BDS Conference in Montreal 22-24.10.10

1. Conference speakers: Update and exciting news!!
2. Saturday October 23: Artists Against Apartheid Concert
3. Registration
4. Schedule
5. Logistics – conference location, housing, translation, etc.
6. Endorsements
7. Fundraising and Donations
8. Get involved!

1. Conference keynote speakers: Exciting news!!

The Organizing committee of the BDS Conference wishes to share some exciting news: the participation of the Confederation of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) will make this a truly historic moment in the movement against Israeli apartheid in Canada and Québec!

On Friday evening, October 22, 2010, the conference opening panel, “From Sharpeville to Gaza, 5 years of BDS” will feature Sidumo Dlamini, COSATU President, COSATU International Affairs SecretaryBongani Masuku, and Omar Barghouti, founding member of thePalestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).

Other speakers confirmed for the conference include:

Faiha Abdelhadi, feminist scholar and activist, Birzeit University, Palestine
Riham Barghouti, member of Adalah, the New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel
John Greyson, queer filmmaker and activist, Toronto
Ewa Jasiewicz, Free Gaza Movement, England
Denis Lemelin, President, Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW)
Representatives of the grassroots Stop the Wall Campaign, Palestine; the British Committee for Universities in Palestine (BRICUP); and US feminist organization CODEPINK

More speakers to be confirmed soon!

2. Saturday October 23: Artists Against Apartheid Concert

The evening of Saturday October 23, we will present the fourteenth edition of the Artists Against Apartheid concert series.

The concert will feature performances from some amazing local and international hip hop artists:

Invincible, Detroit
Obsesión, Cuba
Members of Nomadic Massive, Montréal

Admission to the concert is included in your Conference Weekend Pass. Alternatively, tickets for the concert only are available for $10-$15 sliding scale.

3. Registration

Registration is now open on-line at www.bdsquebec.org!

Registration fees:
Before Oct 10: only $25!
After Oct 10: sliding scale $35-$45

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if the registration cost is a barrier to your participation in the conference. Subsidies are available. Just email info@bdsquebec.org.

4. Schedule

We will be making the full schedule available online soon!

The BDS conference will consist of three main sections. Participants are free to attend all or only part of the conference, based on their interests and availability. The sectoral work on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning will be the most important part of the conference.

Saturday October 23, 9 am – 12:15 pm

::Informational workshops::

Apartheid 101
Lessons from South Africa
Indigenous struggles from Turtle Island to Palestine
Access to Health Care Under Apartheid
Israeli Apartheid as a Feminist Struggle
Popular Resistance to Israeli Apartheid
Land and Environment under Israeli Apartheid
Canada and its relationship to Israel
Jewish support for BDS

Saturday, October 23, 1:45 pm – 6 pm and Sunday Oct 24 9 am – 12 pm

::Sectoral Organizing::

This is the most important part of the conference! Participants will have the opportunity to discuss work being done in the different sectors and campaigns of the BDS movement. The strength of the growing movement against Israeli apartheid is the diversity of tactics and strategies being adopted by different communities, social movements, artists, trade unionists, academics, students, and queer organizers in solidarity with the people of Palestine. This diverse work has taken to a new level the creative actions and campaigns against the corporations and institutions facilitating and profiting from Israeli apartheid.

The workshops within these sectors are designed bring together conference participants from across Québec and Canada to reflect on what they have accomplished so far, to learn from past and current campaigns and initiatives, and finally, to coordinate on future work so that we can make the most of the ongoing momentum for BDS against Israeli apartheid.

The Sectors

1. Labour: Trade union and worker support for BDS
2. Academic: Campus boycott and divestment campaigns and support for Palestinian students and academics
3. Cultural: Cultural sector efforts for BDS and support for Palestinian artists
4. Consumer Boycott: Initiatives for the boycott of Israeli consumer products, currently focused on Ahava Dead Sea Cosmetics, Chapters Indigo, Mountain Equipment Co-op, and Israeli diamonds
5. Community Sector: Grassroots community groups working on BDS, including but not limited to feminist groups, faith groups, anti-poverty groups, housing groups
6. Queer Community Organizing Against Israeli Apartheid: work on BDS from a queer perspective and within LGBTQ communities

Please note: There will be room at the conference for caucuses and different sectors that are not mentioned! Space and other resources will be provided for separate, spontaneous sectoral meetings based upon the interests of participating organizations, as needed.

5. Logistics

We are currently confirming the venue and we hope to hold the entire conference at the Université de Québec à Montréal (UQÀM) in downtown Montréal. We are also working on providing simultaneous translation, housing for those in need of a place to stay, and offering snacks.

More details coming soon!

6. Endorsements

If your organization would like to endorse the BDS Conference, please contact info@bdsquebec.org to add your organization’s name to the list of endorsers.

If you would like to receive more information on the conference as the schedule, speakers and other details are confirmed, email us and request to have your address added to the conference info email list.

7. Donations and Conference Fundraising

We are still desperately in need of funds to make this historic conference a success!!

There are two easy ways make a donation to the conference organizing fund:

a) Click on the “Donate” link on our website: www.bdsquebec.org!

OR

b) Cheques may be made out to “Congrès BDS 2010” and mailed to:

BDS Conference 2010
4755 van Horne, suite 110
Montréal, Québec
H3W 1H8

8. GET INVOLVED!

If you’d like to get involved in organizing the conference, please emailinfo@bdsquebec.org to find out about our next meeting.

Stay in touch!
Facebook
Twitter
Web
Email: info@bdsquebec.org
Phone: (514) 921-6414

We are truly looking forward to seeing you on October 22 to 24!!

Towards a free Palestine!!

The BDS 2010 Conference Organizing Committee:

Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) / Syndicat des travailleurs et travailleuses des Postes (STTP)
Coalition pour la Justice en Palestine – Université du Québec à Montréal (CJP-UQÀM)
Coalition pour la Justice et la Paix en Palestine / Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine (CJPP)
College and University Workers United (CUWU)
Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) / Voix indépendantes juives (VIJ) Canada
Palestinian and Jewish Unity / Palestiniens et Juifs Unis (PAJU)
Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR)
Tadamon! Montreal

CARRY FORWARD THE MOMENTUM

An invitation to attend.

On October 22 to 24, 2010, a historic conference will take place in Montreal which aims to consolidate and move forward the movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israeli apartheid.

In 2005, over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations, from trade unions to women’s groups to refugee organizations, issued a call to international civil society to engage in a comprehensive BDS campaign against apartheid Israel until Israel complies with international law and respects Palestinian human rights. This call for BDS explicitly takes its inspiration from the global boycott movement which helped to end apartheid in South Africa in the 1990s.
Several Palestine solidarity organizations in Montreal have formed a committee to organize a conference intended to carry forward the momentum for BDS, which is growing daily around the world. This conference is being organized in collaboration with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) in Palestine (www.bdsmovement.net).
We are currently finalizing the plans for the conference. At this time, we are approaching individuals as well as organizations and businesses to ask for their endorsement of the 2010 BDS Conference. We are also requesting donations, which are essential to making this grassroots conference a success.
We need your financial support! Our estimated budget for this historic conference is approximately $30,000. This is the amount required to host a conference of this scope. Confirmed International guests already include Omar Barghouti of the Palestinian Academic and Cultural Boycott Initiative (PACBI) and the
BDS National Committee (BNC), from Ramallah, Palestine, and Bongani Masoku of the Confederation of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), from Johannesburg, South Africa.
We are still confirming the participation of other international BDS activists, including a member of the Irish Confederation of Trade Unions, a professor and feminist activist from Birzeit University in Palestine, Detroit hip hop artist and BDS activist Invincible, and BDS activists from France and Norway.

In order to encourage the maximum level of participation and to keep the conference accessible to the public, we will require expensive services such as simultaneous interpretation in English, French, and Arabic, as well as many other logistical requirements, including promotional materials, conference programs, transportation, billeting for attendeees, and food. All of these elements will go into making this major conference a success!
The 2010 BDS Conference is a huge undertaking, but if as many individuals and organizations as possible can all make a donation, we are confident that we can reach our goal of approximately $30,000. We need your help to make this exciting conference happen!

Goals of the conference
The following are the main objectives of the 2010 BDS Conference:
1. To bring together individuals and organizations from all sectors within Québec and Canadian civil society in support of the Palestinian call for BDS, in order to expand this campaign in Québec and Canada;
2. To consolidate and carry forward the BDS work already underway in the trade union, academic, cultural, and consumer sectors, particularly in Québec;
3. To facilitate communication between different campaigns and organizations in Québec and Canada, in order to coordinate on existing and future BDS campaigns and actions;
4. To raise public awareness and engage in popular education about the BDS campaign, its history, goals, and strategy.
We look forward to your attendance, support for this historic conference, which we are confident will be an important step in the path to a free Palestine!
In solidarity,
The BDS 2010 Conference Organizing Committee
The BDS 2010 Conference Organizing Committee is made up of members of College and University Workers
United (CUWU), the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), La Coalition pour la justice en Palestine
(UQAM), Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR), Tadamon! and member organisations of the Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine.

Information on Endorsements and Donations
ENDORSEMENTS
Please contact info@bdsquebec.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to add your organization’s name to the list of endorsers.
If you would like to receive more information on the conference as the schedule, speakers and
other details are confirmed, request to have your address added to the conference info email
list.
DONATIONS
To make a donation to the conference organizing fund, cheques may be made out to “Congrès
BDS 2010” and mailed to:
BDS Conference 2010
4755 van Horne, suite 110
Montréal, Québec
H3W 1H8
Donations may also be made online by clicking the “Donate” link on our website:
www.bdsquebec.org.
You may also contact us at info@bdsquebec.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (514) 621-9414.
GET INVOLVED!
If you’d like to get involved in organizing the conference, please email info@bdsquebec.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to
find out about our next meeting.
Thank you for your support and your generosity!