End Corporate Rule & Bring Democracy to Your Communty; Attend a Regional Convergence

Submitted by admin on Fri, 03/16/2012 - 17:04.

With the intention of amplifying and multiplying the power of plenty of great local organizing going on since the Citizen's United decision, to build a deeper organizational connections on the regional scale for the campaigns ahead, Move to Amend will be holding seven regional gatherings across the United States in 2012

  • April 19-21: Move to Amend Northwest (Eugene, Oregon) - REGISTER
  • May 18-20: Move to Amend Southwest (Denver, Colorado)
  • July 27-29: Move to Amend Nor-Cal (Oakland, California)
  • August 24-26: Move to Amend Midwest (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
  • September 28-30: Move to Amend Northeast (Western Massachusetts)
  • October 19-21: Move to Amend So-Cal (Los Angeles, California)
  • December 14-16: Move to Amend South (Gainesville, Florida)

These events will bring you together with Move to Amend activists and supporters from throughout your region of the country and they will be a valuable opportunity to: Receive training in the skills you’ll need to organize more effectively in your community and beyond; Strategize how best to build this movement on the local, state, regional, and national levels; and Network, brainstorm, and cross-pollinate with other Move to Amend groups and supporters in your region.

FRIDAY EVENING

The State of the Global & US Democracy Movement

This session will lay the groundwork for our weekend together. We’ll address the state of our movement(s) on a national and global scale and discuss the political climate for systemic social change in the United States.

SATURDAY ALL DAY

Session 1: 9:00 – 10:30 AM (Organizing Skills Focus)

Getting Involved with Move to Amend (Starting a MTA Group)

Introductory level. We’ll cover how to get started working with the Move to Amend campaign including forming a group, beginning public outreach and growing your capacity. You’ll hear from Move to Amend organizers who are leading successful local groups in the region who will share best practices and strategies that have worked in their communities.

Running a Move to Amend Community Campaign

Advanced level. You’ll hear from experienced grassroots organizers who have run political campaigns at the local level. We’ll discuss MTA’s 2012 Resolve to Amend campaign and how your community can get started running a resolution effort that maximizes public engagement and capacity building potential.

Session 2: 10:45 AM – 12:15 PM (Strategy)

Engaging Your Community on Corporate Constitutional Rights & the MTA Campaign

Introductory level. We’ll cover how to engage and educate individuals and organizations in your community about the campaign to amend the Constitution. You’ll learn best practices and talking points for reaching out to diverse constituents in your community and increase your comfort level talking about Corporate Personhood and explaining how it impacts communities and individuals.

Imagining a New Democratic Framework for Corporations & Artificial Entities

Advanced level. We’ll cover how the Move to Amend amendment will effect corporations, unions, non-profits and other organizations. You’ll learn the ramifications of the amendment and how the US legal and political system will adjust once corporations and other artificial entities cannot claim rights under the Constitution.

Session 3: 2:00 – 5:00 PM (Strategy & Organizing Skills)

Building a Multi-Racial Democracy Movement for Social Justice & Constitutional Renewal

This session will address why the emphasis of our movement(s) must be on confronting racism and other oppressions in order to win real democracy. The means are the ends in our struggles for social justice, and this session will provide a framework for why an anti-racism orientation is critical for our movement and how to instill that ethic and commitment within ourselves and our organizations. We will cover theory and practice.

Social Mixer opportunity Saturday evening

SUNDAY MORNING

9:30 – 11:30 AM (Capacity Building/Infrastructure)

Building Capacity for the Work to Come: Strategy Discussion for MTA Organizers

We’ll brainstorm and discuss tools and infrastructure needs to better aid MTA organizers in the Northwest region. We’ll cover networking and capacity building infrastructure needs as well as steps toward Move to Amend organizing at the state level in the region.