SqEK // Paris, 2013 // Internal Meetings // Minutes
SqEK internal meetings // March 20 and 24, 2013
1 // Books
* Minor Compositions
-PDF is already available in both Minor Compositions and SqEK webpages
-Distribution: please write directly to Stevphen (or through the SqEK list) to ask for books at the better price in order to save distribution costs, and to contact local bookshops… However, Autonomedia is the official distributor, so they could be in charge of this too.
-Reviews: please ask friends and scholars to write reviews of the book in academic journals, newspapers and activist media… SqEK members who are not authors are warmly encouraged to write reviews too.
-Contact famous people who could write a short comment on the book in order to include it in the cover of the next edition of the book.
* Popular book
-Only 3 texts were finished… (UK, France and Italy)
-Select pictures and send them to the editors
-New editors: Alan, Edward, Andre and Hans. (Authorship of the whole be will be SqEK, but any chapter will include authors’ names.)
* Pluto
-Claudio and Miguel are coordinating this book based on the central idea of conceiving squatting as an alternative to capitalism. Several chapters were already written and some are still under way.
-Apart form authors, all the SqEK members can contribute with the review of chapters and a short piece of comments may be included at the end of each chapter, with a mention to this additional authorship.
-Small boxes telling short stories and cases may be included, so they are welcome if you want to contribute in this way.
-Everything should be ready by June 3!! This is the deadline when the editor expects our draft. Some things may be modified later.
* Squatting and Migration
-Eliseo and Sutapa offered themselves as editors of this forthcoming volume.
-Call for papers is, then, open.
* New SqEK book
-It would consist of a new collection of (preferentially) already published articles in journals, similar to what we did in the book published by Minor Compositions.
-Articles already published in other books may be considered in case those books had a bad distribution, and after asking for permission to their respective editors.
-Editors: Frank, Armin and Hans. (Authorship of the whole book be will be SqEK, but any chapter will include authors’ names.)
-Possible authors (/chapters) right now: Eliseo, Hans, Miguel, Tisba, Armin, André, Lucrezia, Alan & Hans, Thomas & Merce & Robert, Deanna & Edward
2 // Research Projects
* MOVOKEUR: A comparison of 4 Spanish cities and 8 European ones (2012-2014)
-Two people (Angela and Nico) were partially contracted to work on the Spanish cities
-This year some people may be also paid for specific works, but no contracts will be signed in order to get an adequate distribution of the money left (around 25,000 €) and to cover all the areas of research.
-There are various aspects of the project that are being undertaken by several SqEK members, but additional contributions may be accepted: cyclical evolution (data bases), contextual constraints (urban, political, social and cultural), social networks, social identities, political impacts, and processes of institutionalisation.
-Miguel (UCM, Madrid) is the Principal Investigator
* ORA: Comparative research of squatting in the Netherlands, France, UK, Germany and USA
-Already submitted, awaiting for score and feedback.
-Hans (EU, Rotterdam) is the PI.
* COST: promotion of European research networks
-Already submitted, awaiting for score and feedback.
-Hans (EU, Rotterdam) is the PI.
3 // Website
-Management of the website is open to all who want to contribute.
-Articles, books, etc. are needed to be uploaded, so, please, help with this.
4 // Interference Archive (and 56a)
-The Interference Archive is located in New York City, hosted us last year and started to collect all kind of materials about squatting (in Europe), in particular publications and artistic-political stuff. If you have copies to send them, check with SqEK members and with the IA people.
-The same is requested by the 56a archive in London.
5 // Feedback about the Paris conference and suggestions for future meetings
-General satisfaction with the programme.
-Many new faces presented their works.
-Many locals attended the talks and debates, visits being even crowded.
-Activists from different squatting tendencies met.
-Excellent translation support which was crucial for locals.
-Friendly atmosphere and warm receptions by squatters.
-Great organisation of places for crush.
-Unique opportunity to know what’s up about squatting in Paris.
Aspects to improve and suggestions:
-Shorter presentations would be better.
-A few number of presentations also was favoured, instead of too many.
-More time for collective debates would be appreciate it.
-Debates and presentations should be organised according to major issues.
-Posters may substitute oral presentations.
-Special events or talks explicitly organised to attract local activists are needed.
-Local activists should be invited to present their analysis.
-Visits to squats could be reduced to 3 or 4.
-The whole schedule should be less stressful, with sufficient time for lunch and free evenings.
-Punctuality is something to encourage more.
-Translations may be organised with technological gadgets for cell phones.
-Include forgotten issues like gender and criminalisation.
-Take care about gender balance contributions to the meetings and books.
-Show publicly our solidarity with repressed or threated squatters.
-Squat a building for the period of the SqEK meeting.
6 // Forthcoming SqEK meetings
-First appointement is at the ISA-RC 21 Conference in Berlin, August 29-31. Armin and Miguel are in charge of two sessions on ‘autonomous urban movements’ and three SqEkers will present papers. Hans and Andre, likely, will also help with the coordination.
-Two cities were suggested to host the next SqEK meeting (Barcelona and Rome), but people from Rome already confirmed they could organise it in late May 2014.