Beyond ESF

from email, 5 January 2009: "No one likes to hang out at offices after the working day is done, but when we found ourselves squatting the lobby of the biggest commuting contractor in Stockholm we felt that staying late hours at the office need not be so bad after all. This was during a conflict over union representation that started in the subway but after taking it to the streets we went one step further and took it to the contractors' headquarters..." more

from email, 14 October 2008: Download a tabloid paper handed out for free during the European Social Forum in Malmö 2008. The paper was put together by different autonomous media collectives, all part of the ESF Action Network. more

from email, 24 September 2008: A review of the recent European Social Forum, held in Malmo, Sweden in September 2008; OK, its from revo, but it sort of sums up what happened ++++ Last Sunday, the European Social Forum (ESF) came to a close in the city of Malmö in southern Sweden. Nearly 10,000 people from across Europe took part in hundreds of political and cultural events over four days. The highlight was a demonstration on Saturday with 15,000 participants where trade unions, environmental groups, autonomists, left parties and socialist youth organizations together called for "Power to the People!"... more

from imc-uk, 21 September 2008: As the full European Social Forum got underway for proper, Swedish police, backed by foriegn police made 16 pre-emptive arrests at Malmo central train station in the mid-afternoon. A policewoman said that the protesters were mistaken for being Antifa members... more

from email, 17 September 2008: European Social Forum is coming to Malmö and Asylgruppen (”the asylum group”) would like to take this opportunity to invite groups and people who happen to be in town anyway to a big open meeting about borders, Schengen and anything else that makes us angry. The plan is to meet, put faces to names of people working with similar issues in other countries, establish contacts, and be inspired by one another. The meeting will take place on Thursday 18:00-20:00 at St Gertrudsgatan 4: more

from email, 16 September 2008: Fort Europe looms over us. From fences with armed guards to the moat that is the Mediterranean. From an Italy where attempts are made to impose race laws against the romani, to a Sweden where deportations are celebrated with champagne and cake at the Migration Office. For these reasons and many more an action group from the European Social Forum Action Network intact a day without deportations during the European Social Forum, ESF. Thursday on the 18th will be decentralised actions as well as a larger demonstration. more

from email, 16 September 2008: It happened in the most unlikely country at a most unlikely place. The great international step forward in the repression against the global justice movement summit protests begun right in the middle of the cradle of the Swedish workers movement in Malmö. Some weeks later police were for the first time shooting at protesters in Gothenburg at an EU Summit and built a wall of containers around a counter summit, convergence center and school complex used for accomodation to end up violently storming the protest gathering arresting 456 people. more

from email, 15 September 2008: Radical Assemblies are open meetings on the activist center Utkanten. The assemblies are open discussions and participatory workshops on different topics with the purpose to exchange experiences and share information between different european activist networks. The Radical Assemblies and Utkanten is autonomous from ESF, so you dont need to pay participatory fee to ESF to take part. more

from email, 8 September 2008: During 17th - 21st September 2008 the European Social Forum will be hosted by Malmo, an event planned to give social movements and radical organizations all over Europe the opportunity to enter into dialogue with each other. More than 20,000 people are expected to attend this five-day Forum which will offer seminars, workshops, and art events, including music, all with the slogan 'Another Europe is Possible.' Simultaneously, various kinds of demonstrations, mass activities and street events will take place, some as part of the official ESF, but others outside and independent of this. The ESF 2008 Action Network is intended to co-ordinate these organizations – from other parts of Sweden and Europe – that wish to work independently and get involved in mass activities and other events in Malmo during the ESF period.  more

from email, 12 August 2008: There will be a "convergence center" in the activistcenter Utkanten, with space for assemblies, workshops and an action space. People who participate dont need to pay fee or participate in the official ESF (if they dont want to). Close to the official ESF-area there will be an open infopoint at the cafe Glassfabriken. more

from email, 12 August 2008: During 17th -21st the European Social Forum will be hosted by Malmo, an event planned to give social movements and radical organizations all over Europe the opportunity to enter into dialogue with each other. More than 20,000 people are expected to attend this five-day Forum which will offer seminars, workshops, and art events, including music, all with the slogan ‘Another Europe is Possible.’ Simultaneously, various kinds of demonstrations, mass activities and street events will take place, some as part of the official ESF, but others outside and independent of this. The ESF 2008 Action Network is intended to co-ordinate these organizations – from other parts of Sweden and Europe – that wish to work independently and get involved in mass activities and other events in Malmo during the ESF period.  more

Today, January 13 2007, police attacked the anarchist and anti-authoritarian motorbike demo in solidarity to the three comrades arrested at the social forum on May 6 2006 in Athens.

The demo was attacked by special motorbike forces (Z team) on the way back from Nikea hospital where there had been a solidarity gathering for two of the imprisoned comrades Tarasio Zadorozni and Gerasimos Kiriakopulos who are on hungerstrike.

The anti riot police squads (MAT) then stormed the comrades on the ground, 42 were taken into custody at the national security police headquarters in Athens, many of them injured, and 4 of them are still being held 9 hours later. more

Here's a communique of an anarchist collective in Athens about the role of the ESF, the Libertarian Anti-authoritarian Anarchist Forum and the anarchist demo in the morning of 6 May, the riots during the anti-war march the same afternoon, and the political consent of the ESF to state repression. Out of the 17 people arrested, 8 are facing felony charges and 4 are now imprisoned. more

People participating in the UK Local Social Forum Network met in Sheffield on the 4/5th December and found consensus on this document to be brought to the Assembly which is going to be held in Paris the 18/19 Dec 2004. more

The closing rally for the European Social Forum in London has been deeply marred by the intolerable behaviour of the British Organising Committee, and in particular by the forces that dominate it: the Socialist Workers Party, Socialist Action (the group behind London’s Mayor Ken Livingstone), and some trade unions.

Several hundred young people coming from the "autonomous spaces" (included in the programme of the Forum and who the day before had fiercely criticised, although without violence, the management of the Forum) were coming to the demonstration when the Police attacked them making four arrests (two Italians and two Greeks).  more