European Action Coalition meeting Athens 2 -6 November
All events are in Greek and English
Food is provided by El Chef
We want to thank them, Prosfygika, Steki Metanastwn, Diktio Allilegkiis (Solidarity Network), Trise.
We also would like to thank the United initiative against auction who co-organised with us.
This event was supported by Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung – Brussels, Athens and London offices, as well as Fondation Charles Léopold Meyer.
The main objectives of the Athens’ meeting are to strengthen the action of European groups through sharing knowledge and know-hows, to create alliances, to strengthen and develop transnational working groups, to plan common actions and/or campaigns, to organise the next Housing Action Day (day of common actions organised in several European cities for the right to housing and the right to the city), etc. Different tenants’ unions will be joining us (from London, Ireland, Manchester, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, …), organised groups of homeless and solidarity people, anti-eviction groups, activists fighting against gentrification, or those building or defending alternative housing, etc. The topic of energy bills will be addressed.
THURSDAY 03/11 – Internal plenary & Public event
20.00 – 22.00 : OPENING ‘HOUSING JUSTICE 2023’ (PUBLIC EVENT) – place to be confirmed
(en-gr translations)
We can’t pay – We won’t pay!
Movements against crazy housing and energy costs
What others call the ‘housing crisis’ is long since our daily routine. Skyrocketing rents and unending mortgages have shaped our realities for many years now. In the last year, the drastic rise in energy costs has further escalated the issue. Many of us are in pure mode of survival. The time to resist has come: Heating or eating cannot be the question. With different approaches, movements are trying to politicize and collectivize that struggle. Can we imagine a pan-european movement against the attack on our bare lifes and the exploitation of our most basic needs?
We will discuss with comrades from Don’t Pay UK, cost of living network (Gastivists), Δεν βγαίνω, Don’t pay Belgium and Sindycat de llogateres (Barcelona).
FRIDAY 04/11 – Internal plenary & Demonstration
19:00: Demonstration – Starts in Propylaia Against state repression and the violence of capital Exarcheia remains a neighborhood of resistance and struggle
On the 4th of November, a demonstration is planned in the center of Athens for the defense of Exarcheia neighborhood and to protest against state and capitalist violence. The European Action Coalition for the right to housing and to the city (EAC) will be there and is calling all people to join.
SATURDAY 05/11 – Workshops-open to the public
10:30 – 13:00 A) NETWORK AND THEMATICAL MEETINGS – Polytechneio and various spaces
in Tsamadou street
Workshop 1: Tenants’ Unions across Europe Polytechneio
In many cities tenants are organizing in unions. While having different approaches, they have a common aim: to build a solid social base for the struggles. In this network-meeting comrades from London Renters Union, Sindycat de llogeters (Barcelona), Mieter*innen Gewerkschaft (Berlin), CATU (Ireland), Ort till Ort (Stockholm), ACORN, HABITA (Lisbon), Living Rent Scotland and others will present their unions and fathom how transnational interaction could support and develop their local struggles.
Workshop 2: Housing and energy crises Polytechneio
The ruling classes try to simplify, obfuscate and separate not only the problems we are facing but also us, the social movements, we tend to get lost in quite specialized, isolated struggles. Many comrades observe that the housing issue seems to disappear behind the now dominating question of energy costs. Environmental issues often appear as a kind of luxury problem. But how can we strengthen intersectional struggles and question the system as a whole? In connection to our opening event ‘we can’t pay – we won’t pay’ on Thursday this workshop will deepen the discussions with comrades from Gaztivists, Don’t pay UK, Don’t pay Belgium, Δεν βγαίνω and others.
Workshop 3: End homelessness Tsamadou spaces
The contradiction of people without homes and houses without people is still urgent. While the EU announced to end homelessness in 2030 without having a plan and tools to do so, the actual development leads the way to more people losing their homes due to debts. Comrades from Syndicat des Immenses (Brussels), Notara26 (Athens), Aslido (Prague), Profygika (Athens) and HARTA (Naoussa ) will present their struggles and discuss future strategies and potentials of collaborations.
Workshop 4: free subject Tsamadou spaces
13:00 – 14:30 collective lunch Steki Metanastwn
Workshop 4: free subject Tsamadou 13 – 2nd floor
14:30 – 17:00 B) SKILLSHARING AND PROJECTS – Polytechneio and various spaces in
Tsamadou street
Workshop 1: Housing Action Day – anti-MIPIM action polytechneio
The European Action Coalition for the right to housing and to the city has its emphasis on ‘action’. Since 3 years we are calling for a ‘Housing Action Day’ (HAD) in the end of March. We also discuss a collective action against MIPIM in Cannes/France, the biggest ‘real-estate’ fair in Europe where state and capital define future politics. Also still open is the question, if we could raise a campaign with common demands, for instance: maximum rent, cancellation of debts, limitation of prices through profit cuts. Shall we find a thematical frame for the HAD2023? Mobilize against MIPIM? What other actions can we think of?
Workshop 2: Anti-gentrification struggles with “No metro” and “Strefi” assemblies Tsamadou spaces
Exarcheia is a melting pot for so-called ‘gentrification’ enforced by massive police violence. That phenomena with multiple layers and apects (rising rents and displacement, ‘touristification’, ‘hippsterization’, survilliance/ policing etc…) is countered by diverse social movements. Which actions, which campaigns, which ways of organizing are promising to be succesfull? In this workshop comrades from Exarcheia will present their struggles and exchange ideas for strategies and tacticts with comrades from all over Europe. Is there a way to connect local struggles beyond borders? With comrades from the No Metro in Exarcheia square assembly, assembly for the protection of Strefi Hill and from the European Action Coalition.
Workshop 3: Abandoned Building reappropreation – squatting to socialization Polytechneio
One year ago the people of Berlin decided, in a Referendum, that big landlords should be expropriated. The federal government is doing everything in their power to slow down the procedures. Anyway, since the campaign for expropriation started, comrades from other geographies are discussing how to transfer this approach to their cities or countries. Others still prefer the DIY approach and squat. In this workshop we will have comrades who are involved in both attempts.
Workshop 4: free subject Tsamadou 13 – 2nd floor
17:00 – 18:00 special coffee break at Polytechneio
18:00 – 20:00 C) DEBATES AND TALKS – Polytechneio and various spaces in Tsamadou street
Debate 1 : organized by RLS : Municipalism Polytechneio
‘Municipalism in practice’ is a report on progressive housing policies in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin and Vienna. A person [Stephan Thimmel] who is involved in this project will present the research and discuss with us the link between municipalist policies and housing policy instruments.
Debate 2 : organized by Trise : Roussopoulos presentation on Milton Park Steki Metanastwn
Dimitri Rousopoulos’ account of his experience with the self-managed neighbourhood of Milton Parc in Montreal and the project of libertarian municipalism is a historical legacy for the social and urvan movements. A decades-long struggle to save the Montreal neighborhood managed to unite residents and succeeded in establishing the largest non-profit cooperative housing project in North America, consisting of 642 housing units and over a thousand residents democratically participating in the project to this very day. They all own the land in common. There is no individual ownership and therefore it is not possible to buy and sell property within these six blocks. This experience gives us the fertile grounds to discuss the possibility of establishing such networks in the urban fabric, recreating free public space with democratic institutions of self-government.
Dimitris Roussopoulos is a writer and historical figure of the North American libertarian movement since 1959. He remains active in social and urban movements in Canada. He is the founder of the historical publishing house Black Rose Books and a member of TRISE.
Debate 3 : struggles against foreclosures in Greece Polytechneio
Since the 2008 crisis, things have gone worse and worse for households that are enable to pay their bills, their taxes, their mortgages. The Greek governments have progressively altered the Katselli law and today protections against foreclosures and evictions are almost non-existant in Greece. At the same time, banks sell their bad loans to funds, who proceed to foreclosures online. Mobilizing against foreclosures and evictions is getting harder and harder. The United initiative against foreclosures will present us their struggle and will show us how important it is for housing justice in Greece today.
Theatre on the right to housing in Greece by Boalitaria Polytechneio
The group ‘Boalitaria’ is a selforganized theatre group which uses methods of theatre of the oppressed. That is a participatory method aiming for social and political intervention. Their play is concerned with different aspects of housing struggles. The performance will be in English.
SUNDAY 06/11 Workshops & Open assembly – open to the public
10:30 – 12:30 D) OPEN EXCHANGE AND TEACH-INS – Polytechneio and various spaces in
Tsamadou street
Teach-in 1: How to stop an eviction? Polytechneio
How the struggle and resistance against evictions is organized in different cities, we will learn in this workshop. Keeping in mind the different legal, political and social context will make us understand, which elements of the struggles we can transfer to our local grounds. We would like to meet local initiatives to share their experiences of this struggle in Greece.
Teach-in 2: Reconnect the electricity meter when it’s cut Tsamadou spaces
Some meter’s running. Some meter’s not running. A practical workshop on electricity.
Teach-in 3: Patriarchy free zone
We invite you to a patriarchy-free zone. It is a free space, a thinking space, an action space. We want to be here: To be, to feel, to exchange. We ask 2 questions: What does anarchist-queer-feminist urban development mean for us individually and for us as a group? How do we get there?
We are looking forward to this joint experiment.
Open to all, beginner-friendly.
Open exchange 1: Find new words/concepts for our struggles Tsamadou spaces
The ‘Syndicat des Immenses’ from Brussels is very into creating new words to appropriately describe their sensation and analysis of the world. And in the same moment they shift the perception by the use of new terms that are not connoted with prejudices and knowledge for the sake of control. A creative workshop that will be even more enriched by the exchange of examples in different languages.
Open exchange 2: Legal procedures Polytechneio
The legal frames concerning housing and city rights are still quite diverse. But again and again some loopholes or defence strategies could be transferred to other legal grounds. Also successful legal struggles, for bans or moratoria on evictions for instance, where inspiring initiatives in other areas. Could there be organized a more steady exchange in this field? This will be discuss in that workshop.
12:30 – 14:00 collective lunch Steki Metanastwn
14:00 – 17:00 E) OPEN ASSEMBLY FOR HOUSING JUSTICE 2023 – Polytechneio
The open assembly is the time when the conclusions of the workshops will be presented, and proposals are made to the movement. Together we will create a roadmap for housing justice in 2023 and set some milestones for the expansion of our movements.
18:00 – 20:30 Souvlaki and raki, chill out and goodbye – somewhere in Exarcheia
For interest please contact us on [email protected]
(ΕΛ)
Ποιοι / Ποιες / Ποια είμαστε :
Ο Ευρωπαϊκός Συνασπισμός Δράσης για το δικαίωμα στη στέγαση και την πόλη (EAC) είναι ένα δίκτυο 35 συλλογικοτήτων και οργανώσεων βάσης που δραστηριοποιούνται σε περισσότερες από 20 χώρες της Ευρώπης. Δύο φορές το χρόνο, τα μέλη του EAC συναντώνται σε διαφορετική ευρωπαϊκή χώρα.
Η συνάντηση της Αθήνας :
Οι κύριοι στόχοι της συνάντησης της Αθήνας είναι η ενίσχυση της δράσης των ευρωπαϊκών ομάδων μέσω της ανταλλαγής γνώσεων και τεχνογνωσίας, η δημιουργία συμμαχιών, η ενίσχυση και ανάπτυξη διακρατικών ομάδων εργασίας, ο σχεδιασμός κοινών δράσεων ή/και εκστρατειών, η διοργάνωση της επόμενης Ημέρας Δράσης για τη Στέγαση (ημέρα κοινών δράσεων που διοργανώνονται σε διάφορες ευρωπαϊκές πόλεις για το δικαίωμα στη στέγαση και το δικαίωμα στην πόλη), κλπ. Θα συμμετάσχουν διάφορα συνδικάτα ενοικιαστών (από το Λονδίνο, την Ιρλανδία, το Μάντσεστερ, τη Βαρκελώνη, το Βερολίνο, το Παρίσι, …), οργανωμένες ομάδες αστέγων και αλληλέγγυων, ομάδες κατά των εξώσεων, ακτιβιστές που αγωνίζονται κατά του εξευγενισμού, ή όσοι χτίζουν ή υπερασπίζονται εναλλακτικές κατοικίες, κλπ. Το θέμα των ενεργειακών λογαριασμών θα αντιμετωπιστεί.
Πέμπτη 3 Νοεμβρίου – Κλειστή ολομέλεια και δημόσια εκδήλωση
20.00 – 22.00 : ΒΡΑΔΙΑ ΕΝΑΡΞΗΣ ‘HOUSING JUSTICE 2023’ (Δημόσια εκδήλωση) – K*ΒοξΔεν μπορούμε να πληρώσουμε – δεν θα πληρώσουμε!
Κινήματα κατά του τρελού κόστους στέγασης και ενέργειας
Σε όλες τις ευρωπαϊκές χώρες, οι τιμές των κατοικιών και οι λογαριασμοί ενέργειας έχουν αυξηθεί
δραματικά. Πολλά νοικοκυριά δεν μπορούν πλέον να πληρώνουν τους λογαριασμούς, τα ενοίκια, τα
στεγαστικά δάνεια και ένα αυξανόμενο μέρος του πληθυσμού δεν μπορεί να ζήσει σε αξιοπρεπείς
συνθήκες, ενώ ορισμένοι-ες απειλούνται ακόμη και με χρέη, έξωση ή απώλεια των σπιτιών τους. Σε όλη την Ευρώπη, οι άνθρωποι προσπαθούν να οργανωθούν συλλογικά ενάντια σε αυτές τις πολλαπλές
κρίσεις, ενώ οι κυβερνήσεις δεν είναι πρόθυμες να ανταποκριθούν σωστά. Ακτιβιστές από το Don’t pay
UK, το Don’t pay Belgium, την Ενωτική Πρωτοβουλία κατά των Πληστιριασμών και διάφορα συνδικάτα
ενοικιαστών θα παρουσιάσουν τους αγώνες τους.
Παρασκευή 4 Νοεμβρίου – Κλειστή ολομέλεια & διαδήλωση
19:00 : Συλλογική Δράση
Σάββατο 5 Νοεμβρίου – Εργαστήρια – ανοιχτά για το κοινό
10:30 – 13:00 A) ΔΊΚΤΥΟ ΚΑΙ ΘΕΜΑΤΙΚΈΣ ΣΥΝΑΝΤΉΣΕΙΣ– Πολυτεχνείο και χώροι επί της
Τσαμαδού
Εργαστήριο 1: Συνδικάτα ενοικιαστών στην Ευρώπη Πολυτεχνείο
Εργαστήριο 2: Στεγαστική και ενεργειακή κρίση Πολυτεχνείο
Εργαστήριο 3: Τερματισμός της έλλειψης στέγης χώροι επί της Τσαμαδού
Εργαστήριο 4: Ελεύθερο θέμα χώροι επί της Τσαμαδού
13:00 – 14:30 συλλογικό γεύμα Στέκι Μεταναστών
14:30 – 17:00 B) ΑΝΤΑΛΛΑΓΉ ΔΕΞΙΟΤΉΤΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΣΧΕΔΊΩΝ – Πολυτεχνείο και χώροι επί της
Τσαμαδού
Εργαστήριο 1: Housing Action Day – δράη ενάντια στο MIPIM Πολυτεχνείο
Εργαστήριο 2: Δράσεις κατά του εξευγενισμού με συνελεύσεις εξαρχείων “Όχι μετρό” και “Στρέφι »
χώροι επί της Τσαμαδού
Εργαστήριο 3: Αποκατάσταση εγκαταλελειμμένων κτιρίων – από την κατάληψη στην κοινωνικοποίηση
Πολυτεχνείο
Εργαστήριο 4: Ελεύθερο θέμα χώροι επί της Τσαμαδού
17:00 – 18:00 ειδικό διάλειμμα για καφέ στο Πολυτεχνείο
18:00 – 20:00 C) ΣΥΖΗΤΉΣΕΙΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΝΤΙΠΑΡΑΘΈΣΕΙΣ – Πολυτεχνείο και χώροι επί της
Τσαμαδού
Συζήτηση 1 : οργανωμένο από το Ύδριμα Ρόζα Λούξεμνπουργκ : Δημοτικότητα (Municipalism)
Πολυτεχνείο
Συζήτηση 2 : οργανωμένο από το TRISE : παρουσίαση του Ρουσσόπουλου για το Milton Park Στέκι
Μεταναστών
Συζήτηση 3 : Καταπολέμηση των κατασχέσεων στην Ελλάδα Πολυτεχνείο
Θέατρο για τα δικαιώματα στέγασης στην Ελλάδα Κήπος Τσαμαδού
Κυριακή 6 Νοεμβρίου – Εργαστήρια και ανοικτή συνέλευση – ανοικτή στο
κοινό
10:30 – 12:30 D) ΑΝΟΙΚΤΈΣ ΑΝΤΑΛΛΑΓΈΣ ΚΑΙ TEACH-INS– Πολυτεχνείο και χώροι επί της
Τσαμαδού
Teach-in 1: Πώς να σταματήσετε μια έξωση; Πολυτεχνείο
Teach-in 2: Επανασυνδέστε τον μετρητή ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας όταν απενεργοποιηθεί
χώροι επί της Τσαμαδού
Ανοικτή ανταλλαγή 1: Βρίσκοντας νέες λέξεις/έννοιες για τους αγώνες μας χώροι επί της Τσαμαδού
Ανοικτή ανταλλαγή 2: Νομικές διαδικασίες (ή καμπάνιες?) Πολυτεχνείο
12:30 – 14:00 συλλογικό γεύμα Στέκι Μεταναστών
14:00 – 17:00 E) ΑΝΟΙΧΤΉ ΣΥΝΈΛΕΥΣΗ « HOUSING JUSTICE 2023 » – Πολυτεχνείο
Η ανοιχτή συνάντηση είναι η στιγμή κατά την οποία παρουσιάζονται όλα τα εργαστήρια και
διατυπώνονται γενικές προτάσεις προς το κίνημα.
18:00 – 20:30 Σουβλάκι και τσιπουράκι, ξεκουραζόμαστε και λέμε αντίο – κάπου στα Εξάρχεια