Englische Version
aus Dissent! Network Wiki, der freien Wissensdatenbank
We are here to make an end to capitalism, for example by disturbing the G8 in Heiligendamm. For our resistance we need places to meet, organize and link to each other....
Hello and welcome in the convergence centre "Baltic Sea Beach" in Rostock/ Evershagen!!!
The reader which you are holding in your hands should help you to find your way and to be active in the convergence center Rostock. We have put all the points together in this reader, which we thought they matter. But rules and habits do change, that's why this reader won't be 100 percent actual. Therefore when things seem unclear or texts don't fit anymore: please ask at the welcome-point.
We will see each other on the streets!
Unter dem Pflaster liegt der Strand!
In anger and love, the CC-crew
Why a Convergence Centre?
Okay, we want to smash the summit, but that is not enough! To build up longterm structures for an intergalactic resistance against global capitalism, we want to meet one week before the international actiondays and the storm on the red zone, to exchange our various views, visions and strategies of actions and to get connected. In the hot phase of the resistance against the G8 the Convergence Centre offers the needed infrastructure. Besides Workshops, there will be an information-point, food and drinks, computer and internet-access, first aid, sleeping-places and other stuff. How this is going to work, is descibed in this reader.
Concept
The basis for the coperation of all individuals and groups who cooperate in the CC are the principles of PGA. The common points of PGA are put together in 5 keypoints:
- 1. A clear rejection of capitalism, imperialism and feudalism, and all trade-agreements, institutions and governments who support the destructive globalisation.
- 2. A rejection of all forms of dominance and discrimination, including patriarchy, racism and religious fundamentalism of all kinds. Acknowledgement of the dignity of all humans.
- 3. A confrontative attitude, that means no belief in lobbying of undemocratic organisations who are as well influenced by transnational capitalism.
- 4. A call for direct actions and civil disobedience, support struggles of social movements, who maximilize the respect of life and the rights of oppressed people, as well as creating alternatives to capitalism
- 5. An organisational philosophy based on decentralisation and autonomy.
The concept of the school as a whole and its way to cooperate with press
The Convergence Centre just occupies a part of the school building ( from the point of view of the main entrance: the left part of the building). In this part of the building the public press is not welcome and has therefore no access. From the street-entrance the representatives of the public press can enter the building and reach the part of the school which is open for the public press (downstairs, first and second floor). Here are some offices of working-groups of the broad alliance against the G8 summit (camp wg, demonstartion wg, Block G8, interventionalist left, Attac, Campinski Pressgroup, Solid, Linkspartei and maybe some others). In the 3rd floor the Independent Media Centre (IMC) has its space and here the public press will have no access as well.
No pictures, no movies
Because all pictures can be confiscated by the cops, and be used to identify and criminalize activists, many people react sensitively on taking pictures or filming. Therfore please don't make pictures in the CC!!!!
A common "Do it yourself"?
To make the Convergence Centre a supportive infrastructure for the protests, it is important to cooperate. The journey is the reward, we are in a self-organized Convergence Centre, with the wish for structures without hierarchies. Of course we as organizing crew have time and information- benefit, but we do want to share the responsibility!. At the points 'sctructures of communication' and 'How can I help' you will find informations about meeting times and places, and black boards and the possibilities to be active in supporting us to support you.
What You Should Know!
Actionbikes
There is an unknown amount of bikes and comboination locks that can be used. Most of those bikes are ready to go, but some need to be fixed. Ask the Welcomepoint-Crew where to find the bikes, if you are in need of tools you will find them at the Material/Crafting-Room.
Awarenessgroup (Help for victims of Sexism and sexual Violence)
Sexism and sexual Violence always appear when many people come together. This means even during „our“ Conferences, Camps or Convergence Centers. To face this fact in a political way and to support victims, confront delinquents with their deed(s) awarenessgroups turned out to be a good concept during the past years. Unfortunately there is no phonenumber existing when this reader is about to be printed, but it will be available at the Welcomepoint.
Awarenessgroup: 0381 4403290 (from 4pm to 9am only answering machine, checked every hour ) or 0176 67440646.
Affinity Groups
In making protests more effective and enjoyable Affinity groups proved well. Affinity Groups can be understood as a group of 4-20 activists that trust each other and that want to make their way in and through the protests. Affinity Groups are helpful when situations grow chaotic, to keep control and of course not to be alone on the battlefields or to provide support in case of repression. If you are not yet part of such a group you can look for other activists in the CC to organize an Affinity Group. For example you could ask people after the daily 10h plenary.
More information concerning this topic is provided by the „Together - Guide for Affinity Groups“-Booklet which can be found at nearly every Infotable in the CC or just ask the Welcomepoint-Crew.
So: Create mobs! Together we are unstoppable!!!
Bar and Party space and something concerning the theme alcohol
The space for party and bar will be room 22 and 23, in the first floor.
The convergence centre is understood as a place where political work has priority. People who want to party should be aware of the needs of people who are busy preparing protests or want to sleep in peace. The weeks of protests will be stressful and exhausting for all of us and it is difficult to foresee what will happen. Every person staying in the CC should be able to take responsilbility and think clear. That means that a sensitive way of dealing with alcohol and other drugs is needed and take care not to get drunk or stoned. Who is totally drunk or bothering others should go elsewhere.
Cops
Liberty is dying for Security! We are pretty sure that we are/will be watched by national organsiations/Cops or however you call them. Probably there have been wiretap(wires or bugs) installed in many of the rooms in the school. So, think about where and what you really want to talk about .... This is also effecting the area aropund the school, directional microphones are easy to use and easy to hide in the buildings around the school. General rule for any place is to take out your cellphones' SIM-card, to cut off unwelcome listeners.
It is always possible that Undercover-cops will try to follow and track you when you leaving the school by car, by bike or if you just take a walk.
If you experience any kind of repression by cops try to stay calm and make a call for the Legal Team (explained later) and always write down how you remember the situation (this is necessary and will help you later on).
Cafe
The cafe is in the part where the press has access in room 10 ! It will be self-organized and on the basis of donations, that means everybody can drink tea and coffee, cook, take stuff with him or herself... D.I.Y. !
Camps
By the time this reader is printed 3 camps are provided, but there were still negotiations for more spaces. It can be that there will be more camps at the time you arrive, actual informations will be available at the infopoint (room 5/ground floor) or the welcome-point or www.camping-07.org.
The camps will be open from the 29th of May onwards, but also before. Everyone is invited to help building it up. There will be camps in:
* Wichmannsdorf (Kröpelin, in the south of Kühlungsborn)
* Reddelich (south-west of Bad Doberan)
* Rostock (old slaughtery in Rostock-Bramow)
Childcare
For Childcare there will be a room! And there will be childcare from the 25. until the 29. May.
Drinks
At the welcomepoint you will see where it is possible to buy drinks and foods. There you also can go when you want to help. Besides next to the CC there are some big supermarkets.
First Aid
The medics will offer a workshop on the 25th and the 26th of May on first aid during actions and they will have a room from the 2nd of June until the 5th of June in the CC (Room 4 groundfloor). Otherwise the medics will be on the camps and on the streets. They will have a number for emergency-cases.
Medics: 0171 / 1 560 580 or call loudly "medics"!
Financing
D.I.Y. in the financial point of view means that it works on the basis of solidarity. and everybody pays according to his or her possibilities and when it is not possible, then not! But costs do exists: Food, transports, materials, copies, workshops and so on. There will be boxes for donations and there is a bank account:
Netzwerk Selbsthilfe e.V.
Konto 740 388 7000 - BLZ 100 900 00 - Berliner Volksbank
IBAB: DE 13 7403887000,
BIC: BEVODEBB
Important - aim: Convergence Center
When there will be too much money: it will be used for antirepression-works.
Food
Every day at 12am (if time changes, you will find it at the welcome-point)there will be a preparation meeting for the food in the kitchen (room 17) to coordinate the cooking and collecting of food.This meeting is open for all who would like to help (cutting, collecting, cooking, complain about too much salt). To prevent too much chaos it makes sense to come to the meeting when you want to help, but also spontaneously helping persons are always wanted! The kitchen cooks vegan and will try to cook with organic and regional stuff. This means: we find it important to try to find the best possible alternatives in daily life, but also we don't want our food to be too expensive, because the food should be there for everyone, also for people who don't have much money. So the food is on the basis of donation, you give what you can and think is right. The kitchen is self-organized. Some people will feel themselves responsible, but: it won't work when people don't help. The Kitchen-crew is not a service-group. The preparing of the food is a part of the collective political process and a nice place for conversations! Nothing is better then a kitchen-party!
Legal team
The legal team collects general informations about raids, imprisonments and custodies , the names, birth-dates, places of birth from persons who are in prison or got injured and is trying to contact laywers. They take care that the people in prison will get legal support and will find out where those persons are (which police-office/ common cells (gesa)). Besides they provide mental help because they make clear to the victim (as well as friends and families) and even to the police that there ARE persons outside that take care and know about the imprisoned persons.
The most important informations you will find in the leaflet "What to do when it burns" from the Rote Hilfe. This leaflet is available in different languages and you will find it in the CC. It makes sense to read before going to actions!
EA Number: ______________________
IMC/Independent Media Centre
Dont't hate the media- be the media!
The independent media center
The "Unabhängige Medienzentrum" (Independent Media Centre, IMC) is a free alliance of media-activists who take care of a differentiated way of reporting about the G8 and the protests.
In Room 13 1. floor you will find an Open-acces-point for PC's, internet, printer and copy-machines!
A place where media-activists can work undisturbed will be in the rooms 46 until 51 in the 3rd floor.
Infopoints
Informations are the basis for the protests!
Where do I find what I need during the days: food, sleeping-places, medics, people I can trust? What happened before, what is going on? Where do actions take place? And how to reach these places?
At the I-points you will find answers and informationmaterial and maps. There will be I-Point at:
* Berlin-Convergence-Center (21.5 until 16.6), * Hamburg-Convergence-Center(25.5 until 10.06) * Reddelich-Camp (End of May until 09.06), * Rostock Convergence Center (2. and 3.6.), * Bad Doberan-Innenstadt (03.06-09.06), * Kröpelin-Marktplatz (5.06-09.06). * Infopoint Rostock-Laage at the central station from 30.05. until 02.06. * Mobile infopoints at the places of action.
Material
In room 19 you will find materials for banners and actions. Please bring back the stuff (especailly tools) and clean it after using.
PC's
...Internet,printer, scanner and copy-machine are in Room 13, 1st floor. Try to be as fast as possible, the others are waiting too...!
Pets
Dogs and other pets are nice friends, but the CC is not the right place to be for them! Some people have allergies or fears of animals or don't like hairs all over. And there might be situations which are not so nice for our faithful friends... So leave them at home or take care to find a better place to be for them!
Protection/Security
Every evening there will be a meeting for protection/secutity, where the nightwatch will be put up. Place and time will be announced at the welcome-point.
Sleepingplaces
The Convergence Centre wants to offer the needed infrastructure for all the different forms of protest without getting lost too much in daily issues. That also means that we offer sleepingplaces, because without sleep, only the resistance will be sleeping. You will find informations at the welcome-point.
When it is needed rooms for workshop will serve as sleeping-places. That means that these rooms should be free at 10am until 8pm. Sleeping stuff should just be put aside.
A woman/ lesbians/ transgender -sleepingroom can be found in room 30 on the 2nd floor, the room for men/ homosexuals/transgender can be found in room 45 on the 3rd floor, mixed: room 43 and 39 on the 3rd floor.
Showers
A tent with showers exists in the garden. More can be build. So, if you like....
Structures of communication
The meeting at 10am (workshoproom 1) offers you the possibility to get active in the CC. It will be a meeting for delegates of affinitygroups and other interested persons. It will be a meeting to organize and inform you and will not take then an hour. Topics which need longer discussion will be talked about in other plenaries for interested persons. And of course eveybody is free for putting up topics on the agenda for the interested persons plenary. Therefore you can ask the persons at the welcome-point and you will get to know where and at what time these meetings take place. Black board at the entrance of the school. In the entrance of the school there will be a black board for announcements, workshopprograms, possibilities for lifts, important news, maps and everything else which is important. Please make your announcements in as many languages as possible and hand it to the people at the welcome point to get it to the right place.
Transport
We are always looking for cars for shuttle-services and transport of materials. Please say so at the welcome-point or at the entrance of the camps, when you can lend your bike, car, bus, truck for a few hours or longer, thanks! And of course if you want to drive them!
Translations
A Machine for simultaneous translations will be there for big meetings, but to be able to use this you need an UKW-radio (bring it!). On different frequencies different languages can be heard. Translators for different languages are always needed, please tell the welcome point. All workshops and meetings should be translated in English, there is time for whisper-translations. Please, please, please DO NOT FORGET when you are talking that somebody will be translating you. SPEAK SLOWLY AND MAKE BREAKS and take a look at the translators!!
Welcome point
Often you have heard from the welcome-point, we would like to enveil the secret. It will be directly behind the main entrance. It should be open all the time... and be reachable by phone. Here you will find informations concerning the CC. When you just arrived, have questions or want to help, please ask. And you will find maps and telephone-books, the actuall workshopprograms and the black board to communicate whatever you want!
CC's Welcome point Number: 0173/6392195, 0381/4620819 (from a foreign country: 0049/381/4620819)
How can I help?
Some ideas how to support the self-organization of the convergence centre. Of course you can also get information at the welcome point!
- take care of Children
- kitchen (kitchen meeting daily 12:00 in the kitchen (room 17))
- bring trash to the bins outside
- offer workshops
- take care for a bar shift
- repair toilets
- night watch (every evening there will be a meeting about safety, time and place you will get to know at the welcome point)
- help to build up the camps
- offer your car (and yourself as driver) for transports
- translate workshops and meetings, translate texts
- clean up
Workshops
Starting on may 25th, diverse workshops will take place at the convergence centre. The current workshop program is available at the welcome point. There you can also register your workshops or ask for translators.
There will be workshops about the following topics:
- politics of G8 and their importance
- Racism and the politics of migrants exclusion
- global agriculture and GMO (genetically modified organisms)
- war policy
- privatisation all over the world
- energy policy and destruction of environment
- education policies
- Cooperation for developement and debts
- local political focuses in different areas of the world
Practical workshops:
- geographical and strategic information about Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
- german law for demontrations
- repression
- trauma
- action training
- methods of communication under difficult circumstances
- taking decisions in bigger groups
- blockade training
- medical First Aid especially for demonstrations
How to get away from the CC
- to the camp in Rostock- Bramow: Outside of the school to the left, follow Bertolt-Brecht-Str, cross the city motorway, follow Schmarler Damm, turn right into Marieneher Str., later named "Am Fischereihafen". To your left hand is the camp.
- to the camp in Reddelich: take S-Bahn (metro) or Tramway to Rostock Hauptbahnhof (central station). From there a train every hour from 7:07 am - 8:07 am - 9:07 am till 8:07 pm direction to Wismar. Get out at Reddelich station. From the station follow the signs to the camp.
- To the camp in Reddelich by car: Bertolt-Brecht-Str, direction "Rostock-Zentrum", take the city high way. take first exit and follow highway B 105 direction Bad Doberan/ Wismar till Reddelich.
- to the camp in Wichmannsdorf: by car: same as to Reddelich, follow highway B 105 to Kröpelin, then left on L 122 direction to Boldeshagen, after 5 km turn right to Wichmannsdorf.
How to get to the CC
- Tramway: From Rostock Hauptbahnhof (central station) take tramway nr. 4 or 5 direction "Rügener Straße" or "Mecklenburger Allee". Or from the city centre tramway nr. 1 direction "Mecklenburger Allee". Get out at tram stop "Thomas-Morus-Straße", directly in front of you is the school building.
- S-Bahn (metro): It's the faster connection from Hauptbahnhof (central station) direction to "Warnemünde", leaving every 20 minutes, five stops till "Evershagen". Get out of station in the direction the train is leaving, to the left crossing the bridge. Follow the way straight on passing big blue concret-block of flats, behind it on your right hand you will see lot of grass and the school building with a lot of banners.
- By car from highway A 19: exit Rostock West, follow B 103 direction to "Warnemünde" (city highway/ Stadtautobahn). AFter the crossing of B105/ B103 turn left to Evershagen. Follow Bertolt-Brecht-Str, after 2 minutes you will see the convergence center on your right hand (with a lot of banners)
- By car from highway A 20 exit Rostock Ost, follow B 105 direction to Wismar, then B 103 direction to Warnemünde, then like above