1992 Nonviolence Gathering Report This meeting, four years after the last national nonviolence gathering, arose from the obvious need for a revitalisation of the nonviolence network in the post-Gulf War/post-AIDEX climate in Australia. We were treated to the exciting reality of the success of the Commonground community, and their wonderful hospitality. They generously opened up their home to us, not as guests, but as part owners of their creation. What could be more welcoming than to be told that you are regarded not as a visitor in someone's home, but as an occupier in a shared home of our "movement"? For four days we tossed around a cacophony of ideas, which at first seemed confused and chaotic, but eventually came together into three major goals, a series of matching objectives, and even an action plan on a time-line. Although we were able to reconnect with our old friends, and again gain the wonderful experience of having ourselves and our values reaffirmed, it was by no means a purely social event. We all worked extremely hard, in my view too hard. But the results will speak for themselves. Regardless of how faithfully we implement our plan, we at least have an articulated common vision, reached by complete consensus, and a yardstick by which we can assess our progress in the future. This in itself is a real achievement. For others a major achievement was simply getting our own pet issue on the agenda for all to consider, but within a broader framework by which we could begin to understand its context in relation to the concerns of others. Of course this was not without considerable pain and frustration at times, but overall I left feeling clearer about what is needed and the role we can play in building a better world. The frustrations were merely part of the process of working with people and learning to increase our level of tolerance for others. Agenda On Friday night we gathered for introductions, games, organising procedures and agreements. On Saturday we shared our expectations of the gathering, and our stories of recent experiences. The agenda forming session resulted in the development of a five-stage plan for reaching our objectives of the gathering: 1) vision and goal forming; 2) past evaluation and problem identification; 3) strategy development; 4) action plan on a timeline; 5) determining individual commitments. This was followed by discussions on our priorities, and particularly on developing a proposal for a project with some Quaker money that may be available. Specific discussions on some major issues of concern related to patriarchy, evaluation of Nonviolence Today, fundraising, and how to involve more people in the network. Other activities were viewing Dean's videos on NVA, hearing about the Commonground community, discussing the Gulf Peace Camp, and holding a cost sharing exercise. The gathering closed with a final evaluation and affirmations. Story Sharing In the story sharing we heard of people's experiences in a variety of activities, ranging from joining the Gulf Peace Team to supporting women's groups, painting timber ships, protesting at AIDEX, doing research, editing NvT, campaigning againgst the Very Fast Train (VFT) between Melbourne and Sydney, supporting overseas campaigns (e.g. for the Penan and the Palestinians), and even working inside government, or "the system". A year after such graphic evidence that we had been totally unable to prevent a major war - we were caught off-guard after the "end of the cold war", the climate for activism is definitely at a low ebb. Many people feel disempowered, unsure of which direction to take, and despairing about the obstacles they continually face, from inside the movement, outside it in alternative social movements (particularly the hard left), and of course, in mainstream (the state, the police, the military, etc.). On the other hand we were reminded by people's personal experiences that there is hope, campaigns can work if they are creative, disciplined, well organised, follow principles of empowerment and support, and have a strategy for dealing with power and decision making. We were reminded that there are many wonderful, genuine, concerned people who would like to help, if only they knew how. Dean expressed it thus: "I keep seeing the power of truth." The lessons soon began emerging from these discussions. The importance of being proactive rather than reactive was repeatedly emphasised. We once again reasserted our belief that the means is the end, and therefore end-goals can never be used to justify means not consistent with nonviolence. Goals After much discussion of these and other issues we finally developed our three major goals: Developing Culture To develop a culture of nonviolence which integrates theory, practice and spirituality (see the three-in-one symbol on the cover of NvT #26). This means continually using theory to improve practice and practice to improve theory, with a holistic analysis and without losing the elements of creativity, intuition and spirituality. A major issue was the need to challenge patriarchy, as part of, (some felt separate from), issues of domination, power and exploitation, class, race and religion. This involves taking personal responsibility for our role in these factors. Building the Network To build and improve the Australian nonviolence network. This means developing and strengthening a local and national network of activists, developing our skills and our resources, and perhaps forming an organisational structure, or a "Facilitation Group". Outreach To spread the understanding of, support for, and involvement in, nonviolent action. This means education, improving the image of nonviolence, and involving other social movements and the community. We need to devote more energy into empowering and recruiting new people, such as kids & youth. Problems There was no shortage of suggestions of the problems. Long lists were produced, which were subsequently crystalised into some key points: * burnout/getout * the cult of failure * being reactive not proactive, i.e. not setting our own agenda * inability to balance the needs of the individual with those of the organisation. People complained of losing too much energy on "needy" people, because of the "niceness syndrome", and that this was a major contributor to burnout and ultimately get-out * hard left groups controlling actions, and undermining nonviolent actions * the cringe of the strictness and discipline of nonviolence actions and their advocates * the lack of integration of action with theory and with spirituality * the influence of structural violence and the way people bring it from outside into the movement * the language problem - "nonviolence", "alternative", "fluffies", alienating other groups and creating image problems for us. There is a deep paradox between people thinking they know what nonviolence is but we cannot tell them without putting them off Strategies Having determined the main goals and the obstacles to their attainment, we then began working on ways of overcoming these obstacles. The key broad strategies are listed here. 1. Be proactive and set our own agenda, rather than just fighting rear-guard actions, and losing control of the initiative. This means talking about the fundamental issues, clearly articulating our philosophy and our goals, being clear about where we are going, and developing a constructive program for working towards these goals, yet being clear that it is an evolutionary process. By being organised and setting our own agenda, the so-called "ISO problem" becomes a false lead. The results of this conference, we felt, address these issues well. 2. To be sustainable NvA needs to be integrated into normal living, to be seen as a way of life, involving our personal lifestyle, our families, our communities - it is an integral part of a non-patriarchal society. It is important to construct an urban lifestyle alternative. The first step towards this is the formation of local affinity groups. 3. Develop skills in communication (speaking, writing, media) and group work (facilitation and decision making). Develop clear inclusion processes, recognising the experience and knowledge of old hands (people who have been in longer), and integrating people at appropriate levels. 4. Strike the right balance between political action and self-care; and the needs of the individual and those of the movement. Again the so-called problem of "needy people", would disappear if we develop our own ability to be assertive at the personal level and be organised at the organisational level. This includes a healthy dose of cultural development, with celebration and fun in our activities. 5. Listen to other groups, instead of haggling. Talk to people in a way that the clarity is there but people can come in where they are at, in a way that is empowering for them. Beware of preaching doctrinaire/religion of nonviolence - to reach the "higher plane" of "true" nonviolence, being preordained rather than a personal choice. Be clear about what you are on about, but be aware that people resent preaching and resent clarity in others. Therefore start with yourself, rather than saying what others should do. See them as "my principles", rather than using "you" and "should" language, and applying pressure to people to do anything they do not want to do. Evolve a language to pull people in, so that people can come in at any stage. 6. Challenge our mindsets, such as the poverty consciousness, the fear of success, the cult of failure, the attitude of being "holier than thou" and lacking respect for others, delusions of grandeur, the messiah complex (having unrealistic expectations of saving the world in six months), and our own guilt and fear. Be aware that we bring from the outside all forms of domination - sexism, classism, racism etc. Summary of Action Plan Developing Culture Beginning Immediately: * take personal responsibility to examine our lives in relation to nonviolence * develop a calendar of cultural events consistent with nonviolence philosophy * form affinity groups From June 1992: * to develop non-patriarchal structures and procedures: define them, implement them, monitor their progress, evaluate them, redefine them etc * have discussions to develop our theory of patriarchy, domination, power, exploitation - by next national gathering * support research Beginning 1993: * foster cultural development and FUN - recognise and include cultural elements (ritual, symbol, song, dance, art/theatre, music) in all activities - meet in bio-regional affinity groups quarterly and include these in next year's annual gathering * gather cultural resources to be included in resources manual (song book, ideas book, artists etc) By 2000: * build more communities and households with articulated Nv philosophy and practice Building the Network Beginning Immediately: * produce resources and contact directory/manual (include contact list, interpersonal and organisational skills directory, resources directory, cultural resources [see above], case studies); publish in NvT and on Pegasus * promote NvT in local magazines and workshops From June 1992: * hold regular national phone conferences Beginning 1993: * encourage and assist people to write or produce for alternative media * trainer training - national 1-2 week residential workshop at Commonground (see project proposal) * annual national Nv Gathering, Easter, 1993 at Commonground * improve usage of Pegasus by establishing a private Nv e-conference/bulletin board and encourage people to obtain an account, and publish email addresses * annual visit by overseas activist from Asia/Pacific * library, resources - union catalogue (electronic ?), better use of public resources, lobby municipal libraries, donate unneeded materials By 1994: * contact key people in other states, roadshow, visitors/travellors workshops * establish Signal groups for emergency response to crisis, one in each state By 1996: * national facilitation group (office, phone, fax, staff, library, advice, support) - lobby, support, fundraise Outreach From June 1992: * have joint activities (meetings, parties, action, conference etc) with other progressive organisations, appoint someone or a group to make sure it happens Beginning 1993: * create a sympathetic news journalist in each mainstream media organisation, hold workshops for journalists, develop media kit, get article in AJA newsletter, give feedback to journalists, obtain support from journalists, encourage journalist to get involved in the network * develop alternative media - encourage, assist and affirm people to write or produce for alternative media * conduct NvA courses and workshops in major centres (to build knowledge, skills, resources) * to avoid the cringe of NvA - develop a sense of attractive, non-alienating behaviours - conduct evaluation discussions about our behaviour, emotions and relationships with other groups * create new groups and work within existing groups * women's movement adopt NvA as strategy for social change - write for women's magazines, reclaim history, start affinity action group * prepare resources manual By 1994: * establish links with local unions, distribute "At Ease" in Oz. military By 1995: * festivals, simulations, to promote cross-movement links e.g. "Voices of Dissent" (1993), roadshow (1994) Priority Areas Resources Manual Resources directory to include contact list, interpersonal and organisational skills directory, cultural resources such as songs, ideas, artists, case studies Jan will compile a list to be published in NvT, including contact points. The information will be requested from NvTsubscribers. Dean will supply information and Dave will assist. Skill development Glen from Commonground will coordinate a two week residential course for people running Nv workshops. There will be a peer skills sharing forum (continuing education) of people who run workshops, for example Nv Gathering, affinity groups, Signal groups, dissemination of this information, problems list. NvA National Network Project The project may be Funding by the Quakers. It will promote and develop the network by: * Resourcing a person to coordinate this development * Organising a two week skill development course for teachers of nonviolence for twelve students to be run by Glen between the 18th and the 30th of September 1992. * Offering courses on how to promote nonviolence * Helping to establish and or develop active and coordinated groups in each state Annual NV Gatherings There next Nv Gathering is planned for Easter 1993, from Friday evening 22/4/93 to Monday evening 25/4/93. In 1994 it will be in Sydney. The purpose of the gathering is to promote sharing, networking, exchanging ideas, evaluation, planning, strategy development, evaluation of objectives set at this gathering, building a culture (with fun, games, song and dance). Issues will be discussed in the context of strategy. Time will be set aside for discretionary items and special interest topics, as well as story telling and videos, etc. There will be trust work, activities for getting to know each other and for integrating new people (movement inclusion and induction processes). People will be encouraged to come for the entire four days, and to RSVP by the due date, to avoid the difficulties experienced this year. Facilitation Group This group would provide a staffed office with centralised resources (such as library, directories, fax etc) to provide advice, practical and emotional support for existing groups, be a clearinghouse for information, and to provide an accessible and consistent first point of public contact. Advantages are stability, accessibility, consistency. It would enable development of financial resources, and be a good coordinating point for national campaigns. It would reduce duplication of activities and resources, getting beyond individuals to an organisation. All agreed that in principle it would be good to have such a centre, but there were strong reservations about the problems of power (Washington DC syndrome), intrusion and control by the state, income inequities, etc. It is likely to begin at the local, or state level, where mini-resource centres will emerge naturally. Before any regional group becomes representative of a national organisation, there will be a serious consultation process for which Commonground will take responsibility, and NvT will assist. Patriarchy It took the four days for the amazingly contentious issue of patriarchy to arrive on the agenda, despite the very strong wishes of several determined people. We were the ones who felt that patriarchy is the root of the institutionalisation of violence, and that a strategy for a Nv movement is not possible without an analysis of the role of patriarchy. We stressed that attitudes and institutions are mutually self-reinforcing, so that few can easily escape their socialising effects. We felt that the key to understanding it is in the ecofeminist analysis of power, and the way patriarchy legitimises the culture of domination and control over women as well as over nature. It leads to an ethic of wanting 'power over' others and nature rather than 'power with' others and with nature; of viewing the world falsely through polarising dualisms (dichotomies), such as the artificial division between public and private; between mind and body, rational and intuitive, humanity and nature, etc. This triggered the inevitable debate of "is it patriarchy or is it capitalism, religion, racism?" Opinions differed of course, and the identity of the protagonists of the different positions were fairly predictable. The (mainly male, with at least one female supporter) view that patriarchy is only one of several problems was contrasted with the feminist view (with some male supporters) that patriarchy underlies all the other forms of domination. Some men spoke of their own experiences of women's apparent hatred of men; of difficulty with being confronted by the issue; of not having a clear, defined role in a non-patriarchal world; of the immensity and difficulty of facing the challenge to become non-patriarchal. In response, some women recounted their experiences of men not listening to their concerns, not respecting women's insights, not acknowledging women's anger, blocking out the message, not having empathy, and refusing to look at the way their own attitudes and behaviours support and collude with patriarchy. In fact I feel that patriarchy is here in the nonviolence movement, and was there at the conference. Some felt that we had followed a conference agenda which was laid down by the rational, comprehensive model of planning, which was useful in many ways but unfortunately it suppressed the creative and intuitive energy which was so strong in the earlier sessions. Hence my comment in the evaluation of the "paralysis of analysis" which some found draining, particularly on the Saturday. Some suggestions for action: * put patriarchy on the agenda, build awareness, incorporate it into our own lives * look for non-patriarchal structures and processes based on integrating the rational with the creative and intuitive, and balancing the needs of the individual with the needs of the organisation, or balancing "the yin" with "the yan". * men define a place for men in a new world, placed within a non-patriarchal framework - their "coming home"; men to learn for themselves and teach each other, rather than expecting the women to teach them * women disengage when men are resisting - leave organisations that are not operating non-patriarchally - but whither the nonviolence movement without women? Conclusion Overall, it was exciting to be reunited with so many friends with so much in common. The nurturing environment of Commonground gave us kangaroos, wonderful food, comfortable bed, a refreshing dam, and invigorating children. People spoke of receiving a boost to carry on, more enthusiasm and a sense of how their work fits into the national network. Hopefully next year there will be more representation of people from around the country, and more time to share with each other our stories and our insights in a more relaxed way, since building joy and culture into our activities has now been agreed as an important aspect of network building. Similarly, patriarchy has been put squarely on the agenda, and we have begun the work of facing up to the challenge this offers. Hopefully we will find a way of correcting the imbalance at next year's gathering of being overly obsessed with the rational, so that it will seem less like the drudgery of exhausting and hard work, and more like an inspiration from the coming together of each other's ideas and insights. The greatest challenge will be to draw out our own intuitive and creative energy, while not losing our capacity to analyse where we wish to go from here. Miriam Solomon