During the first three days of the Convergence there will be a series of workshops and seminars taking place at Goldsmiths College in New Cross, south east London. All workshops are happening in the Richard Hoggart Building (RHB) of Goldsmiths unless otherwise stated. There will be a welcome area in the Stretch in the Student Union building next door to the Richard Hoggart Building, with tea, coffee, and information about the Convergence. (See directions to Goldsmiths and more practical info here).
The programme so far is as follows. All workshops are free-of-charge and you do not need to book.
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MONDAY 13th FEBRUARY
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/ 10.30am-1.30pm / Stopping deportations: Workshop includes contributions from NCADC (National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns), IFIR (International Federation of Iraqi Refugees), Nicholas De Genova (Goldsmiths), Rutvica Andrijasevic and Stop Deportation Network. [RHB 342]
/ 2.30pm-4.30pm / Migrant workers: Organising Under the Radar: Many kinds of workers use their bodies to labour- sexworkers, cleaners, carers, nannies- often for low(er) pay and under precarious conditions. These kinds of labour are individualised, often working alone or in small numbers, making it harder to bargain for better pay or conditions, or to join trade unions. Join this discussion to find out what the fightback looks like- what does it mean for migrant workers to self-organise in the current climate? What solidarity work needs to be done, and what should it look like? Bringing together speakers from the x:talk project, Crossroads Women's Centre, the Latin American Workers Association and No Borders Wales, this workshop will seek to build the solidarity necessary to transform society. [RHB 342]
/ 2.30pm-3.30pm / Border Controls and Freedom of Movement in an Age of Climate Chaos: Climate change is exacerbating factors which force people to migrate and at the same time is used as a justification for increasingly restrictive border controls. This workshop will consider two different perspectives from the South which call for the either the creation of the new category of climate refugee or for freedom of movement for all. [RHB 343]
/ 3.30pm-5pm / Economic crisis and migration [RHB 342a]
/ 5pm-6pm / Legal briefing [RHB 342]
/ 5pm-6pm / Borders and migrants in New Cross and Deptford: The area where the Convergence is taking place has a rich history of movements around migration, borders and racism. This illustrated talk by a local radical historian will cover land and maritime border points, slavery, prison ships, 1970s anti-fascism, 1980s New Cross Fire campaign and more. [RHB 343]
/ 6pm-7pm / Free discussion space [RHB 342, RHB 342a, RHB 343]
/ 6pm-10pm / Films: Injustice (6pm) / La Haine (7.50pm) - Hosted by the Centre for Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths [Council Room, Laurie Grove, Goldsmiths]
/ 7pm-8pm / A chrysalis for every kind of criminal? Mobility,
crime and citizenship: This workshop with Bridget Anderson looks at vagrancy and the ways that the state has always sought to control the mobility of the poor. [RHB 343]
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| TUESDAY 14th FEBRUARY |
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/ 10.30am-1.30pm / Resistance in detention: This workshop will discuss struggles within migrant detention centres and in European and North-African contexts - hunger strikes, mutinies, escapes, struggles over conditions and "work". It will also link these up with struggles in "penal" prisons.Workshop includes contributions from ex-detainees, Getting The Voice Out, Bristol ABC, SOAS Detainee Support and Corporate Watch. [RHB 221]
/ 2.30pm-4.30pm / Everyday solidarity: Here we look at how we can best address the day-to-day needs of migrants in ways which are radical and empowering. These needs cover everything from help with immigration cases and language skills, to issues of homelessness and police harassment. Workshop includes contributions from Calais Migrant Solidarity, Coventry Peace House, Detention Action, and Croydon Migrant Solidarity. [RHB 251]
/ 2.30pm-4.30pm / Hacking the Borders: We'll discuss different ways that digital technology can support freedom of movement and the struggles against detention & deportation. By exploring the untapped potential of tech and sharing inspiring examples, we aim to generate innovative ideas that can be prototyped after the Convergence. The workshop is inspired by hacking, which is 'creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations' and 'the reassembling of technology for unintended purposes'. This is not a workshop aimed at programmers but at anyone interested in the issues being tackled at the Convergence, and who has a feeling that social media & technology can help break through some barriers. [RHB 221]
/ 2.30pm-3.30pm / Immigration Controls - Standing on the Shoulders of Fascism? Opposition to immigration has always been at the heart of the fascist movement in Britain and in most other countries. How much has fascist and racist agitation shaped immigration controls? What is the relevance today for the anti-fascist movement and No Borders activists? [RHB 306]
/ 3.30pm-4.30pm / Traveller Solidarity This workshop will be held by the TSN (Traveller Solidarity Network), the action network formed out of the Dale Farm resistance. The workshop will include a brief history of the Dale Farm resistance (including a Q&A session), a short film, and discussion space on where the movement of defence of traveller, Roma, and Gypsy sites goes from here, its context in the broader struggle against evictions.... [RHB 306]
/ 5pm-7pm /Counter-aesthetics of the border - This workshop brings together researchers from Goldsmiths and activists to reflect on the struggles that happens around borders and their "representations". Starting from images, maps, audio and video recordings, we will look at how the border is at the same time policed and contested through visual, acoustic and technological means. [RHB 221]
/ 6pm-7pm / Free discussion space [RHB 251, RHB 306]
/ 8pm / Film: Öffnungszeiten (Germany/Bulgaria, 2011, 33 mins) The film follows four anthropologists and filmmakers looking at the poor treatment of Bulgarian migrants by public authorities in Munich. [Upstairs @ Amersham Arms, 388 New Cross Road, London, SE14 6TY]
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| WEDNESDAY 15th FEBRUARY |
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/ 10.30am-1.30pm / At the borders: One of the roles that networks like No Borders can play is creating strong networks of support to facilitate the free movement of migrants across the border of Europe, which is increasing looking like a fortress that is impossible to get into. From building the infrastructure of resistance (contacts, information, resources and so on) to protest camps and mass actions at the borders. Come to share lessons and experiences from various border 'flash points' across Europe and beyond: Calais, Tunisia, Italy, Greece, Israel and elsewhere. [RHB 342]
/ 11.30am-1.30pm / Sex, Work and the Olympics: It has now become common practice for anti-trafficking campaigns to target large sporting events like the World Cup and the Olympics, claiming that such events lead to an increase in trafficking in the sex industry. However research has shown that there is no evidence that big sporting events increase trafficking but the myth that they do often result in crackdowns on sex workers and other groups, such as migrant workers. In this workshop, collective members from the x:talk project will discuss their plans for a campaign to call for a moratorium on prostitution crimes - which involves the police not arresting or charging anyone with prostitution-related offenses for a period around the Olympics [RHB 343]
/ 1.10pm-1.50pm / Movement Songs: Musicians from Goldsmiths' Community Music Course will play songs bringing stories of detention, resistance and escape dramatically (and rhythmically) to life [RHB 150].
/ 2.30pm-4.30pm / Strengthening the transnational No Borders network: Discussion on how we can strength our movement in the UK, across Europe and globally. This workshop will include discussion of the Stockholm and Duesseldorf No Borders camps this summer, as well as other upcoming events and initiatives. [RHB 342]
/ 5pm-6pm / Discussion on the Carnival (Saturday demo) [RHB 342]
/ 6pm-7pm /Free discussion space [RHB 342, RHB 342a, RHB 343]
/ 7pm-8pm / Challenging the mainstream narrative on migration: This workshop explores the way in which the press and the political elite work together to maintain a particular narrative on immigration, and the tensions that exist in this relationship. Workshop includes contributions from the Migrants Rights Network. [RHB 343]
/ 7pm-8pm / Direct action campaigns: [RHB 342]