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THE OLYMPICS THROUGH A LOCAL LENS:
A day of discussion, workshops, strategy and action in Victoria, Coast Salish Territories
AN INVITATION AND PROPOSAL
March, 2009
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==> Get involved with local organizing in time for the 2010 Olympics!!
==> Make sure the issues your group, collective or agency is working are heard
as 2010 approaches!!
==> Bring diverse movements across Victoria together to build our action!!
With the 2010 Olympics just around the corner, the world's attention is being drawn to British Columbia. Despite claims that the government and business leaders will draw in enormous profits, opposition and resistance continue to build. Critical perspectives on the Olympics have raised a myriad of interconnected issues, such as colonialism, poverty, violence against women, homelessness, health, corporatism, and environmental destruction.
*** This email contains a proposal and an invitation for a collaborative event
on the local implications of the 2010 Olympics in Victoria. Scroll down for
info on (1) what we're planning, (2) why we're planning it, and (3) how you can
get involved! ***
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1. WHAT ARE WE PLANNING? THE OLYMPICS THROUGH A LOCAL LENS: A DAY OF
DISCUSSION, STRATEGY AND ACTION IN MARCH, 2009
In March 2009, with the Olympics less than one year away, individuals and
community members interested in local social justice issues are invited to a
day of workshops focused on building coordinated campaigns and actions in
Victoria. Ideas for workshops include:
- Decolonization, Land and Restitution
- Homelessness and housing
- Health, poverty, homelessness and "harm reduction"
- Sex workers' rights
- Ecosystem destruction, sacred site protection and environmental justice
- Corporatization and privatization
- State surveillance, security and police brutality
- Labour activism and the public sector
The workshops will be followed by a panel discussion on coordinating actions
and strategies surrounding the 2010 Olympics and ongoing local issues. Be part
of Victoria's "Olympic Countdown"!
2. WHAT DO THE VANCOUVER OLYMPICS HAVE TO DO WITH VICTORIA?
==> We're facing the same issues
Many of the issues that Olympics critics have raised in Vancouver are equally
prevalent in Victoria. Embedded within ongoing colonial processes and further
invasions into Indigenous peoples' territories, people across Victoria are
affected by issues such as increasing homelessness, cutbacks to health
services, privatization, corporatization and ecocide. While many groups and
collectives in Victoria are working on these issues, we have yet to come
together and draw out the connections between our struggles and the 2010
Olympics.
==> The Olympics will impact Victoria
The possible implications of the Vancouver Olympics in Victoria are unclear. We
can expect an influx of tourists before, during and shortly after the February
2010 games. Groups in Vancouver are concerned about the 'street cleansing'
initiatives that are often used to displace the urban poor and homeless from
the downtown Vancouver and seeking refuge in Victoria?
==> The Olympic torch relay will begin in Victoria
The Olympic torch relay next October before travelling across the province.
Communities across BC will be organizing to voice their opposition to the games
and to draw attention to local issues. The time to begin mobilizing in Victoria
is now!
3. HOW TO GET INVOLVED
==> Are you a member of a community in resistance, a collective or social
justice group? A service provider, a health worker, an activist, an advocate..?
Interested in either proposing or participating in a workshop or the closing
panel?
==> Are you an individual wanting to participate in organizing this event? Do
you want to help with outreach and mobilization, food, media, fundraising,
billeting, or other tasks?
** Get in touch with us at olympics.in.victoria@gmail.com **
