"Conferenca Socialnih centrov"

Invitation and draft of its conceptualization

More than two years ago a group of militant researchers and activists occupied former factory Rog in Ljubljana that was empty for a decade for speculative reasons. The Assembly of temporary users that was established immediately after the occupation declared the complex of former factory to be open for everyone that wants to articulate needs in the city of Ljubljana. Today factory Rog is a vivid community animated by many artistic, cultural, social and political programs and groups.

Two months ago Mayor of Ljubljana tried to close down the factory that is owned by the Municipality of Ljubljana and self-managed by its users. Solidarity network was established that for now prevented Mayor to close down an important experience of building common good in the city. Network of European social centers circulated the declaration of support for Social center Rog saying that what is at stake and what has to be defended is »a different Europe where the rights of all are ensured by the creation from below of ever new public spaces in all European cities«.

Together with different realities of European network of Social centers, activists of Social center Rog organize in June (19-21) Social Center's Conference.
We are foreseeing days of discussions and actions focused on our common project, which is creation from below of new public spaces of freedom, equality and rights for everyone. With the conference we try to strengthen our common path of struggle in the societies and cities which are more and more prey of big powers and interests and sites of growing precarity of majority.

We are thinking to organize discussion around four major issues:

the first is the struggle for common against the new (neo-liberal) articulation of relationship between public and private. We would like to address this issue highlighting processes of gentrification, new ways of expropriation of common, new type of cultural and social institutions and their role in controlling forms of subjectivization, policies of normalization and security in metropolis, territorial organization of exploitation of precarious and migrant workers.
The second big issue is new forms of unionism, we could call bio-unionism. We propose to discuss new forms of social struggles in the context of the crisis of representative politics, corporatist organization of interests and forms of social dialog, and to exchange experiences from organization of social struggles.
Third issue is related to the state of social conflicts in Europe and is named Eurovision of conflicts. Euro-conflict-vision is going to be the presentation of the most important conflicts in Europe.
Fourth issue is related to definition of the tools of cooperation and exchange among social centers in the future.

The program of Social center's conference is of course open for suggestions. We would like this conference to be really common event also in its preparation. For this reason we are inviting other Social centers to contribute to the preparation of the content of common event.

Social Center Rog