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Meetings

Minutes of the Manchester Planning Meeting, January 14 2006

Approx 70 people attending

  1. Welcome

    - housekeeping notes etc..

  2. Introductions

    - brief introductions of people present eg Name and where from/which organisation represented.

  3. Run through of day's agenda

  4. Description of Role of Facilitator

    i.e. to ensure that the meeting is well facilitated, runs to time, ensures that as many people as possible get to a chance speak and air their views. Introduction of the hand signals to be used in the meeting.

  5. Group Agreement

    Set of criteria about how meeting will proceed, e.g. respecting each other's points of view and challenging discriminatory behavior.

  6. Introduction to Camp for Climate Action

    presentation of what the camp is about, what the aims are and what has happened so far. This presentation was based on the document Aims of the Camp for Climate Action and basically covered an update of what had happened so far with the camp: that a small group of people concerned about climate change had got together, decided that they would like to see action taken to address the problem and had come to the conclusion that to have a camp on the theme of Climate Change was the best way to inspire people to take action on Climate Change. For more details please see the document Aims of Camp for Climate Action

  7. Question and Answer Session

    This part of the meeting provided people to ask those who had been involved so far questions.

    Q What is the envisaged scale of the Camp.
    A It is hoped that the camp will hold around 2000 people.

    Q Does the camp coincide with any Airport expansion plans?
    A No

    Q Has there/ will there be an effort to involve Scottish groups?
    A It is hoped that by running a Travel Pooling Scheme (which will give some financial assistance to those with less available funds and further to travel) that people from Scotland will feel able to come to meetings to help organise the camp. There is a strong desire that people from Scotland are involved and it is hoped that at least one organising meeting for the camp will be held in Scotland.

    Q What outreach work has already been done?
    A The work has begun. Over 400 emails and some letters have been sent to environmental groups e.g. local Friends of the Earth groups, small groups doing road campaigns etc. But there is a recognition that this work has only just begun and that sending emails is not enough in itself and that part of the task of the Outreach and Networking group is to build on the initial email and build strong links.

    Q Has it been considered that the different aims suit different types of camps.
    A Yes ? but it is felt that it is better to try and bring both things together but no denying that this is a big challenge.

    Q What response has there been from groups contacted so far?
    A There has been a positive response and are currently receiving about ten emails a day. Some groups already represented.

    Q How do we make sure that there is a simple clear message?
    A There will be a media working group whose task it is to help form a clear message.

    Q Are we only contacting environmental groups?
    A So far yes but need to go beyond that - possible to get local environmental groups to network with other groups in their local geographical area.

    Q How do we stop right-wing groups etc from getting involved?
    A In the Aims document there is a statement of how we want the camp to work - e.g. without discrimination - if it is felt by everyone that a particular group does not adhere to the principles in the document then they can be excluded from taking part.

    Q How will outreach relate to camp set up and organisation?
    A It?s important that everyone organising the camp does outreach.

    Q How do you do outreach when there is a closed land group?
    A It important for the process itself to be as open as possible ? with regular updates from the land group on progress made and issues to be discussed. The land group has a defined mandate and the people who have been involved in the camp so far have thought deeply about all the issues.

    Q Is there a back-up plan for if we do not have a rented site?
    A Then the other option is to have a (temporary?) squatted site but that during outreach we should be as open as possible about the process and explain to people that we are looking for rented, that if not we will have squatted land and that everything possible will be done to make it a safe environment.

    Q How will working groups communicate?
    A Probably mostly through email but it may be possible to have a geographical focus in working groups ( e.g. lots of people from same place in a working group) to make meeting easier.

    Q Is there an education/politics group?
    A Yes - Workshop and Activities working group.

    Q Is the mandate for the land group fixed?
    A No ? it will be published at next gathering and people can have a chance to discuss concerns.

    Q How do we stop people doing what they want or constantly overturning decisions already made by group as a whole?
    A Decisions made should be clearly minuted on the website - we cannot constantly go back over old ground and re-make decisions for the sake of new people as it is just not practical.

    Q If we have concerns over the aims and objectives of the camp what happens.
    A At the end of this meeting we will be collecting a list of issues for discussion at next meeting and beyond.

  8. Introduction to Working by Consensus

    Presentation of the consensus process that we will use. See the document - Introduction to Working by Consensus document.

  9. Introduction to the organising structure

    The camp will be brought into being by working groups who will take on different aspects of organising the camp. The working groups will be expected to 'get on with the job' and will be trusted - within their mandate - to do the work. But where there are contentious issues or issues that affect the camp as a whole it is expected that the working group will bring these issues back the larger gathering for resolution.

    It is hoped that the camp will be physically organised into a series of neighbourhoods. The neighbourhoods would have camping space centred around a meeting and eating space. The neighbourhood would be hosted either by people from a particular geographical location or a campaign/interest group. E.g. There might be a Leeds neighbourhood, a Bristol neighbourhood or a anti- Airport expansion neighbourhood.

    It is hoped that the entire site will operate on a basis of consensus and that the neighbourhood system will facilitate this. Issues and decisions would be discussed a ?local? level in neighbourhoods and these views would then be represented at camp site wide gatherings/meetings.

    It is hoped that the camp will organised in such a way as to be a good example of an alternative sustainable way of living.

    See Introduction to Camp for Climate Action document for more details.

  10. Change of Afternoon Agenda

    At this point it becomes clear that many people in the meeting feel it important to discuss the aims and objectives of the camp. Many people feel that they are being asked to sign up to working groups and build a camp which has had its aims and objectives decided for them rather than by them. It is decided to change the afternoon agenda to address this and part of the afternoon is set aside for people to discuss their personal hopes and desires for the camp.

  11. Aims

    Group splits into ten small groups to give people a chance to talk about what they want the camp to be and what they want it to achieve. People are asked to see if what they vision is in line with the four stated aims of the camp.

    Stated Aims

    • That the camp takes action against climate change.
    • That the camp provides info on climate change and its causes.
    • That the camp will share and live practical solutions.
    • That the camp will network with other people campaigning on all aspects of climate change.

    What People Came Up with.

    • The camp should broaden the question of responding to climate change ? restructuring society.
    • Camp should be a model for alternative living. Camp should prepare us for the future ? building skills and networks.
    • Need to address the psychological element to climate change.
    • Needs a statement of unity and needs to address the full spectrum of action ? from fluffy lifestyle changes to direct action.
    • Camp should not rely on electronic communication - its not inclusive.
    • Camp should be used to create a positive image of activist/climate change movement.
    • The camp should leave behind more than compost. It should have a lasting effect ? and stimulate sustained (direct) action ? which is creative fun and , inspiring. It should kick start a movement.
    • There should be discussion of global outlook/solutions as well as local.
    • Camp should be about education - climate change is here now!
    • The camp should demonstrate radical solutions. It should inspire and encourage people to take action. Should show people that there are different types of action - activism, practical, creative.
    • The camp should be about teaching people new skills and educating them about climate change ? so that these skills can be passed on to a wider group - friends, neighbours, schools, local councils, workplaces.
    • There should be positive and inspiring media messages, personal local one to one messages.
    • We should not just rely on mainstream media but make our own.
    • Camp should involve the local/wider community - invite day visitors. It should be as open as possible ? should appeal to school kids and ?ordinary? people ? need to break out of activist ghetto mentality. Camp should be for general public not just ? activists?.
    • Should create political impact and register on a global agenda.
    • Camp should initiate a big public demo that everyone can feel involved in.
    • Camp should show that individuals can make a difference!!!!

    For more details see Gathering Aims document.

  12. Working Groups meet

  13. Feedback from Working Groups

    - see individual feedback forms for what they said.

  14. Issues for Future Discussion (with show of hands for how many want to discuss)

    • MEDIA STRATEGY - KEY MESSAGE. (16 hands)
    • SHOULD THERE BE AN ACTIONS WORKING GROUP ( 4)
    • EXCLUDING ANYONE AND HOW? ( 1)
    • HEALTH AND SAFETY/ CONDUCT ON THE CAMP (7)
    • WHEN WILL WE GIVE UP LOOKING FOR A RENTED SITE? (many)
    • RENTED/SQUATTED SITE ? HOW WILL TACTICS CHANGE? (many)
    • STRUCTURE OF TIME TABLES FOR CAMP - ACTION V EDUCATION TENSION (6)
    • EDUCATION OUTREACH IN ADVANCE. (8)
    • ALCOHOL ON CAMP? (4)
    • DO WE CHARGE AN ENTRY FEE.? (finance group to decide)
    • DO WE HAVE NGO INVOLVMENT? (6)
    • DIRECT ACTION ? DO WE STATE WHATS ACCEPTABLE? (many)
    • ENTERTAINMENT/CURFEW AT CAMP (12)
    • ADVERTISING AND SPONSERSHIP AT CAMP ? DO WE HAVE IT AND IF SO FROM WHOM (6)
    • SHOULD WE HAVE A BIG ACTION ?IF SO WHAT (many)
    • DO WE HAVE LOCAL INVOLVMENT AND HOW. (7)
    • COMMERCIAL CONDUCT ON SITE (EG STALL AND WHAT KIND?) (6)
    • TIMELINE FOR NEXT SIX MONTHS. (16)

  15. Announcement of next two meetings when and where