Bristol Latin America Forum 25th April 2009
University of Bristol Faculty of Arts, 3-5 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1TB.
PROGRAMME
10am - Arrival, stalls and coffee
10.30-11.40 – Welcome by Palmira Sullivan, Dept of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American studies, and introduction: Yvonne Wilkin, Bristol Cuba Solidarity Campaign. Plenary session with Luis Marron (Cuban Embassy), Francisco Dominguez (Middlesex University), Bernard Kennedy (ASLEF train drivers union).
11.40 – 12 Break
12-1pm - Workshop session 1
Room
LT1 Luis Marron, Political counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of Cuba - 'Cuba now: the current situation and US-Cuba relations'
LR1 Susana Morales, co-ordinator literacy/adult education programme in Managua
The 30th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution this year will include a celebration of
Nicaragua as a country free of illiteracy. Susana will discuss the literacy campaign,
inspired by a methodology developed in Cuba called ‘Yo Si puedo'.
Link1 Reynaldo Mariqueo and Nina Deen, Mapuche International Link – 'The Mapuche struggle for survival'. The MIL, based in Bristol, is an organisation promoting the interests of indigenous peoples and nations of Chile and Argentina.
Link2 Bernard Kennedy (ASLEF trade union Bristol branch), Cris Crossingham (Cuba work brigade) and Easton Cowboys - 'People to people work in solidarity'
1-2pm lunch – Humanities Common Room
2-3pm - Workshop session 2
LT1 Francisco Dominguez, Head of Brazilian and Latin America studies, Middlesex University - 'Latin America: the rise of a new political economy'
LR1 Karen Bell – 'Cuba: Environment, Democracy and Equality - Achievements and
Challenges'
Link1 Julio Mayor - 'The role of trade unions in the representation of workers', with Gulam Bakawala, senior organiser, Unite the union South West. Julio is one of a group of cleaners sacked from Amey, and a former trade unionist in Colombia.
Link2 Paulina Salas – 'Medios de comunicación alternativos en Ecuador' (in Spanish)
3-3.20 Break
3.20 - 4.20 - Workshop session 3
LT1 Matt Stevenson, Hands off Venezuela – '10 Years of the Bolivarian Revolution'
LR1 'American/Sandinista' film UK premiere and discussion . In the 1980s civil war.. thousands of Americans disobeyed White House warnings and descended upon Nicaragua, determined to lend their skills and labour to the revolutionary Sandinista cause.
Link1 Claire Hill - 'Being in Colombia: Privileged insights into tough beautiful lives'
Claire shares with us, live from the hot dusty village of La Loma, northern Colombia, experiences of her
incredibly privileged work of being a trusted ally to people within Colombian social organisations
Link2 Jose Sagarnaga, Bolivia Solidarity Campaign – 'Getting it right: turning the tide of
misinformation in Bolivia'.
Today, control of the Bolivian media by small powerful groups is the greatest threat to the democratic
freedoms and economic interests of the Bolivian population. This workshop will address concerns about
press manipulation of reality and questions such as: Why does the media, both locally and internationally, fail
to cover the huge solidarity initiative “Operación Milagro” in Latin America?
4.30 - 5.15 – LR1 - 'Coordinadora LatinoAmericana' – a practical session on getting involved and working together for solidarity locally, facilitated by Pat Moody.
5.30 CLOSE.
Participants and stalls
Bolivia Solidarity Campaign
Bristol Link with Nicaragua (BLINC)
Bristol Solidarity with Venezuela
Colombia Solidarity Campaign
Cuba Solidarity Campaign
Espacio Bristol Colombia
Kebele Infoshop
KIPTIK
Mapuche International Link
Lunch and refreshments during the breaks are provided by Kebele Social Centre – please purchase a meal ticket from their stall.
Logon to http://bristollaf.blogspot.com/ for highlights of the forum