PERTH PRAXIS: The Pursuit of Happiness
7pm Friday the 9th of October
Earthwise, 317 Bagot Rd Subiaco
This week's Perth Praxis will feature trade unionist, social justice activist, artist and teacher Ian Bolas.
Ian will be discussing the pursuit of happiness as well as elaborating on the formative experiences that have shaped his political thinking.
The Pursuit of Happiness
The United States Constitution guarantees the right to “the pursuit of happiness.” Thomas Hardy in The Mayor of Casterbridge says that happiness seems to be “but the occasional episode in a general drama of pain.” Across most of the world, people are much less concerned with pursuing happiness than they are with pursuing their next meal.
We in the contemporary West assume that:
*happiness is achievable as a continuing state
* that the path to happiness is through the acquisition of things (including fetishised relationships)
* that there’s something wrong with you if you’re not happy.
We hold these assumptions despite the fact that demonstrably we are not happy, and all our striving and buying doesn’t make us so.
When a culture is obsessed with an idea, especially one which is so distant from reality, there’s a fair chance that there’s an ideological agenda at work. What is the real content of the pursuit of happiness, and how does it work to keep us unhappy and unfree?
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Perth Praxis aims at bringing a wide variety of progressives, artists, radicals, activists and free-thinkers together to share experiences, networks and knowledge so that we may build a culture and community of resistance and change. If you are sick and tired of being a frustrated spectator and want to be part of the solution – please come, bring your ideas, questions, family and friends.
As with all Perth Praxis events some food will be provided but please bring along a dish for all to share (if we ALL bring something none of us will go hungry).
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Ya Basta! and the Squatted Social Centre Movement
We are privileged to host two prominent Italian activists at this week's Perth Praxis.
Friday the 28th of August @ 7pm
Earthwise, 317 Bagot Rd Subiaco
Matteo has been taking part in the Milanese-Italian social movements for 15 years. He has been an activist in the Leoncavallo social centre and then moved to CasaLoca where he manages the Cafe Rebelde project together with other people.
Valeria has been an activist since 1999. First in a libertarian social centre called Cascina Torkiera and then in CasaLoca since 2005. Valeria has since attempted to bring her activist interests into academia as well, since 2003 she have been teaching radical geography with a focus on social movements, alternatives and political tourism, she currently completing a PhD on this subject at Loughborough University in the UK.
Matteo and Valeria will be discussing the Ya Basta! association as well as European social movements and squatted social centres, focusing on their centre, the CasaLoca. Their presentation will be followed by discussion, with a focus on how we can organize a social centre here in Perth.
Ya Basta
Ya Basta is an Italian association involved in autonomous political activities questioning neoliberalism on local, national and international level within the social movements scenario. This association, that defines itself as political body, was born in 1996 when a group of activists from squat centres together with thousands of people from all over the world gathered in Chiapas, to take part in the global meeting known as the Ist International Meeting for Humanity and against Neoliberism. This event called by the Zapatista movement.
During this international experience, the Italian delegates decided to found an association named Ya Basta as an answer to the Zapatista’s request to the Europeans to "start a revolution” in the power centres of the international market and capital system.
Since 1998, this group has been maintaining direct relations with Chiapas, organizing and collaborating on different political projects in accordance with the EZLN plans.
CasaLoca
CasaLoca is a squatted building in the area of the Bicocca. From a geographical point of view this territory is meaningful as it was the previous main industrial pole of Milan while at present second university pole of the city.
CasaLoca can be understood as an interstitial location committed in the territory of the city, a space where new forms are constituted, experienced and practiced, resources are creatively re-used and skills are shared.
This is a structure where everyday alternatives are put into practice (Pickerill, Chatterton 2005) or as Lefebvre says:” counter-hegemonic space which allow challenges to the dominant order” (77: 2000).
This is a space where making protest is part of everyday life making life into a collective workable alternative.
This is evident in the project Ya Basta promotes in Casaloca.
www.casaloca.it
www.caffezapatista.it
---------
As with all Perth Praxis events some food will be provided but please bring along a dish for all to share (if we ALL bring something none of us will go hungry).
Friday the 28th of August @ 7pm
Earthwise, 317 Bagot Rd Subiaco
Matteo has been taking part in the Milanese-Italian social movements for 15 years. He has been an activist in the Leoncavallo social centre and then moved to CasaLoca where he manages the Cafe Rebelde project together with other people.
Valeria has been an activist since 1999. First in a libertarian social centre called Cascina Torkiera and then in CasaLoca since 2005. Valeria has since attempted to bring her activist interests into academia as well, since 2003 she have been teaching radical geography with a focus on social movements, alternatives and political tourism, she currently completing a PhD on this subject at Loughborough University in the UK.
Matteo and Valeria will be discussing the Ya Basta! association as well as European social movements and squatted social centres, focusing on their centre, the CasaLoca. Their presentation will be followed by discussion, with a focus on how we can organize a social centre here in Perth.
Ya Basta
Ya Basta is an Italian association involved in autonomous political activities questioning neoliberalism on local, national and international level within the social movements scenario. This association, that defines itself as political body, was born in 1996 when a group of activists from squat centres together with thousands of people from all over the world gathered in Chiapas, to take part in the global meeting known as the Ist International Meeting for Humanity and against Neoliberism. This event called by the Zapatista movement.
During this international experience, the Italian delegates decided to found an association named Ya Basta as an answer to the Zapatista’s request to the Europeans to "start a revolution” in the power centres of the international market and capital system.
Since 1998, this group has been maintaining direct relations with Chiapas, organizing and collaborating on different political projects in accordance with the EZLN plans.
CasaLoca
CasaLoca is a squatted building in the area of the Bicocca. From a geographical point of view this territory is meaningful as it was the previous main industrial pole of Milan while at present second university pole of the city.
CasaLoca can be understood as an interstitial location committed in the territory of the city, a space where new forms are constituted, experienced and practiced, resources are creatively re-used and skills are shared.
This is a structure where everyday alternatives are put into practice (Pickerill, Chatterton 2005) or as Lefebvre says:” counter-hegemonic space which allow challenges to the dominant order” (77: 2000).
This is a space where making protest is part of everyday life making life into a collective workable alternative.
This is evident in the project Ya Basta promotes in Casaloca.
www.casaloca.it
www.caffezapatista.it
---------
As with all Perth Praxis events some food will be provided but please bring along a dish for all to share (if we ALL bring something none of us will go hungry).
Thursday, May 21, 2009
DICWC speak at Perth Praxis!
Two people from the Deaths in Custody Watch Committee will be speaking at Perth Praxis this Friday the 22nd of May, at the Earthwise Community Centre, 317 Bagot Road Subiaco. The event starts at 7pm.
Uncle Ben Taylor, a local Aboriginal elder, has been up at the Ian Ward inquest in Kalgoorlie providing support for the family of Mr Ward. He has campaigned for justice for his entire adult life. Uncle Ben is an inspiring & articulate champion for his people.
Ann has been working on this campaign for 26 years and brings a wealth of insight and experience to fight for human rights for Australian aboriginal people.
This is truly a Perth Praxis not to miss!!
Uncle Ben Taylor, a local Aboriginal elder, has been up at the Ian Ward inquest in Kalgoorlie providing support for the family of Mr Ward. He has campaigned for justice for his entire adult life. Uncle Ben is an inspiring & articulate champion for his people.
Ann has been working on this campaign for 26 years and brings a wealth of insight and experience to fight for human rights for Australian aboriginal people.
This is truly a Perth Praxis not to miss!!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Next Event
Our next Perth Praxis event is this Saturday the 9th of May in the South-East corner of Hyde Park in North Perth.
PERTH PRAXIS - Picnic and Discussion in Hyde Park, Saturday May 9th
Perth Praxis aims at bringing a wide variety of progressives, artists, radicals, activists and free-thinkers together to share experiences, networks and knowledge so that we may build a culture and community of resistance and change.
Many people in Australia are questioning the definition of a 'democracy' that asks for its citizens opinion on various issues only once every three or four years when we go to the voting polls. And many of us are not satisfied with the important decisions that create our society being left solely in the hands of politicians who make campaign promises to win our votes, then double back on them once they're elected.
Our society is designed by people in positions of privilege with the purpose of perpetuating their wealth and power, and naturally their designs involve the exploitation of others. So long as we sit back and let governments make all the decisions for us they will gladly do so. Alternatively we can take action and work towards co-creating the kind of society we can really enjoy living in.
This Saturday May the 9th a group of concerned individuals interested in working towards social, economic and environmental justice will come together for an afternoon of discussion and socializing as a part of the ongoing Perth Praxis events.
In the wake of global May Day actions, local activist and poet Mike Ballard will discuss the history of the Industrial Workers of the World as well as elaborating on the formative experiences that have shaped his political thinking.
Where: South-East Corner of Hyde Park, North Perth
(look for the black and red flag).
When: 3pm Saturday the 9th of May
Perth Praxis is about building culture and we encourage all musicians, poets and artists to come and share their works - whether it be through performance or an art piece, prose, CD, zine etc.
If you are sick and tired of being a frustrated spectator and want to be part of the solution - please come, bring your ideas, questions, family and friends.
Please byo food and drink to share.
NB: Please respect the nature of this gathering and do not hand out any political party based brochures or flyers. Information on activist campaigns is, however, more than welcome.
PERTH PRAXIS - Picnic and Discussion in Hyde Park, Saturday May 9th
Perth Praxis aims at bringing a wide variety of progressives, artists, radicals, activists and free-thinkers together to share experiences, networks and knowledge so that we may build a culture and community of resistance and change.
Many people in Australia are questioning the definition of a 'democracy' that asks for its citizens opinion on various issues only once every three or four years when we go to the voting polls. And many of us are not satisfied with the important decisions that create our society being left solely in the hands of politicians who make campaign promises to win our votes, then double back on them once they're elected.
Our society is designed by people in positions of privilege with the purpose of perpetuating their wealth and power, and naturally their designs involve the exploitation of others. So long as we sit back and let governments make all the decisions for us they will gladly do so. Alternatively we can take action and work towards co-creating the kind of society we can really enjoy living in.
This Saturday May the 9th a group of concerned individuals interested in working towards social, economic and environmental justice will come together for an afternoon of discussion and socializing as a part of the ongoing Perth Praxis events.
In the wake of global May Day actions, local activist and poet Mike Ballard will discuss the history of the Industrial Workers of the World as well as elaborating on the formative experiences that have shaped his political thinking.
Where: South-East Corner of Hyde Park, North Perth
(look for the black and red flag).
When: 3pm Saturday the 9th of May
Perth Praxis is about building culture and we encourage all musicians, poets and artists to come and share their works - whether it be through performance or an art piece, prose, CD, zine etc.
If you are sick and tired of being a frustrated spectator and want to be part of the solution - please come, bring your ideas, questions, family and friends.
Please byo food and drink to share.
NB: Please respect the nature of this gathering and do not hand out any political party based brochures or flyers. Information on activist campaigns is, however, more than welcome.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Picnic and Discussion in Hyde Park
The next Perth Praxis event is in the South-East corner of Hyde Park in North Perth (near the cnr of Glendower and William streets) on EASTER SATURDAY the 11th of April at 3pm.
As a part of the event local activist Phil Chilton will discuss the 'Easter Rising' as well as elaborating on the personal experiences that have shaped his political thinking.
There will also be poetry from Paul Harrison and members from local band The Dissidents will be playing an acoustic set.
If you are sick and tired of being a frustrated spectator and want to be part of the solution - please come, bring your ideas, questions, family and friends.
Perth Praxis is about building culture and we encourage all musicians, poets and artists to come and share their works - whether it be through performance or an art piece, prose, CD, zine etc.
Please byo food and drink to share.
See you there!
NB: Please respect the nature of this gathering and do not hand out
any political party based brochures or flyers.
As a part of the event local activist Phil Chilton will discuss the 'Easter Rising' as well as elaborating on the personal experiences that have shaped his political thinking.
There will also be poetry from Paul Harrison and members from local band The Dissidents will be playing an acoustic set.
If you are sick and tired of being a frustrated spectator and want to be part of the solution - please come, bring your ideas, questions, family and friends.
Perth Praxis is about building culture and we encourage all musicians, poets and artists to come and share their works - whether it be through performance or an art piece, prose, CD, zine etc.
Please byo food and drink to share.
See you there!
NB: Please respect the nature of this gathering and do not hand out
any political party based brochures or flyers.
Friday, April 3, 2009
First Perth Praxis a great success!
The first Perth Praxis event, held at Earthwise Community Centre, was a wonderful success.
Roughly thirty people from many walks of life attended the dinner and discussion.
See below for two comments from participants (from the associated article at www.perth.indymedia.org)
We decided to hold Perth Praxis fortnightly but in order to make it accessible for people with children we will be rotating between Saturday afternoon picnics and Friday dinners.
So the next event is a picnic and discussion on Easter Saturday the 11th of April, 3pm in the South-East Corner of Hyde Park.
Local activist Phil Chilton (PHD Candidate in History at UWA) will discuss the "Easter Rising" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Rising ) as well as elaborating on the personal experiences that have shaped his political thinking.
Hopefully see you there!
E-mail ray@perth.indymedia.org if you would like to be added to the announcement only e-mail list.
-------------
As a lifelong cynic, fatalist and prophet of doom I attended this event and managed to leave it without my usual sense of crushing dejection.
I look forward to the next, to learning more about the IWW in Perth and to examining the viability of a Foundation for (genuine) Democracy.
- Kolya L
-------------
I had to leave the Friday event before it finished as my very good little munchkins who accompanied me were way past their bedtime, but I was very happy. Attendance was good, the vibe was fantastic, and the half hour of conversation I was able to hear was very encouraging. I am very pleased about the decision to carry on with this. Fortnightly is ambitious, but hey it means more people can probably attend at different times!
What I especially took away was that the various lefties there generally recognised that the left in Perth is quite small, and isolated, and thus often becomes self absorbed and very individualistic (contrary to an earlier post). One consequence is that we are not always very nice to each other as Victoria pointed out, that we fail to develop a sustaining culture (acknowledgment to Mar), and forget to build and enjoy a worthwhile present (paraphrasing Riccardo). As a consequence people get burned out, if not self destructive, the turnover is high, and we fail to develop the structures and support that enable people to pursue a long term humanly worthwhile experience in the Perth left.
I felt the event could be the first baby step towards building such a sustainable collective (yes there's that word and in response to the earlier comment I don't think you can have an effective collective without empowered individuals, they are not antipodes [except under capitalist ideology] but a unity) culture of support. I would urge everyone to focus on Perth Praxis not as another activist group, but as a gathering place to celebrate, to enjoy, to recharge, to connect and reconnect, to draw nourishment from, to share. After much doubt I have become converted by Ray's idea of getting people to share their life stories as a way into political discussion, as by getting to know people we build empathy, trust and understanding, which enables us to work better together, despite theoretical and tactical differences.
A humble suggestion: what about asking people who have talents in music or poetry to jam at our sessions or give some readings - to add a creative element to the food and conversation?
Looking forward to our next event!
- Cedric
Roughly thirty people from many walks of life attended the dinner and discussion.
See below for two comments from participants (from the associated article at www.perth.indymedia.org)
We decided to hold Perth Praxis fortnightly but in order to make it accessible for people with children we will be rotating between Saturday afternoon picnics and Friday dinners.
So the next event is a picnic and discussion on Easter Saturday the 11th of April, 3pm in the South-East Corner of Hyde Park.
Local activist Phil Chilton (PHD Candidate in History at UWA) will discuss the "Easter Rising" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Rising ) as well as elaborating on the personal experiences that have shaped his political thinking.
Hopefully see you there!
E-mail ray@perth.indymedia.org if you would like to be added to the announcement only e-mail list.
-------------
As a lifelong cynic, fatalist and prophet of doom I attended this event and managed to leave it without my usual sense of crushing dejection.
I look forward to the next, to learning more about the IWW in Perth and to examining the viability of a Foundation for (genuine) Democracy.
- Kolya L
-------------
I had to leave the Friday event before it finished as my very good little munchkins who accompanied me were way past their bedtime, but I was very happy. Attendance was good, the vibe was fantastic, and the half hour of conversation I was able to hear was very encouraging. I am very pleased about the decision to carry on with this. Fortnightly is ambitious, but hey it means more people can probably attend at different times!
What I especially took away was that the various lefties there generally recognised that the left in Perth is quite small, and isolated, and thus often becomes self absorbed and very individualistic (contrary to an earlier post). One consequence is that we are not always very nice to each other as Victoria pointed out, that we fail to develop a sustaining culture (acknowledgment to Mar), and forget to build and enjoy a worthwhile present (paraphrasing Riccardo). As a consequence people get burned out, if not self destructive, the turnover is high, and we fail to develop the structures and support that enable people to pursue a long term humanly worthwhile experience in the Perth left.
I felt the event could be the first baby step towards building such a sustainable collective (yes there's that word and in response to the earlier comment I don't think you can have an effective collective without empowered individuals, they are not antipodes [except under capitalist ideology] but a unity) culture of support. I would urge everyone to focus on Perth Praxis not as another activist group, but as a gathering place to celebrate, to enjoy, to recharge, to connect and reconnect, to draw nourishment from, to share. After much doubt I have become converted by Ray's idea of getting people to share their life stories as a way into political discussion, as by getting to know people we build empathy, trust and understanding, which enables us to work better together, despite theoretical and tactical differences.
A humble suggestion: what about asking people who have talents in music or poetry to jam at our sessions or give some readings - to add a creative element to the food and conversation?
Looking forward to our next event!
- Cedric
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Praxis - the process of putting theoretical knowledge into practice.