SOCIAL CENTRES NETWORK GATHERING

We are excited to be hosting the next Social Centre Network (Uk & Ireland) Gathering at GAS in September (22nd to the 23rd). This event is for all those involved in social centres (or aiming to set one up soon) around the UK. Activists form across the UK will come together to discuss, debate, skillshare & plan in relation to our social centres. 

We would encourage people from Glasgow to come! Never been to GAS? Come join in the fun. Want to influence and change GAS? This is going to be a great forum to do that. Its a great opportunity for anyone who interested in creating their own social centre or getting involved with an existing one.

It is going to be FUN / INSPIRING / ACTIVATING / POSITIVE / EXCITING / with a wee bit of nitty gritty problem solving thrown in.

This event has a suggested donation of £10 per person for the weekend, to cover refreshments, meals and programme. However you are welcome to donate whatever works for you, or nothing at all.

PROGRAM
​
Saturday 22nd

10am Coffee and tea served, 
10.30 Tour of GAS and welcome
This first session will be a chance ot introduce ourselves, get to know one another and have a think about what we want to achieve over the weekend.
11am. This session will be based on small groups exploring the subjects of Fundraising, Sustaining energy, The physical Space, and how we organize. Each group will have a chance to tackle all the topics.
12.00. Tea break 
12.15. Working groups - based on previous discussion, move into working groups based on what you are interested in contributing too. If you are itching to do something practical at this point the there will also be a chance to spend some time helping the Rattle Library to categorise their zines. 
1.00. Vegan Lunch – Rattle Library, Printmakers workshop and Garden will be open to explore
2.00. Group defined session- what do we want to discuss? Perhapss working with the idea of designing the ‘perfect’ social centre. Potential topics of discussion:
– Setting up social centres
– Making social centres last
– Making autonomous spaces in unusual places
as well as:
– Safer spaces
– Conflict resolution and solving general disputes
– Getting started / Problems and pitfalls when starting a social centre
– Making Social Centres in unusual places
– Building networks of support / Developing connections between Social Centres
– Issues around maintaining a Social Centre (visioning, decision making)
– Social centres and the neighbourhood / engagement or colonization?
3.30. Round up, how are people feeling, learning from the day. 4.00. Finish day activity

7.00 till 1am 
Dinner, Music and social 
GAS's Autumn Fundraiser!
Featuring:
By donation Barbershop with Barber GABRIEL LGBTQI+ Trans friendly Barber. Get a fresh cut! Printmaking collective out in force / Banner making / Rattle Library Open
TASTY FOODZ, mocktails cocktails
Performances and DJS
(https://www.facebook.com/events/176314246493910/)

sunday 23rd 
10.30. Coffee for all 
11.00. Inhaler making with Herbal Unity. The Herbal Unity Collective was set up in response to restricted access to healthcare for people without papers. They run a free clinic for people in the asylum process and their allies. The collective is made up of qualified & lay herbalists, grass roots campaigners and people in the asylum process. Our politics are aligned with the Unity Centre, and No Borders. In this session we will be helping to restock supplies of remedies which the collective hand out during clinics.
12.00. Reflections on yesterday, making a plan for going forward as a network. Working on the Social centres Network zine 
1:00pm Lunch
2.00pm One group will work on Clearing waste ground for woodland fringe extension to the herb garden or herb processing if heavy rain
another will continue work on the social centre Network Zine
3.00 Finish and Thankyous


Accommodation wise, there are some spaces at shared houses nearby GAS who are up for hosting, let us know if you can host!

GAS is partly wheelchair accessible and the majority of activities will take place downstairs. If you would like to discuss this with someone please email [email protected]

There is GAS a agreement which will be upheld during the event and which attendees you are asked to agree on before entering the space.

Please let us know if you would like to attend so that we can plan lunch numbers, by emailing [email protected] Please let us know if you would like childcare or if there is anything else we can do to support your attendance.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS to cook, tidy, support, be a friendly face. let us know if you want to get involved.

Donations of £10 for the weekend are gratefully received for food and drinks, but everyone is welcome regardless of money!