Crisis regimes and emerging social movements

KAIRÓS project

encounterathens — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 09:22:05 +0000

KAIRÓS project is a video archive, a web documentary. The aim of the project is to layout the political situation in the Mediterranean region, and the new social movements that are springing up throughout the region. The online archive has been opened on October 1rst 2012, and the project is a work in progress. In this site you will find interviews to those who are part ot the political movements in the Mediterranean, but also to those who have a deep knowledge of the current situation in the several countries of the Mediterranean, as well as in the whole region. All the interviews are subtitled into spanish. If you are specially interested in the translation of the interviews into another language, please contact us. In the archive you will also find other interventions and documents of concrete events. The archive is shaped by three diferent axis: (1) The deep institutional crisis, as well as the crisis of the ongoing political regimes in the whole Mediterranean area. (2) The social composition of the movements, characterized by different precarious figures, mainly high-educated declassed youths. (3) The innovative use of new technologies for the political action, the bursting of tecnopolitics. As it may be obvious, these three axis are fully interlinked.

More: http://projectkairos.net

Session 1: Crisis regimes – presentations

encounterathens — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 20:10:31 +0000

Crisis regimes: Transformations and manifestations of the crisis in cities of Southern Europe

Paschalis Samarinis, Encounter Athens – Intro [video]
• Marc Marti-Costa, IGOP -Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona – Spain [video] [ppt] [text]
• Jorge Malheiros, Neturb – Manifesto Urbano – Portugal [video] [text]
• Marvi Maggio, COBAS & INURA Florence – Italy [video] [ppt] [text]
• Maria Kalantzopoulou, Encounter Athens – Greece [video] [ppt] [text ]

Discussant: Costis Hadjimichalis, Professor Emeritus Harokopio University of Athens [video]

Session 2: Urban development – presentations

encounterathens — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 20:09:30 +0000

Ultra-neoliberal urban development

Evangelia Chatzikonstantinou and Fereniki Vatavali -Encounter Athens – Intro [video]

• Rodrigo Cardoso, Cities for recovery – Porto [video] [ppt] [text]
• Ana Estevens, Neturb Urban Manifest -Lisbon [video] [ppt]
• Gianluca Pittavino, NOTAV – Torino [video]
• Paolo di Vetta, Take back the city. Rome is not for sale – Rome [video] [text] [text IT] [poster]
• Andreas Danos, Metropolitan Park of Hellinikon – Athens [video] [ppt] [text] [text GR]
• Mauro Castro, The Platform “Defend Port Vell” – Barcelona [video] [ppt] [text]
• Beatriz Garcia, Observatorio Metropolitano – Madrid [video] [ppt] [text]

Discussant: Nikos Belavilas, Assistant Professor NTUA [video]

Session 3: Housing – presentations

encounterathens — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 20:07:51 +0000

Housing in crisis

Dimitris Balabanidis and Dimitra Siatitsa, Encounter Athens - Intro [video]
• Irene di Noto, Precarious Metropolitan Blocks -Rome [video] [ppt] [text]
• Alessio Capezzuoli, Housing struggle movement of Florence -Florence [video] [ppt] text]
• Network of social solidarity Exarhia-Neapoli-Museum – Athens [video] [ppt] [text GR]
• Iro Tsampazi, “Survival” open social squat – Thessaloniki [video] [ppt] [text]
• Pau Llonch, Platform of mortgage victims – Barcelona [video] [ppt] [text]
• Miguel Α. Martinez, Squatting, housing and the M15 – Madrid [video] [ppt] [text]
• Rita Silva & André Ferreira , HABITA – Lisbon [video] [ppt] [text]
• Antonio Guterres, Network of ex-Critical Neighbourhoods – Lisbon [video] [ppt] [text]

Discussant: Stavros Staurides, Professor NTUA [video]

Session 4: Local struggles – presentations

encounterathens — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 20:06:48 +0000

The local as a reference for new mobilisations, solidarity networks and actions

Penny Koutrolikou and Dimitra Spanou, Encounter Athens – Intro [video]
• Citizens committee of Exarchia – Athens [video] [ppt] [text]
• Citizens committee of Akadimia Platonos – Athens [video] [ppt] [textGR]
• Marc Dalmau Torva, Platform for the Recuperation of Can Batlló – Barcelona [video] [ppt] [text]
• Eduardo Maura, Analysis 15-M Madrid – Madrid [video] [ppt] [text]
• Jorge Cancela, Uptown Lisbon Association for Environmental Enhancement – Lisbon [video] [ppt] [text]
• Flavio Almada, Ghetto Platform – Lisbon [video] [ppt] [text]
• Joao Jordao, Movimento Sem Emprego – Lisbon [video] [ppt] [text]
• Giulia Cantaluppi, Isabella Inti & Matteo Persichino, temporiuso.net – Milan [video][text] [poster][trailer]
• Luisa Tuttolomondo, The yard we want – Palermo [video] [ppt] [text]

Discussant: Dina Vaiou, Professor NTUA [video]

Public event

encounterathens — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 20:03:44 +0000

Against and beyond the crisis: the role of urban social movements

Elena Patatouka and Mary Zifou, Encounter Athens – Intro [video]
• Margit Mayer, professor at the Free University of Berlin [video] [text]
• Boaventura de Sousa Santos, professor at the University of Coibra [video]
• David Harvey, distinguished professor at the graduate centre of CUNY [video]

Closing Session – presentations

encounterathens — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 20:00:58 +0000

Collective understanding of the crisis in cities of Southern Europe and a perspective for action

Penny Koutrolikou (Encounter Athens) and Marc Marti Costa (IGOP) – Intro [video]
• Loris Narda – Uninomades & Edufactory [video] [text]
• Michael Janoschka & Jacobo Abellán – Contested Cities [video] [ppt] [text]

Επιτροπη Πρωτοβουλιας Κατοικων Εξαρχειων / Citizens Committee of Exarcheia

encounterathens — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 21:25:40 +0000

Beyond political parties and ideologies and by abolishing divisions, Exarcheia unite us. Residents Committee of Exarcheia was formed in 2007 with the slogan “we take the neighborhood into our own hands”. Since then, apart from bringing together active residents and discussing the daily problems of living in Exarcheia, our initiative attempts to resolve general problems of the neighborhood, without specific political party preferences. In Greece under the crisis and poverty, terror and ugliness, we claim the obvious: the right to a decent life for all.

We all believe that the solution to our problems passes through our joint action!

More: http://exarchia.pblogs.gr

kolektiva omonia I Embros occupancy

encounterathens — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 19:57:38 +0000

On the 11 November 2011 Mavili Collective – a group of artists and theatre makers – occupied the disused building of Embros theatre and proposed an intense programme of activities. The occupancy installed itself as a “re-activation” and proposed initially an intense twelve-day programme of activities bringing together artists, theoreticians, dance/theatre makers, architects and the general public. During the last year in Embros, in Athens over 500 artists, theoreticians and practitioners presented work; ranging from emerging artists and students to university professors and established practitioners, working across multiple disciplines.

After a year of activities the Greek State attempted to close down Embros Theatre. Despite systematic efforts by the State Embros is still opened and now hosting many collectives and groups of the city. Since November there is weekly general assembly. From the 1-10 of February 2013 in Embros an intense programme of activities is taking place under the title ‘where are we now’ organised by Kolektiva Omonia – an open group of artists and theoreticians from different fields formed during the last year in Embros Occupancy.

More: http://kinisimavili.blogspot.gr/

CONTESTED_CITIES

encounterathens — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 11:11:41 +0000

[Contested Spatialities of Urban Neoliberalism: Dialogues between Emerging Spaces of Citizenship]: An initiative “in-between” research and activism

Neoliberal ideologies applied in city politics can be portrayed as key aspects for the progressive and often conflictive transformations of urban space today. Such transformations do not exclusively apply to the political sphere – neoliberalism has also affected the habits of how people imagine, perceive and appropriate urban spaces in their daily life. Cities play a strategic role in the variegated geographies of neoliberalism, but relatively little research critically assessed the challenges citizenship faces in neoliberal societies.

The interdisciplinary programme CONTESTED_CITIES is tackling this gap – it investigates the discourses and practices of contest and re-appropriation of urban space, thus providing a novel understanding of how opposition against neoliberal urban development is being re-framed in the course of the current financial and economic crisis. It brings together scientists and activists to discuss some of the striking consequences of urban neoliberalism and the resistance originated in different geographical backgrounds. By applying innovative qualitative methodologies such as reflexive photography and other visual accounts, the project aims at providing theoretical advances within citizenship studies and urban geography as well as at producing new empirical insights to the consequences of recent urban policies.

CONTESTED_CITIES is a recent initiative to bring together science and activism, and it is still defining its concrete actions within three key fields: visual representations of neoliberal urbanism, gentrification/displacement/exclusion from urban space, and the subversive action and re-appropriation of space by social movements.

More: http://www.contested-cities.net
facebook.com/contested.cities