[Membership] Re: progress report on convention workshops

[Mike Heichman]

Mike Heichman wrote:

> August 16, 2007
>
> Dear GRP Members and Friends:
>
> At our August 25 convention, we will be having 90” workshops (11 
> AM-12:45). Thanks to everyone who has participated in creating some 
> very interesting choices.
>
> This is a tentative report. I expect that other workshops may be 
> proposed. The choices below also may be changed before the convention.
>
> I will be on vacation from August 17 to 23. on Friday, August 24. If 
> you want to get in touch with me, leave me a phone or e-mail message, 
> I will be making final changes on Friday, August 24 and will bring the 
> final document to the convention on Saturday.
>
> As one of the members of the Convention Planning Committee, I believe 
> that we will have a well-organized and interesting convention. Please 
> do what you can to spend the day with us and encourage other GRP 
> members and friends to attend and participate in our convention.
>
> Mike Heichman mikeheichman at verizon.net 617-265-8143
>
> I. “PROMOTE THE PARTY USING THE WEB”
>
> Come learn about the new technologies the GRP is using to expand our 
> membership and increase communication among party members. Learn how 
> you can use them to increase your local and promote your activities.
>
> James O'Keefe jokeefe at jamesokeefe.org 617-447-0210
>
> James O'Keefe - Among his many roles in the party, Jamie has worked on 
> the party's web site and used various technologies to advance the party.
>
>
> 1I. "EXPLAINING SUDAN: What's going on and what can we do about it?"
>
> As a response to the recent controversy involving the framework of 
> discussion for GRP's relationship to Africa, we are focusing on Sudan 
> since it has been the subject of a lot of misleading media propaganda. 
> Our purpose is to rationally explain what kind of help Sudanese people 
> need and the necessity of civil discourse.
>
> 4 Speakers: Either Sudanese or people who have been to Sudan Each will 
> speak for 15 minutes, followed by a discussion.
>
> Contact Information of the Organizer of the Workshop:
>
> Karin Friedemann 617-548-1523 Karima4483 at aol.com
> Joachim Martillo 617-448-6703 ThorsProvoni at aol.com
> David Rolde 781-738-4848 davidrolde at yahoo.com
> (Note: The Boston GRP chapter has organized this workshop.)
>
> Presenters of the Workshop:
>
> 1. Dr. Abdel-Rahman Mohamed, local Sudanese International Development 
> Consultant and businessman, retired BU International and Development 
> Communication Professor and CEO of AIM International, Inc., a 
> cooperative marketing company for environmentally-safe technology 
> transfer to developing nations.
>
> 2. Loay Abdulkarim, A local engineer originally from Sudan, Loay has 
> been involved in humanitarian efforts in Sudan in the early eighties 
> through the early nineties, during the famine in Darfur, helping 
> displaced children fleeing the civil war in the south of Sudan and 
> living on the streets of the capital Khartoum, and the massive 
> movement of refugees fleeing the famine in Ethiopia. He recently 
> founded JP Residents For Human Rights, a study and advocacy group 
> which aims to help and inspire US citizens to use the tools of 
> democracy to create a more sustainable foreign policy.
>
> 3. Keith Harmon Snow, an independent investigative reporter. An 
> award-winning American journalist, whose work has appeared in THE SUN; 
> many local newspapers; Black Commentator; Newsweek, and Japan 
> International Journal. He attended the International Criminal Tribunal 
> on Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania.
>
> 4. Yousef Abdallah, operations manager of the Northeast office of 
> Islamic Relief, an NGO humanitarian aid organization, will give a 
> slide show of his visits to Sudan. We would like to pass the hat 
> around for humanitarian aid and environmental support in the region.
>
> The Sudan workshop is geared towards non-members who would like to 
> attend the conference as observers, and new members who are still 
> learning about the political process.
>
> ARABIC PASTRY WILL BE SERVED DURING THE WORKSHOP.
>
>
> III. PROTECTING COMMUNITY RIGHTS
>
> New England has a long tradition of grassroots democracy in which 
> volunteer boards and open town meetings allow citizens to discuss 
> issues and control their own future. In the past few years, real 
> estate interests have launched a sustained, multi-pronged assault upon 
> these traditions. Citizen panels have been demonized and laws such as 
> “expedited permitting” and “special development districts” and 
> “surplus land reform” and “Chapter 91 tidelands reform” have been 
> advanced to allow profit-seeking private development interests from 
> outside the community to sweep aside concerns of local democratic 
> bodies. This workshop will describe the scope of the assault on 
> community rights and show how community groups are fighting back.
>
> ORGANIZER:
> John Andrews, jwa at alum.mit.edu, 781-981-7427w, 781-862-6498h
>
> LEADERS:
> John Andrews, President, Massachusetts Coalition of Healthy Communities
> Possible other leaders (I haven’t confirmed all of them.):
> Steve Kaiser, Alliance of Cambridge Neighborhoods (not confirmed yet)
> Jill Stein, MCHC
>
>
> IV. RELOCALIZATION: A NEW ECONOMY
>
> World oil production is in decline. And an economy built on cheap oil 
> is heading toward collapse. In the looming disaster there is 
> opportunity: We can relocalize our economy, saving energy, reducing 
> our dependence on fossil fuels, creating good jobs, raising healthier 
> food, and revitalizing grassroots democracy. This workshop describes 
> both the rationale for relocalization and how volunteers can plug in 
> to the surging relocalization movement.
>
> ORGANIZER:
> Eli Beckerman, elibeck at gmail.com, 617-821-1453.
>
> LEADERS:
> Nat Fortune (confirmed)
> Jill Stein (confirmed)
> Nancy Lee Wood, Bristol Community College (not confirmed yet)
> Eli Beckerman, MCHC
> and possibly others
>
>
> V. “THE 2008 ELECTIONS: BUILDING THE MOVEMENT AND GROWING OUR PARTY”
>
> Subtopics/Questions:
>
> A. Informational Sharing on Different Campaigns
> i. Presidential race
> ii. US Senate
> iii. Congress
> iv. State Legislature
> v. Ballot Questions
>
> B. How can our campaigns help build the movement?
>
> C. How can our campaigns help grow our party?
>
> D. What does our party need from our candidates? What do our 
> candidates need from our party? How can people get involved?
>
> Organizer of the Workshop:
> Mike Heichman mikeheichman at verizon.net 617-265-8143
>
> Presenters of the Workshop:
>
> Mike Heichman-active member of the Candidate Development and Legal Comm.
> Elie Yarden-delegate to the National Committee
> Greg Gerrit-guest from the Rhode Island Green Party; active Green 
> member since 1984 and currently Co-Chair of the GP Presidential 
> Campaign Support Committee
> Alex Hahn-exploring running for the GRP nomination for the US Senate
> A potential candidate for Congress has been invited.
>
> Most of the workshop will be spent in discussion. The goal will be to 
> have a respectful discussion with everyone being encouraged to 
> participate.
>
>
> VI. “BULLYING: THE ABUSE OF POWER AND NON-VIOLENCE”
>
> Come explore non-violence in contrast to the examples of bullying 
> -from within our own organizations to the biggest bully of the present 
> world order, President Bush. Bullying is the personalized example of 
> the intricate uses of abusive power. We have almost all internalized 
> responses to abusive power - from how we dealt with or more likely 
> avoided the bully in the school yard to how we and our elected leaders 
> struggle to put the breaks on abusers in high positions of power and 
> mostly fail these days. Non-violence as a set of principles looks at 
> how power is defined, how we can shift it and most often on the 
> strategies to intervene which we so desperately need to learn to 
> change our organizations, our lives and reclaim the future of our 
> society and the planet.
>
> Organizer: Grace Ross, 617-291-5591 Gracegrnrnbw at aol.com
> Among many of her roles, Grace was our 2006 GRP candidate for Governor
>
> Presenters still to be announced
>
>
> VII. “EVERYDAY LIVING AS IF THE EARTH MATTERS”
>
> Organizer: Maureen Doyle is attempting to organize this workshop.
> medoyle3 at yahoo.com 508-764-8042H
> Presenter: Dave Conna More details to follow.
>
>