InterOccupy Communications
Occupy Boston InterOccupy Communications Working Group
Mission Statement (Ratified Fri Dec 23 2011):
- To collect and maintain contact information for individuals and working groups from other occupations -- both local, national, and international.
- To connect individuals and working groups from other occupations with individuals and working groups from Occupy Boston.
- To forge -- as individuals -- personal relationships with individuals from other occupations.
- To collect useful information from other occupations -- e.g. what their processes are, what their needs and resources are, what's working/not working, next steps, etc.
- To share resolutions that have been ratified by the Occupy Boston General Assembly with other occupations.
Meeting times:
InterOccupy Communications meets Friday nights at 7 pm at Encuentro Cinco (33 Harrison Avenue in Chinatown).
Contacts:
Group Email (Best Contact): InterOccupyBoston@gmail.com Twitter: @InterOccupyBos
Individual Members:
- Sarah -- sarah.barney at me dot com
- Farhad -- farhad at occupyboston dot org
Meeting Notes - Fri Dec 23 2011
[These are notes, not verbatim. If anyone who was in attendance has something significant they want added, please let me know and I do so, by replying. Thank you. Deborah Sirotkin Butler - note taker on 12/23/11)
Occupy Boston InterOccupy Communications Working Group December 23, 2011 Encuentro 5, Boston
Facilitated by Sarah Barney; approximately twenty in attendance. No announcements. The following Mission Statement was accepted by unanimous consensus after discussion, as follows:
OCCUPY BOSTON INTEROCCUPY COMMUNICATIONS MISSION STATEMENT
I. To collect and maintain contact information for individuals and working groups from other occupations -- both local, national, and international.
II. To connect individuals and working groups from other occupations with individuals and working groups from Occupy Boston.
III. To forge -- as individuals -- personal relationships with individuals from other occupations.
IV. To collect useful information from other occupations -- e.g. what their processes are, what their needs and resources are, what's working/not working, next steps, etc.
V. To share resolutions that have been ratified by the Occupy Boston General Assembly with other occupations.
This statement was discussed one bullet point at a time. Those in attendance made various suggested changes to the original proposal made by Farhad, and consensus was reached on the wording of each bullet point before working on the next bullet point. Farhad stated that the role of the InterOccupy Working Group (IWG) is not to broadcast but, for example, to assist working groups from different occupies to connect and share information. For example, of a Winterization Working Group from, say, Ottawa were to contact IWG, IWG would give Ottawa's Winterization Group contact information for Occupy Boston's Winterization Working Group. Contact between OB DA and other DAs was another example - how to contact OB DA would be provided, but no involvement in the actual contact or exchange of information.
Terra suggested that the collected information as to contacts and skill sets from Occupy Boston (OB) and other Occupations be collected and available as a matrix or other document. Farhad stated that proposals passed by the OB GA are also made available to other Occupies on request. There is a single email address for inquiries, and a working IWG listserv. Farhad brought up having a third email address or other means of archiving ethreads with useful information, for future use or data mining for such a matrix or document or wiki.
It was proposed that the Mission Statement to posted on the IWG listserv for current members, and part of the Welcome Statement for all new members going forward. After a Temp Check, this process was adopted by consensus.
Bobby reported that he was working with 60 Massachusetts Occupies. John coordinates information and assists the Massachusetts Occupies with facebook set up and information sharing. Email received from Anna regarding a Massachusetts Regional GA on January 7 & work being done by Occupemos El Barrio on a Metro Boston Occupies GA. An interactive InterOccupy website with contact information for Massachusetts Occupies is being designed. John is the contact person on this project and is coordinating with the regional occupies, including Occupy Greater Boston.
Creating a document to assist was discussed, as were privacy concerns, printability, resource v. roster. The individuals involved will be asked "do you want your contact information online" or just to be a resource that can be given out by IWG gatekeeper, currently Farhad. Deborah brought up the concern about redundancy, what if Farhad is not available for some reason, importance of avoiding potential bottlenecks.
Other than privacy issues, IWG wants to be as transparent as possible, and is not "extremely security conscious." Everyone understands that information on the internet cannot be kept totally secure. Farhad plans to work on the current spreadsheet by removing blank space, adding contact information, and distributing it to the IWG subject to privacy concerns by individuals. Visitor from IWG of Santa Rosa California introduced himself.
Matthew will continue his work interviewing visitors from other Occupies, using a journalistic-style process he has developed. Discussion of having an IWG announcement and visual presence at each GA or public event so people from other Occupies have a contact point that is easy to connect/find. Develop an info packet for inquiries/visitors from other Occupies who are looking to connect. Discussion of accountability at different Occupy events, who is willing to be accountable to do a run down. Are there folks who are willing to go to other occupies and events and be accountable/report back. Randy will be visiting JP and Rhode Island Occupies. Stewart plans to go to OWS, Newark, and Philly. Occupy Newton folks will be visiting Occupy Pittsfield. Sarah is regularly in Philly, DC, NYC and Toronto every couple of months.
Discussion of having a calendar of regional or state GAs, maybe reading this as an announcement at the end of OB GA for the events that do not require special travel.
Email information about interoccupation events to interoccupyboston@gmail.com
To request addition to the IWG listserv email interoccupy@lists.occupyboston.org
Terra volunteered as the Citizens United project point person for any Occupies that are looking to work on the coming actions regarding Citizens United; any inquiries as to this to be funneled to Terra
Meeting adjourned at 9:00 PM - next meeting next Thursday 12/29 at 7:00 PM at E5.
Note taker: Deb Sirotkin Butler (Amberpaw at gmail dot com)
Meeting Notes - Fri Nov 25 2011
AGENDA TOPICS: What the WG has done so far, a contact list for outside parties, coordinating direct action within the Occupy movement, security culture, list of questions, announcements, the next step for the movement, sharing resources with other Occupies, ice breaker.
ATTENDEES: Farhad, Katherine, Todd, Eden, Daniel, Elizabeth H, Acacia, Ryan, Matthew S., Sophie (Occupy WS), Martin, George, Jason Occupy WS, Vincent (OWS), Ashley (OWS), Matt, Ian, Jesse (Occupy Seattle), Nate, Rachel (Occupy Philly), Lenny, Sophie,
Farhad starts off telling the 19 attendees an overview of the working group's aims and goals. We then took a chance to introduce ourselves with a brief description. Several members from Occupy Wall Street are in attendance. Vincent starts facilitating by collecting agenda topics. Agenda points include an ice breaker, list of questions, sharing resources within Occupies, security culture, announcements, the next step for the movement, coordinating direct action between the different Occupies, and a contact person for the group.
WHAT THE WG HAS DONE SO FAR: We start off with sharing what the working group has done so far. Farhad explains the privacy concerns for a phone number database and discussing other databases other Occupies have, how to field questions by potential donors, i.e donor education, InterOccupy conference calls, and ideas for a New England wide General Assembly.
CONTACT LIST: The next agenda topic is concerning a contact list for the group so that outside parties can contact Occupy Boston when they want to drop off items or have general questions. Farhad tells the group that they are currently working on a contact list. I tell the group that questions like that can be sent to occupybostonmedia@gmail.com
SECURITY CULTURE: The next agenda point is discussing security culture. Daniel explains what security culture is and asks the group what the best way is to facilitate coordinated direct actions when security is a concern. Martin brings up the fact that there are a lot of smaller internet platforms that may be safer. Eden states that you can get an E-Mail through Occupy Boston's e-mail server which may also be safer than G-Mail. Ryan brings up the points that IRC and Piratepad could also be safer and brings up the idea that Occupies as a whole should aim to be as transparent as possible without jeopardizing the direct action. Matt suggests PGP as a platform. The next agenda point is coordinating direct action throughout the different Occupations. Its brought up that Occupy Wall Street has found that the best way to do this is to take part in the national conference calls.
LIST OF QUESTIONS We move on to the list of questions agenda topic and agree to have a small group of members come up with this list.
SHARING RESOURCES: Elizabeth shares her opinion that the BPD won't use pepper spray or rubber bullets because of issues they have had in the past so we need to donate our medical supplies to other Occupies who are facing pepper spray attacks. Someone states that there is a dinner on Tuesday petitioning millionaires to invest in the Occupy movement and if that gets passed in GAs across the country that that is an option. There is also a suggestion to use the InterOccupy conferences calls to check in with other Occupies and see what they are in need of. Matt shares that The Occupier is starting a Classifieds section in their paper and that can potentially be an avenue to get our needs published. Farhad states that Occupy Boston has said that the donations given to us are to be used for Occupy Boston only and not other occupations so that may be an issue if we start sharing our funds.
ANNOUNCEMENTS -Inter-Occupy conference call on Sunday at 11AM EST. Talk to Farhad for call-in info. -Occupy Together conference call on Monday at 10pm EST -Occupy Somerville is doing a protest against Bank of America on Saturday, December 10th; meet at the park in Davis Square @ 11AM. November 30th- 24th Street meet at Madison Square Park morning time, this Wednesday Shut Down Military Conference -December 6th - Reclaim Foreclosed Action -talk to Vincent -Occupy Seattle took over a foreclosed building and is currently painting and installing electricity. They will be occupying their capital on Monday to fight state budget cuts and are facing eviction from their camp site land owners. Check occupyseattle.org for updates. Also, they are having a march on Friday, December 2. "Can't Evict An Idea" -20 religious leaders from all different faiths want to talk to Occupy members -December 3 is Days of Unity. Occupy Newton is participating and meeting at Copley Square, 1pm. -December 1st is Occupy Boston's court hearing to see if we get awarded a restraining order.
NEXT STEP FOR THE MOVEMENT Farhad wants to take the contact info for all of the out-of-towners here tonight and it will be entered into our database. Daniel says that first we have to become the 99% and that occupying vacant spaces and paying back taxes if agreed upon is a good start. Someone says that he would like to have one person from every occupation as the contact person for easy communication. Lenny shares his concern for the threat of co-optation and suggests a Political Working Group. Sophie says she would like to see a stronger emphasis on education, food justice, and environmental concerns. Vincent shares his want for this movement to educate Americans so that they understand what Occupy is all about. Matt S. wants to see the movement a bit stronger is shutting down events that we are against. Martin states that the Ideas working group is helping to create a message for Occupy Boston and also brings up the group We Can Occupy who have starting bringing the Occupy Movement into people's living rooms for a close-up experience and for education. Sophie would love to see a stronger emphasis on bringing in youth and the elderly to the movement; also that the movement as a whole needs more Arts & Culture. Matt shares the positive impact that The Occupier has already had on Bostonians. Daniel wants to see a conversation on the idea of a national Occupy delegation begin. says that he would like to see the movement come out with a clear message and also strategic action planning fir years to come. -Meeting closes-
Note taker: Acacia
Meeting Notes - Fri Nov 11 2011
11.11.11 7:15pm Attended by: Sarah B., Farhad, John, Ravi, Martin, Eden, Bobby, Erica, Matt, Scott, Sean, Kat
1. A quick review of the agenda for the meeting.
2. We discussed the movement of the InterOccupy wiki page that occurred earlier in the week (note- the wiki page was moved by user OneKarma to a sub category under arts, making it difficult to find). We all agreed that the page is now back to its normal location. Most of us felt that as long as it stays put then no need to proceed in finding OneKarma or demanding answers. It was noted that this is not the only page that was moved and rearranged and that we may need to delve into this further if it happens again.
3. Introductions: We all introduced ourselves, spoke briefly of what other working groups we participate in and some made a quick statement of what individuals feel InterOccupy should encompass. Ideas
a. Sharing best practices. b. Traveling to visit other Occupy s for personal connections. c. Synchronizing with other Occupies. d. Building strength with better communication nationally and internationally. e. Working to build sharing platforms with other occupies. f. Building more solidified communication.
4. Goals:
a. Best Practice – Contact Sharing: We discussed using google docs vs. any other spreadsheet sharing program for our contact list/data base. After hearing some concerns for using google, those members involved with tech spoke and felt that it was safe to use. We agreed that this document will not be public and created, edited and maintained only by those in the InterOccupy group. Sarah shared a format that she created with the group. The format was passed with one addendum to add a column for each person adding to sign their name in the spirit of transparency and accountability. Sarah will be working on beginning this document and will post it by 11/13/11 to all group members with a password.
b. Best Practice – File/Photo Sharing: We referenced Anna’s emails about the working groups pages. We need to look into this and connect with Anna on expediting this idea. Sarah said she would research this and reach out to Anna.
c. Best Practice – Fielding Incoming Inquiries: It was suggested that we create an email (separate from the list serve) so those from other occupies, from Occupy Boston but not on our listserve and the general public can reach this working group. Sarah sent an email to Anna and Obit the morning of 11/11/11 requesting this. In the meantime we decided to use a temporary gmail address to get started. When obit assigns the email address, we will forward all information onto it. Five people volunteered to check this email and make sure it is processed in a timely fashion: Sarah, Farhad, Matthew, Bobby and Scott. These same five people are all administrators of the list serve. No one person is a “leader” and the admin responsibilities are now spread between five people.
d. Presenting Intercept to the GA: We will request to be on stack at the GA on Sunday, 11/13/11. We will present ourselves, discuss some of the national and local Occupies we have visited and give a brief overview of our goals. We will also ask for more group members and try to engage those that do not use email and may not know that we exist (namely Logistics and DA). Anyone in the group is welcome and encouraged to join in this. Farhad volunteered to be one of the speakers, more are welcome.
5. Specific Topics 1:
a. National Calls: Ravi spoke of some frustration with the national calls that have been occurring, citing that some introduction times can take up to 45 minutes and that the calls generally do not address main issues within the Occupy movement. We passed the idea to offer to host the national call from InterOccupy in Boston. We want to set up an IRC chat and promote, educate and train users in advance of the call. During the call the purpose will be to take one hour and make the specific connections needed between occupations so that the discussions and shared practices can be continued after the phone call has ended, making lasting connections between Occupies. Ravi will contact the national call group and find an available date to do this.
b. International Requests and Process: A process is needed to field incoming requests and calls from International Occupations. We will promote our new email address as the main contact for these types of requests and connect these inquiries with the correct working groups within the camp. Through the process we will remain an active part of it, supporting both the international request and the correct working group. IE- A request for solidarity marches for specific reasons will be forwarded to DA & Outreach. InterOccupy will work on making that connection and that help to promote the event in solidarity. We will forward ALL inquiries to start and see how intensive this becomes. This practice may need to be revisited if requests become out of control.
c. Side Conversation on Google Docs: Does google save previous copies or edits? Someone should save the contact doc every few days onto a hard drive to ensure nothing is lost. Ravi and Farhad will explore google docs further.
7. Specific Topics 2:
a. Local Occupations: It was proposed that for the beginning of the group we will deal primarily with the Occupations that are camping. This was approved by the group with an amendment that we will continue to gather contact info for a couple people from smaller, non-camping Occupy s to request their presence if needed for marches, police raids, etc.
8. Stack
a. Defining the WG Focus: It was proposed that we, to start, define the focus of InterOccupy to deal primarily with the sharing and learning of “Best Practices” with and from other Occupy groups. That InterOccupy becomes a central place for communication and facilitation with outside people and groups. This was passed but with the amendment that we will also work using our contacts to coordinate marches, support for raids, other important information as requested by other Occupies and to support OccupyBoston’s marches and needs. We can do this by:
i. Calling or emailing various other Occupies and conducting a series of “interviews” with them on best practices.
ii. Researching if this sort of practice is already being done and is under utilized. If so take their platform and try to expand and grow it.
iii. Begin a public page (on interoccupy.org or otherwise?) to share related “Best Practices” PDFS, graphics, links, etc. Also an idea to develop a page like a combination of Facebook and Reddit that will include tactics, voting and tools. (If such a thing does not already exist).
b. Twitter: What are the benefits of starting a Twitter Account for InterOccupy?
i. An official Twitter Account gives us more creditability to use as individuals in a group rather than personal accounts.
ii. It will be used to reach out to other Occupies and gather information and contacts.
iii. It will be used for members traveling to other occupies to make contact with the Occupies.
iv. We will use it to update when we add “Best Practices” to our website and relay information.
v. To start, our Twitter account can be used by all members of InterOccupy. Sarah will set up the account and email the name and password. If this is abused or becomes a concern we will readdress.
c. Suggested Way to Communicate: If we are communicating “best practices” with other Occupations it’s suggested that we develop our notes (working with the appropriate WGs) and volunteer them to other Occupations for their own use and ask for their ideas, suggestions, edits. This was received well and the group felt that this was a communicative and productive way to start conversations.
d. IRC Chat Room: Is there a national one being utilized? Is IRC free? The FSU is building a website that may be able to host this.
e. National Tech Call: Thursday 11/17/11 there is a national Tech call at 10pm. If you want to join please contact Ravi.
9. NEXT MEETING: FRIDAY 11/18/11 AT 7PM. MEET AT GHANDI.
Useful InterOccupation connectivity info
- OccupyUS@googlegroups.com. There are 24 cities joined Nov 1.
- www.interoccupy.org, which holds phone call meetings w/other cities.