National Organizers' Alliance Gathering

NOA Gathering VI: Building a Home for Organizers

June 29-July 2, 2008
National Labor College
Silver Spring, MD

More info and registration online at http://noacentral.org/page.php?id=148

Gathering VI comes at a time when our communities are facing treacherous times. We know that organizing can respond to these times with solutions and new options for our communities. "Keeping our eyes on the prize," as the old saying goes, is essential as we weather the political shifts in labor and community organizing, in statehouses and the White House in DC. These times require that our campaigns amount to something larger than the goals of a particular issue. Campaigns should build the infrastructure to support a broader movement and provide a home for organizers to learn, to love, and to grow as human beings. And this movement must not just be about ensuring that everyone has healthcare and a roof over their heads; it's about creating a community for our work.

That is why NOA's Gathering VI is so important.

When we convene in June, we hope to build on the foundation of organizing - build a home for organizers. NOA will host discussions between organizers from the historic year 1968 and present-day organizers and others from across the decades about their work. We will look at the future of organizing. As Tammy Johnson says in our upcoming Ark: "We'll ponder, plot and pontificate about immigration, healthcare, education and other issues. We'll nibble on some good bar-b-cue, share a bit of ourselves on a movement altar, stretch out in the morning with some yoga and dance the night away. This is not just a time to reminisce, but also a time to welcome new family members, to mend and build relationships, to devise a new all-inclusive future for our country, and to have a good time with each other."