The Breaking the Frame gathering is less than a week away. If you’re interested in coming, and especially if you want a bed in the house, we would prefer you to book your place. However, if you have to leave the decision to the last minute, it’s OK to turn up and register when you arrive. We will cater for slightly more people than are booked. Any warning you can give us, by phoning or texting 07591 058499 will be appreciated.
The gathering will be one of the most exciting events of this year, and we need your participation and input to help us take a leap forward in radical politics.
Whether you’re interested in the politics of food, energy, work, environment, gender, peace, economics, health, etc., all these issues are shaped by choices about technology made by military, corporate and technocratic elites. The aim of the gathering is to change the debate about technology, environment and society, and to put the politics of technology where it belongs, at the heart of radical politics. It’s about a broad social and political vision, not just a long list of issues raised by technology. And we will do more than just talk about the issues: we aim to found a new network on the politics of technology, a new critical mass that will change the whole debate.
If you’re part of a campaigning group focusing on a single issue and you’re not sure how this event will help the work of your group, please consider these points: single issue campaigning can only be really effective if it’s based on a broad understanding of the forces creating the problem. In addition to being shaped by military and corporate interests, technology has its own ideology and dynamic that is a major source of the problems caused by technologies. If we ignore this, we are constantly left reacting to problems created by technology, rather than proactively addressing the source of the problem. The gathering is about breaking the frames that keep each campaign separate and making the links between our different issues.
The gathering won’t just be talking and thinking – there will be hands on workshops, music, poetry and time to explore the beautiful grounds of Unstone Grange and the surrounding Derbyshire countryside. There will be childcare available during the daytime so parents can fully participate in the gathering.
We are still looking for speakers in some workshops, so we are open to your suggestions for speakers or organisations that we should invite.
For more on the ideas behind the gathering and to check out the growing list of organisations supporting it and taking part, visit the gathering information page. You can book online, or print and post the registration form. We aim to ensure that no-one is excluded for financial reasons, so we are subsiding places to make sure the gathering is as cheap as possible.
Please help us publicise the gathering by tweeting (follow@framebreaking) and forwarding this message to relevant email lists, facebook groups, etc.
We look forward to seeing you at Unstone Grange on May 2nd to 5th.
