At the start of September, 400 European activists - from Ireland to Israel and Moscow to Milan -gathered in the historic city of Leiden, Holland for the second European conference of the network known as "Peoples' Global Action" (PGA). A run-down of the participants shows the diversity and breadth of activities. This is what PGA is all about - not an organisation that tries to build itself up, but rather a common space for people who are taking action to talk, share info and co-ordinate their struggles.
The PGA was born in 1998 when grassroots movements of all continents met in Geneva to launch a worldwide coordination network of resistance to the global market, a new alliance of struggle and solidarity. The PGA have hallmarks to guide what activities fall inside PGA. The hallmarks include a rejection of capitalism, imperialism and feudalism; the rejection of all forms and systems of domination and discrimination; taking on a confrontational attitude, since they do not think lobbying can have any major impact; a call to direct action and civil disobedience, support for social movements' struggles, advocating forms of resistance which maximize respect for life and oppressed peoples' rights, as well as the construction of local alternatives to global capitalism; and an organisational philosophy based on decentralisation and autonomy.
Workshops at the recent conference covered areas such as actions (anti-NATO actions in Prague, anti-WEF actions in Salzburg & anti-DSEi in London), alternatives (Radical Routes co-ops in the UK, Recycled Estate a land co-op in Croatia & Free Zones Europe-wide) and awareness raising (talks on "Repression in the EU" against activists and refugees, "Support for undocumented women", "Sustainability and the disappearing computer" and "A radical history of food").
PGA is an important network, globally, but also at a regional level. Through going to Leiden I met people from the UK and Ireland and heard about communities and struggles that I had never known existed. There may be a PGA gathering for the UK happening near the start of next year - email me if you want to be put on the email list.
Loukas ([email protected])
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