May 3-5: Register Now: Conference of the Palestinian Shatat in North America – Vancouver

May 3-5, 2013
University of British Columbia
Unceded Musqueam Territories
Vancouver, BC, Canada

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TODAY – SPECIAL EARLY BIRD RATE AVAILABLE!

Web: palestinianconference.org + Facebook + Twitter

Registration is NOW OPEN for the Conference of the Palestinian Shatat in North America! This conference – which will take place at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver on May 3-5, 2013 – will bring together Palestinian and Arab organizers, activists and community members to discuss our collective role as Palestinians in our liberation movement and assert our voice as Palestinians in shatat/exile.

There is more information about the conference at our website, palestinianconference.org This conference is being organized from the ground up, and will benefit from the active involvement and participation of Palestinian organizations and organizers across North America. The conference will include facilitated workshops, plenary discussions, conversations, and presentations – it welcomes your participation, your voice, and your active involvement in reclaiming the voice of the shatat.

REGISTRATION RATES:
Register early and save! Early bird special: March 11 – March 24: $25
Early Registration: March 25 – April 7, $35
General Registration: April 8 – April 22, $45
Late Registration: April 23 – May 1, $55
Registration closes on May 1st.

We will soon be posting accommodations information. If you have any questions, or require solidarity housing, please email us at housing@palestinianconference.org.

Highlights of the program include the two KEYNOTE PLENARIES:

PALESTINIAN REPRESENTATION: Raising Our Voices in the Shatat in North America

The PLO is historically regarded as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, an overarching mechanism by which we all came together to deliberate on the strategies of our national movement. In this plenary, we will discuss the histories of political representation in our national movement, and what representation might mean today. Some of the questions addressed will include: What did the PLO look like, what does it look like now, and how/can it be remade? What can we learn from our earlier revolutionary histories? How has the current lack of representation impacted our struggle, and our ability to develop a coherent and cohesive national strategy for liberation and return? How do we create representation bodies that are inclusive of all our people and forces, and serve the needs of our national movement? How do we embody our demands for popular and democratic representation in our own communities and associations?

LOOKING BACK, FORGING FORWARD: Strengthening our Organizing in the Shatat

This plenary will examine Palestinian organizing in the shatat, looking at the past and moving to the present day. We will discuss the reasons and implications for how different methods and mechanisms came to frame our organizing as part of our liberation movement, and consider frameworks moving forward. Some of the questions addressed will include: What have been the organizing trends within the history of our movement? What has been the historical role of students, workers, and women? How do we forge our role and revitalize our sense of national responsibility in the shatat? How do our communities currently organize? What internal and external challenges are confronting our communities? How do we build community accountability and organizing discipline? How can we imagine and strategize ways to connect our organizing in North America with our brothers and sisters on the ground and in exile?

This is a critical time for the Palestinian people and the national liberation movement, and this conference is an opportunity to connect, build and mobilize our people in North America. Conference participants will not only gain knowledge, but are expected to commit themselves to collectively and democratically working together to re-build and revive our national liberation movement.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TODAY – Confirm the special Early Bird Rate!

LIBERATION and RETURN: The Conference of Palestinian Shatat in North America
May 3-5, 2013
Vancouver, unceded Coast Salish Territories
Canada

As we approach our 65th year of exile from our homeland, the need for Palestinians in the shatat (diaspora) to reinvigorate, develop and carry out an effective strategy for our national movement for liberation and return is as urgent as ever.  For too long our voices have been excluded and the majority of us have been unrepresented in the decision-making and direction of our movement.

We call on all Palestinian activists, organizers and community members in the shatat to join us in this historical gathering to re-examine our history and build together towards a free future for our people and land by putting an end to Zionist colonization and normalization everywhere throughout the Palestinian and Arab homeland.

Join us to plan, discuss and learn from each other about our homeland and how we can become active participants in reviving our movement. The conference will include facilitated workshops, plenary discussions, conversations, and presentations – it welcomes your participation, your voice, and your active involvement in reclaiming the voice of the shatat.

At a time when Zionist colonization continues its incessant destruction and exploitation of Palestine and our people, our body-politic remains fragmented, with empty, unrepresentative and often corrupt national institutions and leadership, and a clouded vision of how to move forward towards our national aspirations for return and liberation.

This conference aims to work towards: restoring our people’s morale and commitment to our national struggle for return and liberation, reviving our transnational unity and building our national liberation movement despite our geographical dispersion, and overcoming the current impasse of national fragmentation (socio-economic, political, geographic and ideological).

Participation is a right, but also a duty.  Conference participants will not only gain knowledge, but are expected to invest time, energy and willingness to collectively and democratically work with fellow Palestinians to re-build and revive our national liberation movement.

Learn more about the conference: http://www.palestinianconference.org/call-conference-of-the-palestinian-shatat-in-north-america/

Register online for the conference: http://www.palestinianconference.org/register/

Guidelines for Participation

We look forward to seeing you at the conference and working together! Contact the organizing committee at palestinianconference@gmail.com!