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Justice Beyond Borders

December 6th, 2006 by admin

Date: Friday Night Meet and Greet (2/16)
Location: Committee of Interns and Residents 520 8th Ave Between 37th and 36th Street 12th Floor.

Dates: Saturday and Sunday (2/17-18)
Location: Bayard Rustin HS; 351 W. 18th Street
  [directions]

Click here for FULL CONFERENCE PROGRAM or here for KEYNOTE TALKS.

With the political developments of last year, the youth and student movement now faces new challenges and organizing opportunities.  In 2006, we witnessed the rise of a new civil rights movement with the mass mobilizations of immigrant workers, the collapse of national support for the Iraq war and the Bush administration, and the election of a Democratic Party majority in Congress.  These gains were due in large part to the hard work and political vision of progressive activists. 
Students and young people have always played a crucial role in movements for radical change. But only if a decentralized student movement develops a coordinated strategy can we have a strong impact on the political arena.
The Young Democratic Socialists' conference, Justice Beyond Borders: Democracy and Socialism in the 21st Century, will provide a chance for young leftists and progressives to strategize, bond, and learn from one another and from several generations of progressive activists and intellectuals. Gatherings such as this are crucial to ending the war, building a progressive majority that can win long-term, and developing a left whose vision is democratic and anti-capitalist and whose ideology is founded firmly in anti-racism, feminism, and queer rights.

We encourage campus groups to plan ahead and apply for financial support from their schools as early as possible. Contact us if you have any questions, want to volunteer at the conference, or need help with fundraising or transportation needs.

You can download and distribute the 'JUSTICE BEYOND BORDERS: Democracy and Socialism in the 21st Century' conference flier here.  Help us spread the word!  Print out the flyer and sign people up to join us in NYC on the Feb. 16-18, 3-day vacation weekend.

FEATURED SPEAKERS
Conference workshops and panels will feature organizers and trainers from the anti-racist, feminist, youth, queer, trade union, and anti-war movements, as well as noted activist scholars from the democratic left, including:

NOAM CHOMSKY

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Institute Professor Emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Chomsky was voted the leading living public intellectual in The 2005 Global Intellectuals Poll conducted by the British magazine Prospect. He reacted, saying "I don't pay a lot of attention to polls". In a list compiled by the magazine New Statesman in 2006, he was voted seventh in the list of "Heroes of our time". An open socialist, Chomsky is one of the most important intellectuals on the American left.

Noam Chomsky has written and lectured widely on linguistics, philosophy, intellectual history, contemporary issues, international affairs and U.S. foreign policy. His political works include: Most recent:
Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance (The American Empire Project)
Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy
Chomsky on Democracy and Education (Social Theory, Education, and Cultural Change)
 

Other books:  Superpowers in Collision: The Cold War Now, Turning the Tide : U.S. intervention in Central America and the Struggle for Peace, On Power and Ideology, Language and Politics, Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (with Edward Herman), Necessary Illusions,  What Uncle Sam Really Wants, Chronicles of Dissent, Deterring Democracy, The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many, Secrets, Lies, and Democracy,  World Orders, Old and New, Powers and Prospects: Reflections on Human Nature and the Social Order, Class Warfare, Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda, The Culture of Terrorism, The Umbrella of US Power, The New Military Humanism: Lessons from Kosovo, Profit over People, The Fateful Triangle, Rogue States, Propaganda and the Public Mind, and 9-11.

BARBARA EHRENREICH

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Barbara Ehrenreich is the author of thirteen books, including The New York Times bestseller Nickel and Dimed. A frequent contributor to The New York Times, Harpers, and The Progressive, she is a contributing writer to Time magazine.  She is an honorary chair of Democratic Socialists of America, YDS' parent organization.

Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
For Her Own Good: Two Centuries of the Experts' Advice to Women
Global Woman: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy
Blood Rites: Origins and History of the Passions of War
The Snarling Citizen: Essays
Fear of Falling: The Inner Life of the Middle Class

CHRISTIAN PARENTI

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Christian Parenti's articles and ground-breaking reporting regularly appear in The Nation magazine and Doug Henwood's radio show "Behind the News".   He is the author of The Freedom: Shadows and Hallucinations in Occupied Iraq, The Soft Cage and Lockdown America.  Parenti has traveled extensively through Afghanistan, Iraq, and Latin America covering the recent political situations.  Parenti is a long-time friend to Young Democratic Socialists.

GAYATRI CHAKRAVORTY SPIVAK

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Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak is the Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities and the Director of the Center for Comparative Literature and Society at Columbia University.  A noted scholar on feminism, globalization, and post-colonialism, Spivak is the author of many books and major articles, including: Three Women's Texts and a Critique of Imperialism; Can the Subaltern Speak?; Thinking Academic Freedom in Gendered Post-Coloniality; Outside in the Teaching Machine; Imperatives to Re-Imagine the Planet; Other Asias; Red Thread (forthcoming). 

LIZA FEATHERSTONE

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Liza Featherstone is a journalist based in New York City. Her work on student and youth activism has been published in The Nation (where she is a contributing editor), Lingua Franca, The San Francisco Bay Guardian, Left Business Observer, Dissent, The Sydney Morning Herald, and Columbia Journalism Review. Featherstone has also written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsday, In These Times, Ms., Salon, Nerve, US, Nylon and Rolling Stone. She is the co-author of Students Against Sweatshops: The Making of a Movement (Verso, 2002) and author of Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Workers' Rights at Wal-Mart (Basic, 2004).

PLANNING YOUR TRIP / FUNDRAISING / GETTING TO NEW YORK CITY:
People come to YDS conferences from all over the country. If you are coming from out of town, it is important to plan your trip as early as possible. We're committed to ensuring that everyone who wants to come to "Justice Beyond Borders" is able to attend. We're offering travel scholarships and housing accommodations for those coming to NYC by plane, bus, car, or train (more info below), on a limited, first-come, first-served basis with preference given to YDS activists.  However, we highly recommend that you fundraise to help cover costs. Click here for great tips on travel planning, economizing and fundraising, from getting cheap plane tickets, hosting events to raise money, to hitting up your student government for funds. Please remember that plane tickets are typically cheaper the further in advance you purchase them and that Student Government Associations often require plenty of advance notice if you are requesting special funds from them. Do plan ahead!

YDS Fundraising Tips

CARPOOLING - NEED / OFFER RIDES TO NYC?
If you are within driving distance of New York City and are in need of a ride, let us know and we can check to see if others planning to attend in your area can offer you one. If you have extra space in your vehicle, please let us know. We encourage you to carpool to the conference with other friends and activists. There will be space on the on-line registration form to offer or request rides.

 
HOUSING ACCOMMODATIONS IN NEW YORK CITY:
We are working to provide out-of-town conference goers with free housing.  If you live in New York City, or have friends/family that can house additional conference attendees, please notify us.  Here is a link to affordable hostels in NYC . YDS has obtained a discount rate for conference goers at the Chelsea Star Hotel, but conference goers must register on their own.   

REQUESTING HOUSING OR TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIPS:
You can request or offer housing assistance and/or travel scholarships once the on-line registration forms are available (by Jan. 1st). YDS has a limited budget to help subsidize travel costs. Preference is given to YDS members and those wanting to start YDS chapters. If you request a travel scholarship, please fill out the appropriate information on the registration form or contact us at the email address below with your details. We will respond to you shortly to let you know if your scholarships request has been granted and how much financial assistance YDS can provide.
 
 
REGISTRATION & COSTS:
Registration costs for the entire conference will be based on a sliding scale of $30 - $60.  Special consideration for low-income individuals will be made with priority given to YDS members and those starting chapters.  On-line registration forms will be available by Jan. 1st.  Registration fees include conference materials, admission to all conference sessions, the Noam Chomsky and other plenary talks, light breakfast and lunch Saturday and Sunday and admission to Saturday night party.  Tickets will be available for the Feb. 17th (noon) Noam Chomsky talk for members of the public not attending the whole conference.

 
FEB. 16-18 IS A THREE-DAY WEEKEND!
"Justice Beyond Borders" takes place during President's Day Weekend.  The conference opens Friday evening, February 16th and goes until Sunday, February 18th.  The Monday afterwards is a national holiday.  Please keep this in mind when planning your trip to New York, as you will probably not need to rush back to campus once the YDS conference is over.  
 
QUESTIONS OR CONFERENCE IDEAS:
If you have any questions about the conference, please get in touch with the contact information provided below.  If you have ideas or suggestions you would like to propose to conference planners, if you would like to volunteer to help with preparations or to assist during the conference itself, don't hesitate to email or call us:

SHAKE IT TO THE LEFT - Saturday Night Party Beyond Borders
Saturday night Party is free for all conference-goers and friends of YDS.  Directions available at registration tables.

Party

CONTACT INFO:
Young Democratic Socialists
yds@dsausa.org
212.727.8610 in New York City.

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