

Thanks for all the support-let’s make this turnout a record year to match the increase in turnover and footfall!

HOW TO VOTE

ALL University of London students can vote (you don’t need a ULU card)- and here’s how:

1- Check your uni/college email. You should have been sent a Username and Password from ULU*. The subject of the email is ‘2011 ULU Elections Password’.

2- Log on at www.ulu.co.uk/elections/election and cast your vote.

3- Share with all your friends!

ULU President. *ALL* University of London students can vote, ie, you do NOT need a ULU card.

Click to enlarge and/or print off for your campus. And you could upload or 'Share' on facebook. *ALL* University of London students can vote, ie, you do NOT need a ULU card. Even students overseas on year abroad

*ALL* University of London students can vote, ie, you do NOT need a ULU card.

The University of London Union needs a President who sticks to their manifesto pledges and defends education for all, unlike the Cleggs and Camerons of this world. I promised a campaigning ULU: you got it, with ULU at the heart of the student protests over cuts and fees.

Voting details: ONLINE ONLY 9-16th March. Check your college inbox (and check spam) for your username and password. If you can’t find it email elect2011@ulu.lon.ac.uk.

See all the manifestos at http://www.ulu.co.uk/elections/content/index.php?page=98225

Join the Facebook group HERE

I’m proud of the role ULU played in helping pull together the biggest student movement for a generation. ULU helped support occupations and demonstrations across the city, becoming a powerful voice for students in London and beyond. That’s a voice we will need over the coming year as education faces exceptionally tough times.

A more relevant, visible ULU means greater student engagement. ULU’s turnover is up, with 11,000 more people through our doors than last year. I’ve organized events and conferences on everything from education to immigration, and widened ULU’s range of cultural activities, along with the NUS Black Students conference.

As promised, I’ve taken steps to improve ULU democracy, establishing the regular London Student Assemblies and ensuring Senate meetings are open to all.

I want to build on this record by pushing ULU harder, improving our services and policies, and ensuring the London Living Wage is implemented here and across university institutions. I will continue to work with and apply pressure on the NUS, working with them where possible and taking a lead where they fail us.

I’m asking for your vote to ensure London students keep their union campaigning.

See my manifesto at ulucampaigner.wordpress.com and join in the campaigns

Get your Tunisia solidarity Tshirt

Philosophy Football have produced this excellent T shirt in support of the Tunisian revolution. You can get yours here.

" If, one day, a people desires to live, then fate will answer their call." Abul-Qasim Al-Shabi
Tunisia 2011, the people with popular protest and civil disobedience have overthrown a ruthless despot. Chanting in the streets the words of the great Tunisian poet of the early twentieth century, Abul Qasim Al-Shabi. Philosophy Football have produced this T-shirt to help promote solidarity, featuring the poetry in the original Arabic. With a shattered Tunisian flag, representing the structures of totalitarianism which divided their country for generations that the the politics of partnership Tunisians are themselves are now constructing to dismantle.  At a special low campaign price of just £16.99

Latest on the near on revolution in Tunisia

I've copylefted this from Luna17 because it is excellent! Thanks luna

Join the Support Tunisia facebook page for very regular updates

Latest at 18.00 (reverse order): 

SOURCES SAY BEN ALI HAS FLED TO MALTA. OTHERS SAY TO FRANCE. STILL TO BE VERIFIED. SOME REPORTS ALSO SAY SOME OF HIS CORRUPT RELATIVES HAVE BEEN ARRESTED. STILL TO BE VERIFIED

THE TYRANT BEN ALI HAS FLED THE COUNTRY. LEADER OF PARLIAMENT TEMPORARILY IN CHARGE. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL TUNISIANS

Army surrounds Carthage presidential palace, and the airport with tanks. Rumours that army taking over, and that soldiers have arrested some of the President's in-laws, the Trabelssi family at the airport as they try to flee the country! (to be verified)

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Channel 4 News is currently liveblogging events in Tunisia, where the popular revolt appears to be growing and threatening key sites of power like state television. The government and parliament have both been disbanded.

For understanding the dramatic events in Tunisia I highly recommend two articles by SOAS student activist Joseph Daher, both published at Counterfire in the last few days:
Tunisia and Algeria: the wind of anger rises
Gunfire in Tunis: Protests and repression continue

There will be a solidarity protest in London on Monday, followed by a public meeting (at University of London Union) on Thursday.

Protest at Tunisian Embassy in London - Monday 17 January, 2.30pm - see HERE

Public meeting in solidarity with Tunisia uprising - Thursday 20 January, 7.30pm - see HERE

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