A C T I V E R E S I S T A N C E A COUNTER-CONVENTION CHICAGO, AUGUST 21-31, 1996 ACTIVE RESISTANCE is both convention and gathering, bringing together individuals and collectives to create sustainable communities of resistance. This union will engage intensive work on long term goals, high spirited activism, as well as share in the challenge and fun involved in putting this all together. We hope to accomplish a great deal. And we know we'll have fun. The Counter-Convention is scheduled to take place in Chicago for 10 days -- before, during, and after the 1996 Democratic National Convention. This is such a big project that organizing assistance from individuals and organizations from outside of Chicago will be necessary (and greatly appreciated). At a minimum we hope that you are intrigued enough to spread the word, excited enough to be here. Even better, begin participating in designing the process and structure now. The structure currently being discussed for the Counter-Convention involves devising ad-hoc mini-collectives to meet daily and address specific tasks and topics. We hope to define, produce, develop, change, connect -- ultimately to realize the community to which we aspire. We would therefore like for participating groups and individuals to work out a set of projects, goals, tasks, some questions for us to explore, and so forth for the Counter-Convention. For example, one set of goals could include: developing tactics for confronting gentrification, creating a network of communities combatting gentrification, putting together resource manuals and determining effective distribution for them. By the end of the gathering we should know each other and our community, have a set of goals and a plan for achieving them, and have had a lot of fun in the process. So send us feedback, criticisms, suggestions, and information about your interest and willingness to participate. Also, let us know if you can attend a planning conference this winter, probably between Dec.28 and Jan.2 in Chicago. The focus topics will be organizing the Counter-Convention, Developing the Network of Anarchist Collectives, affinity group planning and direct action planning. You will be hearing more about this soon. In addition, you can assist in putting together a large mailing and contact list to use in announcing and planning for next summer. If you have a list of your own which you would like to share with us, we would greatly appreciate it. We will pass these lists on to a collective in Philadelphia working to compile a new edition of the Radical Address List, to be published and distributed by the time of the Counter-Convention next August. If you send us names and addresses, please indicate Individual, Group, Legal Assistance, Publication, Community Space, and/or Store. Obviously an address can have more than one classification. If you do not want a listing to be published or shared beyond our planning efforts, please indicate with an X. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox * * * AUTONOMOUS ZONE INFOSHOP * * mail: 1573 N. Milwaukee #420, CHILL 60622 U$A * /\ * street: 2045 W. North Ave., Chicago * /__\ Z * phone: 312-278-0775 * / \ * matrix: ugwiller@bgu.edu or chill@burn.ucsd.edu * * COLLECTIVE COMMUNITY-ACTIVIST-RESOURCE CENTER * * * *Element of the Network of Anarchist Collectives* "A matter of meeting information authority with information disturbance..."