Fellow IOPS members, Stephen Roblin and Jason Chrysostomou and I would like to interview three of four members of the Organisation for a Free Society in the upcoming weeks. We've worked on an introduction and come up with some (too many!) questions. If anyone has any suggestions for the interview, please feel free to offer them in the comment section below. Thank you in advance. Preeti Introduction In 2008, several activists and organizers who were heavily involved in the student,…

Individuals active in IOPS, Anti-Capitalist Initiative, Occupy London and other organisations held their third cross-movement assembly this year entitled "Becoming a Catalyst for a Radical Social Movement in 2013," on 19 March at SOAS. The assembly was well attended by a broad range of people from organisations and also many independent individuals wishing to find out about, and become engaged in, struggles with social movements. Our conversation focused on community engagement, local assemblies,…

  Members of the IOPS Project 'Study Group on the Role of a Revolutionary Organization' have been meeting on-line on Skype since February this year (2013). The texts that we have been reading are outlined below. Members of the Organisation for a Free Society (OFS) join our conversations also. OFS is based on the same ideas as IOPS and is local to New York and Detriot.  Project: http://www.iopsociety.org/projects/study-group-on-the-role-of-a-revolutionary-organization We have collectively…

Two cross-movement assemblies have taken place in London this year, and the third is due to take place this Tuesday (19 March, SOAS University, Russell Square: College Buildings, G3). The assemblies were called by interim IOPS London chapter members, the Anti-Capitalist Initiative, Occupy London, Peoples Assemblies Network, and others.  The first assembly - held in January - attracted 60-70 people, and the notes are available below. During the second assembly (held in February), we formed small…

This Spring something significant is really brewing! Spring is the season when life, colour and vitality returns, gives new life, restores energy and inspires hope to renew our relationships to ourselves, to each other and to the world. It is the ideal time to re-examine whether our present way of doing things is the only possible way and whether the dominant beliefs and values of western culture are really useful for constructing a fair, equitable and sustainable world. For me and many others from…

  What – as a diverse movement – must we do/accomplish in 2013? Posted on January 23, 2013 by socialmovementstrategy2013 http://socialmovement2013.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/what-as-a-diverse-movement-must-we-doaccomplish-in-2013/ Members of the International Organisation for a Participatory Society (London and Southampton chapter), Anti-capitalist Initiative, Peoples Assemblies Network, Occupy London activists and The Friern Barnet…

Members of IOPS (London chapter), Anti-capitalist Initiative, Occupy London activists, Peoples Assemblies Network and the Friern Barnet Library occupation are are calling for an assembly to discuss social movement strategy in 2013. The assembly shall take place from 6.30pm – 8.30pm at SOAS (London, UK) on 22 January 2013. If you are based in London, England (UK) - we hope you will join us! After one day of being publicised by Occupy London on Facebook, 50 people have confirmed their attendance.…

  The interim Organsiation for a Participatory Society -- London chapter, was invited to speak at an event organized by New Left Project, Ceasefire, Occupied Times, Anticapitalist Initiative, Red Pepper and Globalise Resistance. The event took place at Queen Mary university in London yesterday, Saturday 1 December, and was entitled ‘Up the Anti: Reclaim the Future.’ I spoke at the event in a panel entitled ‘What are we fighting for.’ Mark…

   A revolutionary organization needs to grow, to seek change, and to provide a worthy home for its own membership. Providing a worthy home for its members includes fostering mutual aid and a fulfilling environment as well as aiding the development of members' abilities to pursue their own chosen paths. The latter, in turn, includes having internal mechanisms for members to expand their understanding bearing on social change. In that light, what follows is an outline of a possible process…