Mobile Occupation proposal for East Coast Solidarity Tour (updated 11/21/11)
Working Group: Mobile Occupation
Contact Email: occupywithin@gmail.com
In response to the growing requests and needs of other occupations, the Mobile Occupation working group is proposing an east coast solidarity tour. The proposed tour will be one month long (from late November through late December) and plans to visit 11 occupations between NYC and Florida.
The Goals of the Mobile Occupation are:
- Information exchange (sharing information and best practices)
- Educational training (ie: facilitation, intro to direct democracy, non-violent communication and mediation)
- To develop the inter-occupational infrastructure
- To boost the morale of other occupations and grow a culture of sustainability, non-violence, peace, self-empowerment, patience, compassion, creativity, cooperation, and innovation
The main objectives of this first tour are to begin establishing a personal and physical infrastructure for support and communication. The most common need surfacing is for facilitation and mediation training. We have also spent over a month connecting with various working groups about initiatives we can share.
Some of these initiatives are:
* Movement Building – collection & distribution of Inter-occupy working group contacts
* Tech Ops – share all open source initiatives (permabank, civicrm, occupy wiki) & set up GA websites
* Arts & Culture – create collaborative art at each occupation
* Consciousness – contribute to each occupation’s sacred space
* Media – build people’s media network
Our crew will be comprised of 10 members of OWS that have been integrally involved in a large cross-section of working groups including (but not limited to) Internet, Outreach, Facilitation, Info, Arts & Culture, Open Source, Media, Sustainability, and Mediation. We are seeking diversity and welcome individuals from all working groups and caucuses to join our working group and submit a letter of intention if interested in joining the tour (email occupywithin@gmail.com).
The members of this group are autonomous individuals, not representatives of OWS or the Occupy Movement, and have no intention to impose anything upon other occupations. This is a horizontal initiative to simply share information, resources and initiatives in all directions. As we visit each city we will remain in communication with working groups on the ground at OWS in NYC about what we will learn from our brothers and sisters everywhere, as well as publish a daily blog.
We are asking the GA for $14,500 to cover travel and living expenses, gear, technology, art supplies and other items detailed in our budget, which has been submitted to finance. We agree to publish an online wish list of needed items and directly communicate with SIS and appropriate working groups before purchasing them. For complete transparency a detailed spending log and all receipts will be kept, and all expenses published online within 48 hours.
We agree to launch an online fundraising campaign throughout the length of the tour. Contributions generated through this campaign, up to amount distributed, will be reimbursed to the NYCGA; any surplus donations will carry over to support future Mobile Occupation initiatives.
* Our working group meets MWF 11am-2pm @60 wall st – all are welcome
Outreach to Occupations:
For the purpose of establishing effective communication and building bridges between occupations we have drafted a survey and are working with Movement Building and Outreach to contact each occupation and learn more about their current infrastructure and goals. A copy of the survey can be found at http://www.nycga.net/groups/mobile-occupation/docs/ and at http://occupywithin.us
Proposal to all OWS working groups:
All working groups and caucuses have been asked to support this initiative and to respond to a survey about their group, including anything they’ve learned or would like to share. These reports will be compiled into one document that can be shared with other occupations. A copy of the survey can be found at http://www.nycga.net/groups/mobile-occupation/docs/ and http://occupywithin.us
Proposed Route:
- Occupy Philly
- Occupy Baltimore
- Occupy DC
- Occupy Richmond
- Raleigh, NC (Research Triangle)
- Occupy Charlotte
- Occupy Columbia
- Occupy Atlanta
- Occupy Jacksonville
- Occupy Orlando
- Occupy Miami
| Amount | Description | Notes |
| $2500 | Donation to Green Bus Tour | Green Bus Tour is a growing participatory community project, out to inspire a culture of conscious living through creative collaboration and by promoting a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. The “Green Bus” has been converted to run on waste cooking oil and is being offered as a means of transportation. This donation will go towards operating expenses, including fuel, tolls, and oil filters. |
| $6000 | Food | estimate for 10 people x 30 days x $20/pp/pd |
| $1200 | Technology | wi-fi hotspot, netbook, deep cycle batteries, power inverter |
| $750 | Printing | |
| $500 | Art supplies | for creating collaborative art at each occupation |
| $400 | Canopy tents | |
| $300 | Community altar project | for creation of sacred spaces |
| $200 | Hardware | magnets for curtains, rustoleum and miscellaneous hardware |
| $150 | Storage bins | |
| $2500 | Emergencies & miscellaneous | in case of break down, need to be towed, replace any parts or repairs; unanticipated expenses (upon consensus); first aid |
| $14500 | Total |
All accounting will be transparent and all monies not used will be returned to the NYCGA.
Keith Vidal
here’s an idea to throw out there.. if you’re planning to hit 20 cities in 30 days, that’s not a lot of time at each stop. If you drop off someone (or a few people) at each occupation, that gives them much more time to collaborate. you can just pick them up on the way back. Maybe you can pick people up from other cities too- do an “occupier exchange program”!
Charlie
we are planning 11 cities, so that we could average 2 days in each with a day of travel in between. your ideas for an exchange program are part of our future vision (mobile skill-sharing & transportation network). thanks for the input!