EYFA News

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EYFA NETWORK NEWS! July 2007
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Upcoming local and international activities, campaigns, calls to action
or meeting/training opportunities in and around the EYFA network.
Please keep emailing info to EYFA (to eyfaeyfa.org, subject
"newsletter") so we can spread it through the network, website or in
this monthly e-news format.

read on and take part!
eyfa office

**Contents:
1. Ecotopia Portugal
2. No Borders Camp, Ukraine
3. Feminist & Anti-Homophobic camp in Lithuania
4. Activist murdered in Siberia
5. Camp for Climate Action
6. Building Workcamp in Moldova
7. Media Workshops in the Caucuses
8. Conference on Independent Music from Central and
Eastern Europe

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1. Ecotopia Portugal, August 4-19

Come to the south of Portugal this August and participate in 19th annual
Ecotopia gathering. Ecotopia is a two-week activist camp and an open
event for everyone interested in environmental and social justice
issues. Ecotopia takes place every summer since 1989 in a different
country. It is organized by EYFA (European Youth For Action) and hosted
by local grassroots environmental organizations. This year the local
hosts, GAIA (Grupo de Acção e Intervenção Ambiental), invite you to
Portugal to give workshops, network and learn.

Ecotopia is a place for networking, learning, exchanging experiences and
spreading information about environmental, social and political issues
and campaigns. Several hundred people attend Ecotopia each year to share
skills, to discuss alternatives and to address a wide range of themes
and issues like strategies for actions and campaigns, racism,
xenophobia, homo- and queerphobia, creative dissent, alternative media,
social centers, sustainable building and infrastructure, organic/fair
trade food and farming, climate change, biological diversity, GMOs, etc.

Migration Theme
Every year a theme is suggested by the organizers, to bring a focus to
the gathering. This year the theme is "Migration" and there will be a 3
days Migration Focus on the venue from 10th to 12th of August.

Throughout these 3 days there is space to discuss the reality of a
'Fortress Europe', of detention camps and different kinds of repression
on 'illegal' people, and to share experiences in the struggle for equal
rights and global freedom of movement for all. In the setting of
Ecotopia we will also look into the reasons and effects of
urban-rural/rural-urban migrations and address the global increase of
environmental refugees.

Community
Ecotopia is horizontally and self-organized. It brings an alternative
and environmentally-friendly way of living and organizing into practice:
DIY (do-it-yourself), consensus decision-making, waste recycling, a
vegetarian/vegan organic kitchen and the usage of alternative energies
as much as possible. It is strictly forbidden to use non-ecological
stuff (soap,shampoo etc) in the camp. Everyone is asked to involve
themselves in decision-making processes, the daily creation of the
program and the running of the camp. During the 2 weeks, participants
can use Ecotopia as a platform to spread information in the area and to
organize local actions or cleanups.

Location
Aljezur is a small town in the south of Portugal situated in the
Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park in the Algarve
region. The landscape is dominated by cliffs, clear sand and dunes. It
is known for its archaeological and historical richness. Once founded by
Arabs in the 10th century, the Aljezur of today has a mixed population
of 2700 inhabitants.

Prepcamp (23rd of June - 4th of August 2007 )
Every year, before Ecotopia starts, there is a Preparation Camp of 1-2
weeks in the venue for setting up the infrastructure of the camp. This
year Ecotopia Prep-Camp will start 23rd of June 2007. If you want to
participate the PrepCamp, please mention this while filling in the
online registration forms.

Costs and Participation:
The fee is 5 ecos per day. This is just to cover the food costs, which
will be similar to the food costs in your own country. This is based on
the alternative economic system EYFA has developed called "Ecorates".
Ecorates are based on living standards and income of people rather than
financial markets.

Please register! If you plan on coming, please visit our online
registration form so we can estimate participants (for food and
logistics). You can do that here: http://informal.benn.org/?db=60

For all other information about Ecotoipa, please visit these sites:
www.ecotopiagathering.org/
www.gaia.org.pt
www.eyfa.org

Contact email: ecotopia@eyfa.org

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2. No Borders Camp, Ukraine

The camp will take place from the 11th to the 20th of August 2007 in the
main region of transit and labor migration in Ukraine: Transcarpathia.

The eastward expansion of the European Union has resulted in moving the
walls of "Fortress Europe" to the Western border of Ukraine. The
Ukrainian region of Transcarpatia, of which the biggest cities are
Uzhgorod and Mukachevo, has become a new borderline, with increasing
militarization and major concentration of detention camps for refugees
from the countries of Global South and former USSR, who try to escape
war, totalitarianism or misery to the European Union countries. It is
hard to find any "open" information about the conditions in the majority
of these camps.

The condition of the refugees in Ukraine is very unstable: freedom of
movement is restricted; it is hard to get a job or medical care, and no
social security is provided. When one gets refugee status, the only
support they get from the state is a single payment of a petty 3 euros.
In recent years Ukraine has even extradited asylum seekers to places
like Uzbekistan, where they were imprisoned for years in the notorious
authoritarian regime's gulags.

The increase of border controls makes a big impact on lives of local
people in the depressed region of Transcarpathia. The region is situated
on the intersection of borders of five countries: Ukraine, Slovakia,
Poland, Hungary, and Romania. Four of them are now in the European
Union, but Ukraine will not be its member in the near future. So
"Fortress Europe" strengthens its Eastern frontiers on the borderline of
Western Ukraine. Still, up to half of the working population of
Transcarpathia works abroad.

At the same time, Transcarpathia has been for a long time a very special
region with its unique blend of local cultures and traditions, and now
it turned out to be one of the main routes for international migration.
Therefore, local border guards, security services and media, using
xenophobic language, help to spread prejudices towards migrants among
local population, which resulted in rising tensions in the region.

We demand the right of free movement for everyone, asylum for all the
persecuted people and the right of people to migrate from depressed
areas to work in other countries, if it can make their lives better. We
demand abolishing all visa regimes. We want to tear down "Fortress
Europe" contemporary border regime, which has lead to the
state-sanctioned murder of thousands of people in its borders during
recent years. The "Global Apartheid" policy should be stopped!

We will discuss the possible ways and perhaps we will do some actions
(but not in the very region of camp; it has been advised by everybody
who's in touch with the region that any confrontational actions done by
activists from "outside" on such a sensitive issue could make the
situation worse, not better). So first of all it will not be an action
camp but a camp for communication, networking, planning and popular
education.

Another event that is going to take place in the camp is an
International Food Not Bombs gathering. There is an explosion of Food
Not Bombs activities in Eastern Europe. In Russia alone there are about
50 groups that are regularly doing actions. Also an East Europe media
activist gathering will also take place within the context of the No
Boarder camp.

We already started to form a program of workshops, discussions,
practical trainings etc. But we prefer the program of the camp to be
formed by the people who will come there. So if you've got something to
share or contribute ? please let us know now! It can be any topic you
are interested in, not only the main topic of the camp.

Please take into account that Ukraine has cancelled the visa regime for
the citizens of the European Union, the USA and some other countries, so
if you have a passport of some Western country you probably do not need
any visa to join us.

More information and contact: noborder2007@riseup.net
To subscribe/unsubscribe, change your address on the list etc. you can
find help at: http://help.riseup.net/lists/subscribers/

To register for the No Border Camp and more info:
http://www.thatsaninterestingpoint.org.ua/noborders2007/index_eng.php

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3. Feminist & Anti-Homophobic camp in Lithuania

August 3 - 5 there will be a pro/feminist, anti-homophobic camp in
Lithuania. Workshops on various topics are being offered, like:
- feminist self-defence and/or methods of domination
- Feminism in post-Soviet context
- Different historical paths of feminism(s) in the West and
Soviet/Post-Soviet space
- Social Engineering and Politics of 'Normalcy' - Who needs it? EU, NGOs,
- neoliberalism versus nationalisms, religious fundamentalism, conservatism
- and more

Translations will be available.
Please email if there are any questions and for more info:
anya_rus@yahoo.com

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4. Activist murdered in Siberia

Another activist murdered, on the night of the 21st of July the
anti-nuclear protest camp in Angarsk, Siberia was attacked by a group of
Nazis. They were armed with knives, bats, cudgels, and iron pipes. While
swearing nationalist and anti-Antifa slogans they first attacked the 21
year old Ilya Borodaenko who was on guard. Ilya, an anarchist and member
of the Autonomous Action from Nakhodka, died because of a craniocerebral
trauma. Two more people are still in the hospital, one still unconscious
and the other with both legs broken. The tents were sliced to pieces and
burned. Their belongings were stolen.

The police, who only one week earlier had started their own
intimidations towards the activists, said the attack was an act of
'hooliganism', ignoring with this statement the increase of neo-Nazi
attacks in Russia on migrants, and Antifa- and human rights activists.

More background info: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/07/376699.html
First solidarity action at the Russian Embassy in the Netherlands:
http://www.indymedia.nl/nl/2007/07/46234.shtml

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5. Camp for Climate Action

14th - 21st August, Heathrow Airport UK, A week of workshops and action.

The Camp for Climate Action comes to Heathrow Airport in 2007, for a
summer of sustainability, solidarity and sanity :-
http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/location.php

Aviation is the fastest growing source of Greenhouse Gas emissions in
the United Kingdom, and all our efforts to tackle Climate Change in
other sectors will be undone by the massive growth in air travel.

Holding this year's Climate Camp at Heathrow aims to highlight the
lunacy of the Government's airport expansion plans, target industry
giants profiteering from the Climate crisis, and raise awareness of the
need to fly less.

The camp will also support local residents in their long-term struggle
against the building of a third runway and the destruction of their
communities.

There will be a day of mass direct action aiming to disrupt the
activities of the airport and the aviation industry, but in the
interests of public safety there will be no attempt to blockade runways.

Although the location is different from 2006, when we went to the Drax
coal power station to shut it down, the philosophy of the camp remains
the same : to be a space for the burgeoning network of people taking
radical action on Climate Change.

We come together for a week of low-impact living, education, debate,
networking, strategising, celebration, and direct action.

The camp will feature over 100 workshops covering topics such as Climate
Change impacts, Carbon Offsetting, Biofuels, Peak Oil, Permaculture,
practical Renewables, campaign strategy, skills for direct action, and
much more.

Run without leaders by everyone who comes along, it will be a working
ecological village using Renewable Energy, composting waste and sourcing
food locally.

It all comes down to us, now. We are the last generation that can do
anything about Climate Change. The world has less than 10 years to come
up with a workable plan. In 20 or 30 years' time, should we not change
our ways, we'll be committed to emissions increases that will see
forests burn, soils decay, oceans rise, species extinction and millions
of people die, or be displaced from their land.

If we don't get this issue right, so much else is lost too. We still
have time, but not for long. Make it count.

7 short films of Climate Camp participants :-
http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/videos.php
Camp for Climate Action, 14th - 21st August 2007 :-
http://www.climatecamp.org.uk
General questions / comments / suggestions can be sent to :-
info@climatecamp.org.uk
To subscribe to the mailing list, type "climatecamp" at :-
http://lists.riseup.net
or send an email to :-
climatecamp-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

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6. Building Workcamp in Moldova, 17.08.2007 -01.09.2007

There are still 11 places available at the international workcamp in
Moldova 17.08.2007 -01.09.2007, where we plan to renovate a small
primary school in a Roma ("Gypsy")-community, in the Center - West of
the country.

MOLDOVA, a former Soviet republic slightly bigger than Belgium, set
between Romania and Ukraine and with a population of around 3 Million
people today. The main spoken language is Romanian.

BUT HOW CAN YOU GET THERE
There are direct train services between Moldova and Belarus, Bulgaria,
Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine. Similarly, there are direct bus
(coach) connections between Moldova and Bulgaria, the Czech Republic,
Germany, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Ukraine. Potential volunteers
from Bulgaria, Georgia and Turkey might also consider to take a ferry to
Odessa, the Ukranian Black See-port and to continue their journey on bus
(8 hours) to the Moldovan capital, Chisinau.

We would like to recommend this workcamp also to the more experienced
and mature volunteers. There are no age restrictiosn on this camp and
we are happy to receive volunteers of what ever age above 21.

This will be the first international workcamp to take place in this
country after a number of years. A rare opportunity to visit Europe's
least known but arguably currently one of the most interesting countries.

We are waiting for your applications !

Please write to:

M.Wiersing@gmx.net and sirbu_tanja@yahoo.fr

Best wishes,
Mihai Wiersing Sudau
CPF 50:50 - Tarna Rom
Chisinau

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7. Media Workshops in the Caucuses

Media workshops with from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
Organised by Intercultural Centre (IZ) Vienna, the Association of Youth
Non-formal Education in Lithuania (AYNEL) and the Eurasia Foundation,
Georgia

We are offering the opportunity for young people from Armenia,
Azerbaijan, and Georgia to participate in the project “South Caucasus –
a Part of Europe”. The project is starting with media workshops in
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia carried out by an international team of
media/youth trainers. We are looking for young people aged 16-24 who:

- Want to learn how to express ideas through using media – radio, print
journalism, photography or video
- Are ready to cooperate with young people from Austria, Georgia,
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Lithuania
- Motivated to discuss with others and actively share their perspectives
of life in the participating countries
- Know one foreign language (English, Russian, German or other)
- Are willing to use knowledge and experience gained during the
workshops with other people in their community (e.g. NGO, friends,
school, other)
- Are committed to be active in the project for a one year period (Oct
2007-Oct-2008)

30 young people from each country (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia) will be
selected and trained by an international team of professional
media/youth trainers in one of the 4 media fields. The outcome of their
work will be presented to the public in Austria and Lithuania during an
information campaign with a number of exhibitions, publications and
discussions.

Workshop schedule:

- Preparatory media workshops of 6 days duration – second week of
October 2007 for young people in Georgia, first week of November 2007
for young people in Armenia and third week of November 2007 for young
people in Azerbaijan.
- 3 x 1 day follow-up workshops until July 2008 for young people in each
of the countries

Based on the commitment and active participation in the project a
delegation of 5 workshop participants from each country will be invited
to participate in the joint workshops with young people and opening of
the campaign in Austria and Lithuania in autumn of 2008.

Please visit this website for more info:
https://salto.org.pl/forum/viewtopic.php?p=81&sid=932c1f0e613a44aa49decdeb78e61eb7#81

You will find application form at the above website, to be filled in and
returned to the following e-mail address: veronica.chkadua@eurasia.org.ge


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8. Conference on Independent Music from Central and
Eastern Europe

Kultur Aktiv, located in Germany, has the pleasure to invite you/other
representatives from your organisation to the third edition of the
international Conference on Independent Music from Central and
Eastern Europe – “Storm of Change III”. The conference will take place
on 14th - 16th September in Dresden,Germany.

This international event offers all the organisations and active
individuals the perfect opportunity and environment to
• establish new contacts with organisations from over
25 countries that work in the Art, Cultural and Social
field,
• exchange knowledge on Independent Music,
• debate on current issues, and more.

Contact Kultur Aktiv e.V. for a more detailed invitation letter, which
contains information regarding the program, goals, concept, activities,
requirements, etc.

Contact:
Cristina Gutu
Kultur Aktiv e.V.
pomocnik@kulturaktiv.org

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