Two hundred at Ideas for Freedom 2011

Submitted by AWL on 11 July, 2011 - 6:36

Further reports, notes, transcripts etc will be posted here shortly. For pictures of the event, click here.

(RMT and AWL activist Becky Crocker opens Ideas for Freedom by relating the themes of Eisenstein's Strike to the class struggle now. Chair: Daniel Lemberger Cooper)

Ideas for Freedom, Workers' Liberty's annual "summerschool" of socialist discussion and debate, was attended by just over 200 people.

We opened with a Friday night showing of Sergei Eisenstein's Strike, followed by presentations from young strikers from the NUT and RMT and a discussion of how the film's themes relate to the sharpening class struggle today. We closed on Sunday with inspiring speeches and the singing of the Internationale. In between were 22 excellent presentations, workshops, debates and discussions, from workplace bulletins to socialist feminism, from "chavs" to school students' struggles, from the Arab Spring to the Labour Party and cuts. We continued our tradition of encouraging debate and discussion on the left by inviting a variety of speakers from outside the AWL - including debates on Marxism and anarchism and with the Workers Power group on whether socialists should be raising the slogan for a general strike. (See here for the full agenda.) Other socialist and anarchist groups also ran stalls at the event.

There was a women's caucus on Saturday and on Sunday some of the AWL's union fractions - teachers, railworkers, PCS, UCU, Unison - held meetings for workers in those sectors.

Because of increased ticket, literature and merchandise sales, the event made a substantial "profit" - money that will be ploughed back into our campaigning in the weeks and months ahead. We also raised £1,165 from a collection. The packed-out Saturday night social, a showing of the films Pictures of Zain and What You Looking At? and discussion on film, sexuality and multiculturalism led by their director, our comrade Faryal, raised £285 for the Salit quarry workers, Palestinians striking for union recognition from their Israeli bosses. We also collected £100 for the Medical Professional and Allied Workers' Union of Zimbabwe, a class-struggle, socialist-led union recently persecuted by Mugabe's police.

Three people joined the AWL and a number of others made arrangements to meet to discuss joining.

After last year's Ideas for Freedom, we commented:

"Ideas for Freedom is a showcase for Workers' Liberty as a tendency which is pretty much unique on the British left – a rational, democratic, clear-thinking Marxist organisation, committed to independent working-class politics, to vigour in debate and to a non-sectarian approach to other socialists and to the broad labour movement. Despite our small size, we believe that strengthening our organisation is essential to helping the working class win the battles that lie ahead. If you enjoyed the event, or are sorry you missed it, please consider working with us and, if you’re convinced, becoming an AWL member."

Comments

Submitted by AWL on Mon, 11/07/2011 - 19:36

Left Front Art is an "LGBT / Queer network of artists, academics, community activists and labour movement activists". They have circulated this comment on Ideas for Freedom 2011:

"Congratulations to Workers' Liberty / Ideas for Freedom for the screening of two Queer shorts at their event in North London last night (09.07.2011) – accompanied by a Q&A with the director Faryal. This was an excellent initiative by AWL and should be encouraged to showcase Queer culture and relevance to today’s political activity. Well done for putting Queer on the agenda of their event."

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