Presentations and Workshops
from ReclaimDemocracy.org
ReclaimDemocracy.org has speakers available to address a wide variety of issues relating to the struggle for democracy v. corporate power. Speakers are available for keynotes, debates, panel discussions or intensive workshops that we recommend highly for local working groups.
Our most frequent speaking topics include: * Corporate responsibility- hope or oxymoron?
* Do corporations have rights?
* Beyond left and right: building a Democracy Movement
* Main St. vs. Wall St.
* Can the Bill of Rights survive the "War on Terrorism?"
* Political reform as if democracy mattered--getting to the roots
* The myth of "free trade"
* The path to localization and a restorative economy
* Corporate mind control and the power of democratic language
We are happy to customize talks to your specific interests and goals.
From Here to Democracy:
Strategies
for Revoking Corporate Power and Building a Democracy Movement
Do you feel like you're struggling against problems caused by corporations, fighting one battle at a time, one after the other, without gaining ground overall?
Can we make corporations "responsible?"
Do you wonder where to focus your limited time or money to the greatest effect?
Our "From Here to Democracy" workshops are geared toward a small group (10-25) of participants who wish to grapple with illegitimate corporate power and corruption of democracy and wish to gain deeper understanding and tools for becoming more effective agents of change.
These workshops will prod you to question some of your basic assumptions,
deepen your understanding, and ultimately help sharpen your focus and
effectiveness as an active citizen. We'll work to develop strategies
on how every campaign we wage can be part of a larger movement to dismantle
corporate power and revive democracy. We recommend two days for maximum
effectiveness of these workshops, but also offer a single-day version.
Sample outline for a two day workshop
The bulk of the weekend workshop consists of facilitated discussion geared toward creating effective strategies. Not all of these elements are covered in a single-day format.
* A brief history of corporations and democracy and corporate
shaping of culture in the U.S. today.
* "What's the problem?" exploring a range of views on the real roots of the problems we are working to solve.
* The nature of corporations -- getting to know the adversary. A brief presentation followed by discussion.
* Lessons of both our successful and failed U.S. social movements and the general characteristics of successful movements.
*Analyzing mechanisms of corporate rule and mechanisms of indoctrination into corporate thinking.
*Exploring avenues for reviving democracy
vs. working on corporate turf, escaping the limits of our own preconceptions, and moving from damage control to asserting citizen authority.
*Evaluating "new paradigm" models for systemic
change and relating current work to past successful social movements
*Bringing it home to our own work. A look at how some current issues could be framed and focused differently. How can our improved understanding of our systemic problems be converted to opportunities for successful organizing and impact?