Carambolage Callout for Global Office, PGA-inspired infopoint

from email, 27 February 2008:

Recognizing the need for an international space for activists in Berlin, the Carambolage Collective is issuing a callout for people to join our efforts in creating a dynamic meeting space and a People's Global Action (PGA) Infopoint. We invite anyone who is interested in helping to realize this vision, on a conceptual as well as a task-oriented level. We hope that activists will find out about what is going on and make connections here, talk to each other and give feedback.

We are an informal group which also loosely bases its ideas on the PGA Hallmarks:

• A very clear rejection of capitalism, imperialism and feudalism; all trade agreements, institutions and governments that promote destructive globalization;

• We reject all forms and systems of domination and discrimination including, but not limited to, patriarchy, racism and religious fundamentalism of all creeds. We embrace the full dignity of all human beings.

• A confrontational attitude, since we do not think that lobbying can have a major impact in such biased and undemocratic organizations, in which transnational capital is the only real policy-maker;

• 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;

• An organizational philosophy based on decentralisation and autonomy.

These were also the cornerstones of the Dissent! International Network mobilizations against the G8 in past years.

We intend our infopoint to function as a community space, where we can make the decentralized PGA network more visible and maintain an open forum for the involvement of independent groups. PGA has no members, all collectives and individuals involved are autonomous. This creates a good infrastructure for mutually supporting a variety of projects and initiatives.

The Carambolage Collective started April 2007 with the creation of the anti-G8 infopoint. We are seeking more activists to expand the international support network to revive the anti-WEF movement as well. We also need more help to organize informational events and to kick off topic-related campaigns.

Some of our shorter term goals are to mobilize for anti-nuclear campaigns, anti-G8 and anti-NATO actions in Romania 2-4 April 2008.

Furthermore, we plan to develop the Carambolage web site (http://www.carambolage.cc) which provides information on where to obtain legal advice for activists experiencing state repression. We also plan to assist in mobilizing efforts against the next WEF in Switzerland, support and endorse international protests and anti-capitalist campaigns, and finally, to campaign for the right of assembly at demonstrations in Germany. Additional ideas are to work on campaigns around current topics and to set up an archive of international activist materials in our office, available in different languages.

As already mentioned above, newcomers to the Carambolage collective would have plenty of struggles to plug into. 11-12 April 2008 are the decentralized Days of Action for Squats and Autonomous Spaces. This year, there will also be climate and anti-racist camps to get involved with. The next PGA conference is scheduled at the end of August in Greece, as well as campaigns against the US military bases in the Czech Republic and Poland.

We plan to have plenary meetings once a month so that everyone involved or who wants to get involved can come and exchange ideas. We would like to maintain not just an office, but create a clearing house of activist information. We see the global office providing materials, launching international solidarity campaigns with other anti-capitalist struggles outside of Germany and Europe, as well as network locally in Berlin. At times when global actions are scheduled to take place in Berlin, we want to provide a local infrastructure for visiting activists. We would like to provide a networking space for independent media activists, squatters, radical workplace activists, and more.

If interested in becoming involved, please contact the Carambolage collective at: carambolage@riseup.net

Glocal Office, New Yorck 59 / Bethanien
Plenum: am ersten Dienstag des Monats, 19:00 Uhr
Unsere Öffnungszeiten: Dienstags 19:00-21:00 Uhr

See http://www.carambolage.cc

GLOBALIZE RESISTANCE: SI NOS TOCAN A UN@ NOS TOCAN TOD@S!!
FIGHT CAPITAL & ITS REACTION... FREE THE COMMONS

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