WORKSHOP: THE RIGHT TO DECIDE EUROPE

Sat | 22nd November | 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. Studierendenhaus | University campus

Bockenheim | Mertonstr. 26-28 | Room K 2
The Charter for Europe is an unfinished document which emerges from the
social struggles of the last years to call out for a collective European
subjectivity. In this workshop well address the role of such a tool presenting
some historical processes, such as The Great Forest Charter (1225) or The
Womens Charter for Rights and Liberties (1910), as well as contemporary uses
as in the Social Contract of Rojava charter. We will challenge ourselves to
continue the work on the Charter for Europe, imagining it as a prototype of a
European constitution written from below.
As far as the here introduced Charter for Europe is concerned, the main
question surrounding it is whether it can be used and developed to enlarge and
enrich the incipient process that has crystallized around the New Abduction of
Europe meeting. This is something that should not only concern the worried
individuals and groups, but the very European cultural institutions as well. The
previous steps of the process of the Charter for Europa, and the latest version
1.2 are explained on this article:
http://www.internationaleonline.org/research/real_democracy/
charter_for_europe_1_2
We kindly suggest that the participants take the time to read the Charter for
Europe beforehand. To provide another example of a recent charter process
we also suggest taking a good look on La Carta por la Democracia, a Spanish-
level document recently elaborated in collaboration with the post-15M political
ecosystem inside an organizational process from which Ganemos has sprung to
destitute the two-party-system in municipal elections next May. It can be found,
translated into English, here: http://guerrillatranslation.com/2014/06/26/a-
charter-for-democracy/
For the most intrigued of the lot we have also prepared a .zip archive with the
material that will be used as historical references of charter processes during
the workshop. It can be downloaded here: http://XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

1. OBJECTIVES OF THE WORKSHOP

GENERALLY

continue producing common notions to build a European front

of resistance against the Troika while constructing another,
radically democratic Europe (looking to escape from
euroscepticism and nacionalisms); express what is
happening, produce analysis of the situation, find common
 horizons (shared strategies), define tactics to reach it...
introduce and develope the hypothesis of instituent practices
on European level
knit European organization capable of activating when
conflicts reuiere it

CONCRETELY

discuss constituent process as a shared strategy in the process of

radically democratizing Europe
discuss the tactics and tools

2. MATERIALS [please read the bolded]

Charter for Europe

Carta por la Democracia

Four historical and one actual reference:

Magna Carta (1215),

The Great Charter of Forests (1225, conf. 1299),

People's Charter (1838),

Womens Charter of Rights and Liberties (1910),

Charter of the Social Contract of Rojava (2014).

Other contextualizing material

Crisis y revolution in Europe,

Democratic Autonomy of Rojava (West Kurdistan North

Syria). Transformation Process from Dictatorship to
Democracy.

3. METODOLOGY AND GROUP DYNAMICS [3 hours]

[20 min] presentations. To know who is who, but especially to
know why they chose this workshop, so we can better work
together
[10 min] presentation of the workshop. objectives,
programme
 [30 min] presentation of the charter as a tool in general and
the Charter for Europe specifically
What's the meaning of a Charter? What for a workshop
about this matter? A charte could be a tool in a
european level? How? What strategie could draw a
charte at the skyline or what is the sense of thinking
about a constituent process? Those are the questions to
which we will try to answeror (in relation to which we
will formulate new questions) in this workshop. In order
to introduce this collective work, we want to expose 3
ideas:
1. First of all, the fact that constituent
charters have been historically a tool
of counter-power movements
2. Secondly, to expose the experience
of the MpD in Spain and the Charte of
Democracy
3. Finally, to propose the constituent
hypothesis at the european level and
towards this skyline the charter as a
tool to achieve
[60 min] debate. let's share situation analysis, political
challenges at the moment, strategies in use. If there are
enough participants in a small group dynamic to enable
everyones participation
[SHORT PAUSE]
[60 min] the steps for common process. the Charter(s) for Europe,
common spaces for production of discourses and analysis,
communication, upcoming meetings in Europe, a website for
European constituent practices, etc?

4. HOPED RESULTS
Roadmap for the next steps of the Charter for Europe, or multiple
Charters