Dear friends, 

This week several important events are taking place in Tunis. 

One is World Social Forum, which has lost long time ago its fame as the world' unique gathering space for progressive, horizontal, democratic, left social movements; a movement of movements or network of networks. It has become a carnival or fair for well funded and coopted NGOs, or touristic activity for the NGO cadre and hence subjected to criticisms from many social movement activists or advocacy groups that are engaged in real struggles on the ground. In the absence of similar space, for the world-gathering of people's grassroots struggles, two years ago, in 2013 the WSF was organized in Tunis for the first time; since Tunis has become a symbol of the new wave of mass uprisings started in 2011. This year as the second time WSF planned to take place in Tunis, and its opening March was two days ago (24/3). 

In 2013 version of Tunis WSF, some people who involved in 15M uprising (Indignados) in Spain in 2011, as well as in the Occupy Wall Street (in US) and the assembles and networks spread globally named Occupy movement, we did initiate a friendly occupation by creating open spaces and assemblies for self-organization within the official WSF and Tunis city centre. Which aimed at opening participation to the Tunisian citizens who could not afford to buy tickets for the forum organized far from city centre, in the El Manar university campus. This initiative called Global Square, or OccupyWSF, is taking place in Tunis WSF this year as well. 

Another important event, again taking place within the WSF, is a new initiative that was emerged very recently and called Internet Social Forum, in order to rethink and liberate the Internet, which is becoming increasingly a monopolized, corporatized, privatized space; or for some like Jullian Assange even worse than that, it became a dark 'surveillance machine'. One of the events ISF organizing is about rethinking the social forum as it is organized via online on the Internet.

Though really wanted I couldn't be go to Tunis to support and join the work, neither to realize the second version of the OccupyWSF (Global Square), nor the new OccupyInternet initiative. Yet since both ideas are quite similar; since in a way both relate to the actual and virtual open spaces and stress their importance for articulation while re-thinking the social forums and the Internet together, I believe there needs to be some form of collaboration between these two initiatives taking place in the same campus but some how disconnected. Hoping that it would facilitate a networking between the two from a distance, but via Internet, I did propose and planned an virtual event about practice of occupation in a study-circle format, where participants brings in not more then what they already know, put that in a production process. Event will be a prelaunch of Universe.city project as it is described below.

What:

15 min. presentation and status update for Universe.city* initiative, and 45 min. collective 'mapping of the knowledge production processes in corporate university' in groups, and 30 min. plenary exchange on 'How to Occupy, produce, open, share, and protect the space-time' 

*Universe.City is a free and open access platform initiative, empowered by GNUnion and others. It allows cooperative learning for individuals and groups by connecting spaces, people and projects within and without the city(ies). The unconditional empowerment of the disempowered, the excluded, and the oppressed, solidarity and cooperation between and within such is our motto. Adopting Fereire's pedagogical approach, as well as other transformatory, emancipatory perspectives Universe.city strive for liberating knowledge at the point of production and distribution from alienation, borders, time, and social class domination. Universe.city brings together Free / Libre, Open Source Software (FLOSS) resources for self-learning, such as free access libraries, torrent depositories, 'How To', DIY, and 'DIWO' guides. We try to combine these with 'professionally' designed and delivered online, face to face, one to one, one to many, and many to many courses, or any other type of educative activities; either gratis or provided in a framework of emancipatory cooperative exchange. These can be practical and analytical lectures, study circles, trainings, workshops, strategy sessions, or otherwise. In a way, all activities serve participants, and allow them to contribute to the emergence of a cooperative an solidarity economy at the planetary level, and may even be.. beyond that! 

When:

Friday 27 March, 12:00-13:30 (CET)
Time zone converter: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html
Google Event: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/111495872636087324840/events/cfea4me55uu4jm94g1vqioj0slk

FB Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/480730562077992/

Where:

Prelaunch might be grounded in the Global Square space in World Social Forum 2015, at University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis

Google map: https://www.google.com/maps?ll=36.812363%2C10.66751&z=10&t=m&hl=nl&gl=TN&mapclient=embed&cid=296010521177257768

In any case event will be taking place virtually

Live stream via Hangout On Air: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/111495872636087324840/events/cb3eb8uvh4gab8u1ragv9kq6hmk

Big Blue Button Online classroom: Here is a how to video to be able to get in an online classroom to follow and participate the event on an open source remote education system BigBlueButton: https://youtu.be/lx8NbVDPpoY In case you have a really good and fast Internet connection it works well and smooth. The system is set up by Union Solidarity International (usilive.org) and MayFirst / People Link (mayfirst.org <http://mayfirst.org/>), we appreciate a lot that comrades and colleagues have made these tools accessible for workers and citizens around the world to organise exchanges and trainings. Note that there is a small change on the updated website (of usilive.org) where you could access the meeting room. Now you have to follow the link:https://usilive.org/talk/ scroll down, add name and password '123' to enter in the room. 

YouTube Video Embed:you can get the embed code from the youtube video-stream.

Web site for official launch (planned for May in Amsterdam): http://tinyurl.com/nkgyk24 

Twitter: @GNUnion, @OccupyWSF, #GlobalSquare  
Email:gnunion@...  

Looking forward to meet tomorrow @12:00 CET 
Global and networked solidarity! 

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