Oganizers' Forum Dialogue in Australia September 2008

Sun Jun 22 12:16:44 CDT 2008

From:Bjbowen6 at aol.com

ORGANIZERS’ FORUM
1024 Elysian Fields
New Orleans, LA 70117

Hello,

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN ATTENDING:

An Organizers’ Dialogue in Australia with Community & Labor Organizers

September 21-September 27, 2008

We are pleased to invite you to apply to the next Organizers’ Forum 
Dialogue to be held in Australia. Please let us know if you would like 
to nominate another organizer to attend, and you are encouraged to 
forward this invite, which is also attached, to other organizers that 
may be interested. (note attached interest and reservation form)

TOPIC: "An International Dialogue in Australia”-Our fall 2008 
International Dialogue will be located in Australia, where we will meet 
with organizers in the cities of Sydney and Melbourne September 21-27, 
2008. There are exciting changes and developments that are currently 
taking place in Australia. There is a newly elected Prime Minister Kevin 
Rudd of the Labor Party. Rudd replaced John Howard and is making modest 
but progressive changes. The economy is robust. Labor unions have 
challenges as we do, and although they admit to learning from our labor 
unions, they are also quick to point out that their models of organizing 
are adapted to an Australian culture. There are community organizing 
efforts as well, and exciting activism among the Aborigines people. (see 
below for further description of our plans for this Dialogue)

DATE: September 21—September 27, 2008. Arrive in Sydney no later than 
Saturday, September 20 and Program begins Sunday, September 21 at 9:00 
am. We will adjourn the morning of Saturday, September 27, 2008 in 
Melbourne.

COST: Cost: Your airfare--including a flight from Sydney to Melbourne 
midweek on Wednesday September 24th (we will let you know which flight 
to take)--and a Dialogue Program fee of $500 per person. You will need a 
current passport, a visa to enter the country, and you will be 
responsible for visa fees of approximately $75. While in Australia, the 
Organizers' Forum will pay for food, lodging and ground transportation. 
(If costs are an obstacle for you, please talk to us about financial 
assistance)

PLACE: Sydney and Melbourne

Our fall international Dialogue in 2008 will take place in Australia 
September 21-27, 2008, where we will plan to travel and connect with 
labor struggles and community efforts and to learn from organizers in 
another country about their actions, tactics, campaigns, and 
organizational challenges. The Organizers' Forum continues to find great 
merit in the learning experience and the exchange between organizers in 
other countries, and organizers based in North America. Our early 
exchanges have been primarily in developing countries, and in 2008 we 
are interested in comparing the experiences in a more developed country 
where we know there are frequent exchanges and expressed interest in 
partnerships with North American community and labor organizations. 
Australian scholars have been studying US based community organizations 
and have expressed strong interest in such an exchange and the questions 
of the adaptability of our methodologies in Australia. Similarly, 
Australian labor organizers and unions have expressed interest in North 
American organizing models, leadership, organizer training, and campaign 
apparatus. The Organizers' Forum feels it is finally time to put 
everyone together in a Dialogue on these topics.

How will this Dialogue work? We plan to travel with approximately 15-20 
participants, and we will strive to have a mix of both community and 
labor organizers/leaders from a variety of community organizations and 
unions. We look for participants to meet in Sydney, pay their own travel 
and visa costs of approximately $75 and a program fee of $500. While in 
Australia the Organizers' Forum will pay for food, hotel rooms, and 
ground transportation (like buses). Your travel will need to include 
airfare to and from Australia (program begins in Sydney and ends in 
Melbourne) as well as a midweek flight from Sydney to Melbourne. You 
will want to consider the need for shots and/or vaccinations prior to 
travel following a discussion with your doctor.

The Organizers’ Forum

The Organizers’ Forum—committed solely to the practice and work of 
organizing—was born with the notion that there is a need for a forum and 
a place for constituency-based organizers to come together to share and 
reflect on their work. Since 2002 the Organizers’ Forum has traveled 
each year to a different country to meet with community and labor 
organizers—we have been to Brazil, India, South Africa, Indonesia, 
Turkey and Russia. We believe that this kind of cross-fertilization of 
organizers is imperative in a world that is shrinking and one where 
globalization is impacting on workers and communities in the U.S. and 
Canada and in other countries in both similar and unique ways. (more 
about the Organizers’ Forum can be found on our website 
www.organizersforum.org )

If you are interested in applying for this Dialogue, please complete the 
attached Interest and Reservation form below and return. We would like 
to be able to assure you that we will be able to accommodate all those 
who would like to be part of this Dialogue, but our Dialogues have 
become very popular and we can't commit to you until we hear back from 
you and others. There are only a limited number of spaces. Don't delay 
in letting us know your intentions ASAP and no later than Tuesday, July 
8, 2008. If you have questions about this, don't hesitate to contact me. 
We look forward to hearing back from you!

Interest and Reservation Form

An Organizers’ Dialogue in Australia with Community & Labor Organizers

September 21-September 27, 2008

** Please fax to (415) 868-2925 or email to bjbowen6 at aol.com **

What we need from you now: If this interests you—or you would like to 
nominate another organizer for this Dialogue—please let me know the 
following:

(a) ___ Yes, I would like to nominate myself to be a part of this Dialogue

(b) ___ Yes, I am very much interested and want to be considered a 
"maybe" at this time.

(c) ___ Yes, I would like to nominate _________________ to be a 
participant on this trip and I will contact him/her.

(d) ___ Yes, I know of contacts or may be helpful in making connections 
with community and labor efforts in Australia or who may otherwise be 
helpful to this Dialogue. They are: 
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. 

Fill in please:

1. Name & title_________________________________________________and I am 
with: 
_________________________________________________________(organization)

________________________________________________________________(job title)

________________________________________________________________(address)

______________________________________________________________(city, state)

___________________________________________________________(email address)

________________________/________________________________(phone/cell phone)

2. In a few sentences please give a short bio including your organizing 
history, and any particular reasons you may have for interest in this 
Dialogue: 
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

** Please fax to (415) 868-2925 or email to bjbowen6 at aol.com **

Contact Barbara Bowen, National Coordinator of the Organizers’ Forum, 
at: (415) 868-0866 for further information.