| 1 | Re: Welcome!...
24.08.07
Greetings Michail Gorney,
The Strategy Center was given to me by Janelle Cousino who a number of years ago spent time in Moscow working with pro-democracy groups. She had suggested that I contact Aleksander Nezdurov. As I look at your website, it seems it may be more appropriate to contact you. I am contacting you about meeting with you and perhaps others from the Strategy Center while we are in Russia in late September. I would also appreciate it if you would make suggestions of other organizations for us to meet with as well.
My name is Barbara Bowen and I am the National Coordinator of the Organizers' Forum, a project of experienced community and labor organizers in the United States and Canada who come together periodically to share skills, strategies and challenges in our work. In the past several years we have traveled to Brazil, India, South Africa, Indonesia, and last year to Turkey to connect with organizing efforts happening internationally, hoping to learn first hand the impact of globalization beyond our borders, and specifically learn about the kinds of campaigns, issues, tactics and strategies that are employed by community and labor activists in another country and culture. (you can learn more about the Organizers' Forum from our website www.organizersforum.org )
We are planning to bring a group of about 15 community and labor organizers from the U.S. to Russia in late September to meet with activists that are working on organizing efforts in both communities and workplaces. We will be arriving in Moscow Saturday, September 22 and will be in Moscow until Wednesday, September 26th. We will then travel to St. Petersburg until Saturday, September 29th to meet with groups and organizations there. We will look to meet for an hour an one-half or so with each one. We will have transportation and we will provide translation if that is necessary. Our participants will all be grassroots organizers from unions and community organizations who are interested in speaking with other grassroots organizers, advocates,environmentalists, and human rights activists like yourself about the fundamentals of organizing within their organization--what are the challenges, what is working in strategy and tactics, what are your campaigns and projects, how do you work with other mass-based organizing efforts, etc. (It has been suggested that I be clear that this is not a site visit and that the Organizers' Forum is not a funding organization)
Thank you in advance for your time and assistance,Michail! Again, we would very much like to meet with you, and your suggestions of other organizations to meet with in both Moscow and St. Petersburg would be greatly appreciated. Please let me know if you have questions, and I look forward to hearing back from you!
In solidarity, Barbara
Barbara Bowen, National Coordinator
The Organizers' Forum--West
P.O. Box 402
6 Willow Avenue
Stinson Beach, CA 94970
U.S.A.
(415) 868-0866 office
(415) 868-2925 fax
(415) 509-1927 cell
email: bjbowen6@aol.com
website: www.organizersforum.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL.com.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL.com. |
- administrator 