Squat The World

And on this day finds itself as Occupy Wall Street Day 160. And Occupy Wall Street and those global revolutions of a movement Occupy Together are still moving fast. And so here's one of those emails that found itself in my email inbox the other day that I thought to repost on this blagh in an attempt to maintain content for this blog and my other blog whenever web 2.0 social media user generated content blaghers block possible.

Squatting Europe Kollective (SQEK) comes to CUNY Monday, Feb. 27

A collective of activist researchers from the European squatting movement are gathering in New York City. They will be at CUNY to meet with students and faculty and speak about the decades-old movements of squatting and building occupations in their respective countries. Generations of activists have participated in occupations of vacant buildings in Europe, beginning in the 1970s. With the worldwide rise of the Occupy movement, the deep reservoir of experience within the movements of political squatting have become suddenly significant. In two events at CUNY, these scholars and activists will share their methods for collective, participatory, interdisciplinary research and their knowledge of the history and present practices of squatting in Europe.

New York City, February 23-27, 2012
Squatting Europe Collective, New York City, February 23-27, 2012
1. Press release
2. Reception, Thursday 2/23 at ABC No Rio, 7-10pm
3. AAG sessions, Friday 2/24 at Hilton Hotel, 2nd floor Nassau Room
4. Saturday, February 25th, afternoon/evening – Public presentation: “Squatting in Europe: Prospects and Perspectives” at Living Theatre, 5-7pm; ends sharp; drinks afterwards at The Suffolk, Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center
5. Sunday, February 26th – brunch meeting at 16 Beaver Group 12-4pm // meet with O4O group at 7pm
6. Monday, February 27th – Public meeting with students and activists CUNY-GC 2-5 PM // Presentation at CUNY-GC 6:30-8:30pm
7. SQEK and House Magic library at Interference Archive, Brooklyn8. AAG session description (theoretical questions around militant research)Squatting Europe Kollective Convenes in New York City for the first time ever, a group of activist researchers from the European squatting movement are gathering in New York City. They will make public appearances to speak about the decades-old movement of squatting and building occupations in their respective countries.The tradition of political squatting is moving from the shadows into the light. With the world-wide rise of the Occupy movement, the deep reservoir of experience within the movements of political squatting have become suddenly significant.Generations of activists have participated in occupations of vacant buildings in Europe, beginning in the 1970s. The best known early success was the famous “free city” of Christiania in Copenhagen. But every major city in Europe has experienced some version of politicized squatting, most recently in the form of social centers.The members of SQEK – Squatting Europe Collective – have gathered for special sessions at the Association of American Geographers’ annual convention February 24. A public discussion, meetings, film and graphic arts exhibition are among the other activities planned for the meeting, Scheduled activities for SQEK 2012 New York City:2. Reception, Thursday 2/23 at ABC No Rio, 7-10pmThursday, February 23rd 7-10 pm – Reception for visiting researchers and activists
poster show of “House Magic” zine about squats and social centers
ABC No Rio cultural center
156 Rivington Street
Loisaida, NYC // abcnorio.org3. AAG sessions, Friday 2/24 at Hilton Hotel Squatting and Social Centers: Resistance and Production of Critical Spaces I
(5 sessions, 8am-6:20pm) in Nassau A, Second Floor, Hilton NY
Note: Single session costs a lot of money, but you can probably sneak into this room which we have all day. Look like you belong there; it will be a radical egghead party…
8:00 AM – 9:40 AM – Participants: Miguel A. Martinez (University Complutense of Madrid/CSOA Casablanca) and Lucy Finchett-Maddock (University of Exeter), Pierpaolo Mudu (University of Rome/Forte Prenestino), Hans Pruijt (Erasmus Universiteit, Rotterdam), Loredana Guerrieri (Osservatorio Di Genere, Istituto Storico Della Resistenza, Macerata, Italy), Matthias Bernt (Leibniz Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning, Leipzig)10:00 AM – 11:40 AM – Participants: Linus Owens (Middlebury College, Vermont), Nathan Eisenstadt (Bristol University), Giovanni Piazza with Valentina Genovese (University of Catania), Alessia Marini (University of Rome, La Sapienza), Matthias Bernt2:40 PM – 2:20 PM – Participants:Elisabeth Lorenzi (UNED Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia), Amy Starecheski (CUNY City University of New York, Graduate Center, New York), Thomas Aguilera (Sciences Po, Paris), Andrea Aureli (St. John’s University, Rome), Matthias Bernt2:40 PM – 4:20 PM Panel session; Participants: Justus Uitermark (Erasmus University, Rotterdam); Maria Rodó de Zárate (UAB Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona); Giovanni Piazza; Miguel A. Martinez; Thomas Aguilera; Amy Starecheski; Hans Pruijt; Andrea Aureli; Eliot Tretter (University of Texas, Austin)4:40 PM – 6:20 – Mark Purcell (University of Washington, Seattle); Eli Meyerhoff (University of Minnesota); Pierpaolo Mudu; Lucy Finchett-Maddock; Nathan Eisenstadt; Alessia Marini; Loredana Guerrieri; Elisabeth Lorenzi; Salvatore Engel-DiMauro (SUNY State University of New York, New Paltz)4. Saturday, February 25th – SQEK internal meeting 9am-12pm LOCATION TBD5. Saturday, February 25th, afternoon/evening – Public presentation: “Squatting in Europe: Prospects and Perspectives” (Living Theatre, 21 Clinton St half a block below Houston Street, 5-7pm; ends on the dot of 7pm); drinks afterwards at The Suffolk, Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center, southwest corner Suffolk and Rivington
Public presentation by members of the Squatting Europe Collective (SQEK)
“Squatting in Europe: Prospects and Perspectives”
A roundtable with the members of SQEK

Confirmed participants in a roundtable public presentation are: Miguel Martinez, Elisabeth Lorenzi (Madrid, Spain), Hans Pruijt (Rotterdam, Netherlands), Gianni Piazza (Sicily), Eliseo Fucolti (Rome, Italy), Thomas Aguilera (Paris, France), Lucy Finchett-Maddock (United Kingdom), Lynn Owens, Tina Steiger (Copenhagen/USA), Alan W. Moore (Madrid/USA)6. Sunday, February 26th – Public meetings with activists
noon-4pm – brunch and afternoon session at 16 Beaver Group, 16 Beaver St., Wall St. area (tentatively confirmed)
7pm – Catholic Worker auditorium (55 East Third St.) – a round table, “talking turkey” with activists of O4O (Organizing for Occupation)7. Monday, February 27th –2-5 PM, in Room 5409, SQEK members will have an open meeting to discuss their research projects and approaches with interested students and the public.6:30-8:30 PM, in Room C201, SQEK researchers will discuss European squatting movements.8. SQEK “Living Library” at Interference Archive, Brooklyn, continuing throughout the weekend
131 8th St. #4. Brooklyn, NY 11215 (Gowanus) 2 blocks from the F/G/R trains (4th ave. and 9th st.)3. AAG session Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting 2012 // Friday, 24 February, 2012

Squat the world. Housing is a human right. Have a great squatter day and more.