Looking for the latest news from Rojava? Wondering what you can do to get involved and show your solidarity? Join us Sunday October 27th for our next General Meeting!

In addition to sharing the latest updates about what is happening on the ground in North-East Syria and the broader region, we will be discussing opportunities to join our efforts to raise public awareness and build bridges across movements, as well as a new project focusing on outreach and mutual aid with the Kurdish community and other communities from the region living in the diaspora. This is a great opportunity to stay informed, connect with others, and deepen your own engagement! 

RSVP here to join the discussion.

Ecosocialism & Democratic Modernity

ECR Study Group Discussion – Sunday, September 29th

Join us on Sunday, September 29th at 1pm EST for the next session of our ongoing study group series Radical Ecology and the Rojava Revolution! This month’s topic: ecosocialism – a radical political philosophy identifying the profit-driven capitalist system as the root cause of our ecological crisis, and advocating a socialist society based on egalitarianism, common ownership and ecological balance as the solution. 

After a brief presentation by Quincy Saul, he and our co-moderator Aeffia Feuerstein will facilitate a group discussion where we will explore together the core tenets of ecosocialism, its parallels and differences with other approaches to radical ecology including that of the Kurdish freedom movement, and lessons for today’s social movements. 

In preparation for the discussion, we ask participants to read the following two texts:

1. Program of the Ecosocialist International: https://www.ecosocialisthorizons.com/posts/the-first-ecosocialist-international

2. Eco-Socialist Horizons, transcript of a talk by Quincy Saul (Pages 217 - 222): https://networkaq.net/downloads/ENG-book_Challenging-Capitalist-Modernity-III.pdf 

Quincy Saul is the author of “Truth and Dare: A Comic Book Curriculum for the End and the Beginning of the World,” and editor of “Maroon the Implacable: The Collected Writings of Russell Maroon Shoatz.” His articles have been published by Telesur, Truthout, and Counterpunch, among others. He is a co-founder of Ecosocialist Horizons.

Aeffia Feuerstein has conducted interviews with locals and refugees from Rojava for her undergraduate thesis. Her writing has appeared in Unicorn Riot.

RSVP HERE to join the discussion!

Join us Monday, August 26th (7:30pm EST) for the second session of our new study group series on Radical Ecology and the Rojava Revolution. This month, we will be joined by writer and radical ecologist Aaron Vansintjan to discuss the topic of Degrowth, an emerging body of ideas arguing that the path to a truly ecological and democratic economy requires us to to move beyond the concept of economic growth altogether as a measure of progress.

Along with co-host Sheelan Qader, Aaron will help facilitate an open conversation about the core ideas of Degrowth, their relationship to the social-ecological principles adopted by the Rojava Revolution, and their relevance to contemporary struggles for environmental and social justice.

In preparation for the session, we will be reading two excerpts from the book The Future is Degrowth, of which Aaron is co-author. The book is available from Verso Books, or can be read via the PDF linked here. The two selections are the Introduction, and Chapter 6.

RSVP here to join the discussion.

Aaron Vansintjan lives in Montreal and writes about food, cities, politics, and ecology. He is the co-founder of Uneven Earth, a website focusing on ecological politics. He has been published in The Guardian, Briarpatch Magazine, Red Pepper, Truthout, Open Democracy, and The Ecologist.

Sheelan Qader is an independent researcher and a Master’s student in Environmental Policy at The New School.

New ECR Study Group Series: Radical Ecology and the Rojava Revolution

Join us Saturday, July 20th (1pm EST) for a special kick-off event hosted by Debbie Bookchin and Sheelan Qader!

The global ecological crisis is arguably the defining theme of our time. As the earth’s living systems and human communities face existential threats from climate change and environmental destruction, the question of ecology has never been more urgent. What are the roots of this crisis? What are the ecological implications of social systems based on capitalism, state power, oppression and domination? How can we liberate society while healing humanity’s relationship with the rest of the natural world? 

In this series we will explore these questions through a series of thematic and participatory discussions over the next six months. After grounding the series in the philosophy of social ecology and its application in Rojava, we will expand from there over subsequent monthly sessions, bringing the experience of the Kurdish freedom movement into dialogue with a variety of approaches to radical ecology, including ecosocialism, degrowth, decolonization and climate justice. 

To start the series off (and to mark the 12th anniversary of the Rojava Revolution!) our first session will take place on Saturday July 20th, at 1pm EST, on the topic of Social Ecology, co-moderated by Debbie Bookchin and Sheelan Qader. In this discussion we will explore Murray Bookchin’s philosophy of Social Ecology, its interpretation by the Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, and lessons drawn from the ongoing attempts to apply these ideas in practice in North-East Syria and throughout Kurdistan.

Register here to attend. 

Readings:

• What is Social Ecology?, Murray Bookchin

• The Return to Social Ecology, Abdullah Öcalan

• Ecological Solidarity and the Kurdish Freedom Movement: Thought, Practice, Challenges, and Opportunities (Chapter 2)

Extra credit: 

• A Philosophical Naturalism (intro to The Philosophy of Social Ecology)

Debbie Bookchinis an author and longtime journalist, writer and speaker on municipalism, who also served as press secretary to Bernie Sanders for three years when he was first elected to the US Congress. Her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, The Nation, and many other outlets. She is a founding member of the Emergency Committee for Rojava.

Sheelan Qaderis an independent researcher and a Master’s student in Environmental Policy at The New School.

Join us in Oakland for a special event on the Rojava revolution!

Report from Rojava: Women’s Revolution, Direct Democracy & Social Ecology in North-East Syria will take place Friday May 17th, at 6pm, as part of the Emergency Committee for Rojava's 2024 West Coast speaking tour featuring Debbie Bookchin and Arthur Pye.

RSVP here for details and updates.

After nearly twelve years, despite a relentless war of aggression waged by Turkey and ISIS, the Kurdish freedom movement, alongside the other diverse peoples of North-East Syria, continue to build and defend a sweeping social revolution rooted in the principles of direct-democracy, women’s liberation, cooperative economics, cultural pluralism and social ecology.

How is society being organized in Rojava? What are the revolution’s achievements and challenges? How did this movement transform chaos into social revolution, and what lessons could we apply to organizing our own local communities?

Join us as we discuss what is happening in Rojava, why it matters, and how we can stand in solidarity.

The Emergency Committee for Rojava is proud to be partnering with the Institute for Social Ecology (ISE), Democratic Socialists of America - Libertarian Socialist Caucus (DSA-LSC), and the Oil & Gas Action Network (OGAN) as co-sponsors of this tour. Additionally, the Oakland event is co-sponsored by East Bay Democratic Socialists of America, and the Center for Political Education.

Debbie Bookchin is an author and longtime journalist, writer and speaker on municipalism, who also served as press secretary to Bernie Sanders for three years when he was first elected to the US Congress. Her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, The Nation, and many other outlets. She is a founding member of the Emergency Committee for Rojava.

Arthur Pye

is a writer and community organizer based in the Pacific Northwest, who recently returned from North-East Syria where he lived for one year studying the Rojava revolution. He is a steering committee member of the Emergency Committee for Rojava, and his writing can be found in Strange Matters magazine.

[Live in the Bay Area but can't make it on the 17th? Join us Thursday May 16 at our event inSan Francisco!]

All events will be FREE to the public.

For more info RSVP here or contact info@defendrojava.org

Join us in San Francisco for a very special event on the Rojava revolution featuring a conversation with Debbie Bookchin and Andrej Grubacic!

Report from Rojava: Women’s Revolution, Direct Democracy & Social Ecology in North-East Syria will take place Thursday, May 16th @ 6pm, at 518 Valencia, as part of the Emergency Committee for Rojava's 2024 West Coast speaking tour.

RSVP here for detail and updates.

After nearly twelve years, despite a relentless war of aggression waged by Turkey and ISIS, the Kurdish freedom movement, alongside the other diverse peoples of North-East Syria, continue to build and defend a sweeping social revolution rooted in the principles of direct-democracy, women’s liberation, cooperative economics, cultural pluralism and social ecology.

How is society being organized in Rojava? What are the revolution’s achievements and challenges? How did this movement transform chaos into social revolution, and what lessons could we apply to organizing our own local communities?

Join us as we discuss what is happening in Rojava, why it matters, and how we can stand in solidarity.

The Emergency Committee for Rojava is proud to be partnering with the Institute for Social Ecology (ISE), Democratic Socialists of America - Libertarian Socialist Caucus (DSA-LSC), and the Oil & Gas Action Network (OGAN) as co-sponsors of this tour. Additionally, the San Francisco event is co-sponsored by the Center for Political Education.

Admission is FREE to the public.

For more info RSVP here contact info@defendrojava.org

Debbie Bookchinis an author and longtime journalist, writer and speaker on municipalism, who also served as press secretary to Bernie Sanders for three years when he was first elected to the US Congress. Her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, The Nation, and many other outlets. She is a founding member of the Emergency Committee for Rojava.

Andrej Grubačićis the Founding Chair of the Anthropology and Social Change department at CIIS-San Francisco, an academic program with an exclusive focus on anarchist anthropology. He is the editor of theJournal of World-Systems Researchand is an affiliated faculty member at the Berkeley Center for Social Medicine, UC Berkeley. He is the author of several books, includingLiving at the Edges of Capitalism: Adventures in Exile and Mutual Aid(coauthored with Denis O’Hearn),Don’t Mourn, Balkanize!, andWobblies and Zapatistas(with Staughton Lynd). He is the editor of the PM Press Kairos imprint.

Arthur Pye is a writer and community organizer based in the Pacific Northwest, who recently returned from North-East Syria where he lived for one year studying the Rojava revolution. He is a steering committee member of the Emergency Committee for Rojava, and his writing can be found in Strange Matters magazine.

Join us in Portland for a special event on the Rojava Revolution!

Report from Rojava: Women’s Revolution, Direct Democracy & Social Ecology in North-East Syria will take place Tuesday, May 14th @ 6pm, at the Social Justice Action Center, as part of the Emergency Committee for Rojava's 2024 West Coast speaking tour featuring Debbie Bookchin and Arthur Pye.

RSVP here for details and updates.

After nearly twelve years, despite a relentless war of aggression waged by Turkey and ISIS, the Kurdish freedom movement, alongside the other diverse peoples of North-East Syria, continue to build and defend a sweeping social revolution rooted in the principles of direct-democracy, women’s liberation, cooperative economics, cultural pluralism and social ecology.

How is society being organized in Rojava? What are the revolution’s achievements and challenges? How did this movement transform chaos into social revolution, and what lessons could we apply to organizing our own local communities?

Join us as we discuss what is happening in Rojava, why it matters, and how we can stand in solidarity.

The Emergency Committee for Rojava is proud to be partnering with the Institute for Social Ecology (ISE), Democratic Socialists of America - Libertarian Socialist Caucus (DSA-LSC), and the Oil & Gas Action Network (OGAN) as co-sponsors of this tour. Additionally, the Portland event is co-sponsored by Portland Democratic Socialists of America.

Admission is FREE to the public.

*Join us afterwards for a post-event social down the street at Workers Tap ;)

For more info RSVP here or contact info@defendrojava.org

Join us in Olympia for a special event on the Rojava revolution!

Report from Rojava: Women’s Revolution, Direct Democracy & Social Ecology in North-East Syria will take place Monday, May 13th @ 6pm, at Evergreen State College, as part of the Emergency Committee for Rojava's 2024 West Coast speaking tour featuring Debbie Bookchin and Arthur Pye.

RSVP here for details and updates.

After nearly twelve years, despite a relentless war of aggression waged by Turkey and ISIS, the Kurdish freedom movement, alongside the other diverse peoples of North-East Syria, continue to build and defend a sweeping social revolution rooted in the principles of direct-democracy, women’s liberation, cooperative economics, cultural pluralism and social ecology.

How is society being organized in Rojava? What are the revolution’s achievements and challenges? How did this movement transform chaos into social revolution, and what lessons could we apply to organizing our own local communities?

Join us as we discuss what is happening in Rojava, why it matters, and how we can stand in solidarity.

The Emergency Committee for Rojava is proud to be partnering with the Institute for Social Ecology (ISE), Democratic Socialists of America - Libertarian Socialist Caucus (DSA-LSC), and the Oil & Gas Action Network (OGAN) as co-sponsors of this tour. Additionally, the Olympia event will be co-sponsored by I5AF and South Sound Green Party.

Admission is FREE to the public.

*Join us afterwards for a nearby post-event social ;)

For more info RSVP here or contact info@defendrojava.org

Celebrate Mother's Day this year by joining us in Seattle for a special event about women's revolution!

Report from Rojava: Women’s Revolution, Direct Democracy & Social Ecology in North-East Syria will take place Sunday, May 12th @ 4pm, at Southside Commons, as part of the Emergency Committee for Rojava's 2024 West Coast speaking tour featuring Debbie Bookchin and Arthur Pye.

RSVP here for details and updates.

After nearly twelve years, despite a relentless war of aggression waged by Turkey and ISIS, the Kurdish freedom movement, alongside the other diverse peoples of North-East Syria, continue to build and defend a sweeping social revolution rooted in the principles of direct-democracy, women’s liberation, cooperative economics, cultural pluralism and social ecology.

How is society being organized in Rojava? What are the revolution’s achievements and challenges? How did this movement transform chaos into social revolution, and what lessons could we apply to organizing our own local communities?

Join us as we discuss what is happening in Rojava, why it matters, and how we can stand in solidarity.

The Emergency Committee for Rojava is proud to be partnering with the Institute for Social Ecology (ISE), Democratic Socialists of America - Libertarian Socialist Caucus (DSA-LSC), and the Oil & Gas Action Network (OGAN) as co-sponsors of this tour. Additionally, the Seattle event will be co-sponsored by Seattle Democratic Socialists of America, PNW AANES Solidarity, and University of Washington's Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies.

Admission is FREE to the public.

For more info RSVP here or contact info@defendrojava.org

As the first event of ECR's 2024 West Coast speaking tour, Report from Rojava: Women’s Revolution, Direct Democracy & Social Ecology in North-East Syria will take place Saturday, May 11th @ 6pm, at Western Washington University (CF 105), featuring a conversation led by Debbie Bookchin and Arthur Pye.

RSVP here for details and updates.

After nearly twelve years, despite a relentless war of aggression waged by Turkey and ISIS, the Kurdish freedom movement, alongside the other diverse peoples of North-East Syria, continue to build and defend a sweeping social revolution rooted in the principles of direct-democracy, women’s liberation, cooperative economics, cultural pluralism and social ecology.

How is society being organized in Rojava? What are the revolution’s achievements and challenges? How did this movement transform chaos into social revolution, and what lessons could we apply to organizing our own local communities?

Join us as we discuss what is happening in Rojava, why it matters, and how we can stand in solidarity.

The Emergency Committee for Rojava is proud to be partnering with the Institute for Social Ecology (ISE), Democratic Socialists of America - Libertarian Socialist Caucus (DSA-LSC), and the Oil & Gas Action Network (OGAN) as co-sponsors of this tour.

Admission is FREE to the public.

TIME: 6pm Sat May 11

LOCATION: Western Washington University, Communications Facility (CF 105)

170 E College Way, Bellingham, WA 98225

PARKING INFO: map.wwu.edu/www_evening_parking.pdf

For more information RSVP here or contact info@defendrojava.org

After nearly twelve years, despite a relentless war of aggression waged by Turkey and ISIS, the Kurdish freedom movement, alongside the other diverse peoples of North-East Syria, continue to build and defend a sweeping social revolution rooted in the principles of direct democracy, women’s liberation, cooperative economics, pluralism and social ecology.

How is society being organized in Rojava? What are the revolution’s achievements and challenges? What lessons could we apply to organizing in our own local communities?

Join us as we discuss what is happening in Rojava, why it matters, and how we can stand in solidarity.

WHEN: May 10th at 6pm

WHERE: Lucy Parsons Center, 358 Centre St, Jamaica Plain (Boston, MA)

Anna Rebrii is an organizer, researcher, and writer based in New York. She has visited Rojava twice and written about it in The Nation, Jacobin, Truthout, openDemocracy, and other outlets. She is a member of the Emergency Committee for Rojava in the US.

Aeffia Feuerstein has conducted interviews with locals and refugees from Rojava for her undergraduate thesis. Her writing has appeared in Unicorn Riot.

Join ECR, City Kurds, and Feminists For Jina for a hybrid teach-in about Kurdish Newroz, the cultural celebration of Spring, which has become a celebration of resistance against colonialism through the Kurdish Freedom Movement. Starting in the 1990s, women took a center stage in Newroz celebrations, where the chant "Jin, Jiyan, Azadi" (Women, Life, Freedom), which became the motto of the women's uprising in Iran last year, was first introduced.

The event will take place both via Zoom and in-person at the CUNY Graduate Center (Room 6112), in New York City. For those attending in-person, join us immediately after the meeting for an ECR social!

Register here for Zoom

RSVP here for in-person

With Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan entering his 25th year of imprisonment and Turkey escalating its war of aggression against North-East Syria, we call on people and organizations in the United States to join us in support of the International Freedom for Öcalan Campaign. Öcalan’s imprisonment, enabled by the US government’s ongoing political and military support for Turkey, is a major obstacle to peace in the Middle East. The time has come to #FreeOcalan and to end Turkey’s ongoing war against Kurds and the peoples of North-East Syria. 

Read our full statement here.

Join us in Washington DC for a public demonstration in front of the White House (on Pennsylvania Ave NW) on Thursday, February 15th, at 2pm. 

In addition to the Emergency Committee for Rojava, event co-sponsors include Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America, Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), Armenian Organized Resistance (ARMOR), Horizon Federation, and MACC

Join us for a brief presentation by Meghan Bodette of the Kurdish Peace Institute on Rojava's new social contract, followed by an open group discussion of its significance.

Register here for Zoom link

We encourage attendees to read the social contract for context. You can read the full text here, or an overview and analysis here.

Join us at @thewoodenshoebooks in Philly on Dec 9 for a book launch of Azize Aslan’s Anticapitalist Economy in Rojava.

Based on the author’s long-term involvement in the Kurdish liberation movement and several stays in North East Syria, ANTICAPITALIST ECONOMY IN ROJAVA is the first book that looks in depth at the efforts to build an anti-capitalist economy and radically reorganize social relations in Rojava / North East Syria.
While documenting the trial and error process of building a “social economy” rooted in communes, cooperatives, and self-managed factories, Aslan illuminates the conflicts and contradictions that have emerged in this endeavor, which are instructive to anyone trying to develop alternatives in their own part of the world.

Azize Aslan is from Kurdistan and lives in Mexico. She studied economics and obtained her master’s degree in development economics in Istanbul, during which time she supported the organization of women’s cooperatives. Since then, she has been working on issues related to women’s economics and cooperativism in Kurdistan. She was awarded a PhD in sociology at the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico. She received the Jorge Alonso Chair Award in 2021 for the work described in this book.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6TH 2023

7:00 PM

RED EMMA'S

RSVP ON WITHFRIENDS

Based on the author’s long-term involvement in the Kurdish liberation movement and several stays in North East Syria, ANTICAPITALIST ECONOMY IN ROJAVA is the first book that looks in depth at the efforts to build an anti-capitalist economy and radically reorganize social relations in Rojava / North East Syria.

While documenting the trial and error process of building a “social economy” rooted in communes, cooperatives, and self-managed factories, Aslan illuminates the conflicts and contradictions that have emerged in this endeavor, which are instructive to anyone trying to develop alternatives in their own part of the world.

The event is co-sponsored by the Emergency Committee for Rojava (@defendrojava).

Azize Aslan is from Kurdistan and lives in Mexico. She studied economics and obtained her master’s degree in development economics in Istanbul, during which time she supported the organization of women’s cooperatives. Since then, she has been working on issues related to women’s economics and cooperativism in Kurdistan. She was awarded a PhD in sociology at the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico. She received the Jorge Alonso Chair Award in 2021 for the work described in this book.

Join us on Thursday, November 30th (at 7pm EST / 4pm PST) for a special event, featuring a reportback from investigative journalist James Stout on his recent trip to Rojava. We will also share some special updates as we launch our end-of-the-year fundraiser. This is a great chance to hear what’s been happening on the ground since Turkey’s latest attacks, as well as updates about how to support and participate in our ongoing solidarity work. Don’t miss it!

Register here for Zoom link.

Democratic CONFEDERALISM AND THE Struggle Against Patriarchy

Join us Sunday November 6th at 2pm EST for our next study group discussion. This session is will be focused on the Kurdish freedom movement’s practical and theoretical approach to struggling against patriarchy, as part of our series on Democratic Confederalism. You are welcome to join us even if you did not attend the previous sessions of the series. 

This series started with an introduction of the historical context and overview, and then moved to Öcalan’s theories of history and democratic civilization. After reading about state and class-based societies and capitalist modernity, we explored Democratic Confederalism as a system of governance and the theory’s relationship with social ecology. We’ll end the series with a discussion of women’s liberation and eco-feminism and how these concepts and practices relate to democratic confederalism. 

READINGS

Dilar Dirik. The Kurdish Women's Movement: History, Theory, Practice.

Selected Sections from the book: Struggling woman: Ideology and identity, Revolutionizing love, Killing the Man, Jineolojî: A science of woman and life, Self-defense

RECOMMENDED : 

Öcalan, Liberating Life: Woman's Revolution

ZOOM INFO : 

When: Nov 12, 2023 02:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZclduyvrz4uEtfslJiMbXmfShpsYxLxQsZG

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Join us on October 26th at 6:30pm EST for our monthly general organizing meeting. With Rojava currently under attack, internationalist solidarity has never been more important. This meeting is a great opportunity to connect with others, hear updates, and get more involved!

Register here to join via Zoom

We are excited to invite you to a Report-Back from Rojava as part of our monthly meeting on Sep 19, 6:30PM EST, both in person (NYC) and online.

We will be joined in person by several activists, writers and researchers who have recently traveled to North East Syria and will share updates and observations from the region:

Arthur Pye is a writer and community organizer based in the Pacific Northwest. He is a member of the Emergency Committee for Rojava, and recently spent one year living and conducting research in North and East Syria.

Clara spent two years living in Rojava working first with the Rojava Information Center and then spending time with the women’s movement, including seven months with Mala Jin (Kurdish for Women’s House), the women’s restorative justice system. She has just returned from Syria in the past few months and is excited to be in dialogue with people interested in the work happening there.

Anya Briy is a member of the Emergency Committee for Rojava, based in New York. Her writing on Rojava has appeared in Jacobin, The Nation, Truthout and other outlets. She just returned from a 3 months long stay in the region.

We will also be joined in person by Meghan Bodette, Director of Research at the Kurdish Peace Institute.
The meeting will be in hybrid format, both in person in NYC and online. We will be meeting at CUNY Graduate Center (365 5th Avenue, NY 10016), CPCP Seminar Room 6107, 6th Floor. 

Please use this link to RSVP if you are planning to attend in person.

Those of you who are not in the New York area or can't attend in person, please join us via Zoom. Please use this link to register. 

As people around the world organize for future societies where respect for life is paramount, many are looking for examples of how it can be done. We believe that Rojava can offer immense guidance and hope in that respect. Caught in between an imperialist proxy war in Syria, Turkish colonialism, and one of the strongest terrorist organizations the region has seen, the Kurdish freedom movement has managed to build a society where power remains firmly in the hands of the people. Rojava’s implementation of democratic confederalism has resulted in autonomous communities that practice alternative justice, ensure their own safety, improve environmental sustainability, and much more.

Just as the region’s political system has been rebuilt from the bottom up, so too conflict resolution is now handled at the local level by community members. This is done through neighborhood-based reconciliation committees that function as part of Rojava’s commune system. Women’s houses are a similar mechanism of restorative justice, but one that was set up specifically to protect women’s rights when it comes to family and marital issues. Similar to the revolutionary movement’s attempt to communalize politics and economy through the construction of communes and cooperatives, the new justice mechanisms aim to communalize conflict resolution. Community members now have a place to come together to handle disputes by themselves without outside actors and institutions such as courts.

The following quote from Dilar Dirik’s book, The Kurdish Women’s Movement History, Theory, Practice, helps encapsulate the movement’s unique position and potential:

“Democratic Confederalism is not merely a material structure: it is also a moral and political attitude, a way of life, a philosophy, a revolutionary social contract, and it is already under construction in hearts and minds of people who imagine life without the state. In an environment in which politics, citizenship, and democracy are increasingly tied to the state and the capitalist world-system, with neoliberal non-governmental organizations playing a growing role, the Kurdistan freedom movement creates ungovernable organized communities outside of the gaze and control of the state.” 

Our workshop would include group activities where participants would share potential solutions to serious issues faced in our communities (ex. prison- industrial complex, institutional racism, poverty) followed by a presentation on Rojava and how they address these issues. We will be joined by several activists who spent time in Rojava volunteering in its various structures.

On June 20 at 5 PM ET, longtime environmentalist Bill McKibben will join our own Debbie Bookchin for a virtual book launch of Remaking Society by Murray Bookchin and Recovering Bookchin by the late Andy Price, published by AK Press in 2023. The panelists also include author and SUNY Binghamton Sociology Department Chair Marina Sitrin, who co-authored the Foreword for Remaking Society and Shane Burley, the author of No Parasan: Anti-Fascist Disparches From A World in Crisis. Register here.

Join us on Thursday, June 1, 7 pm EST for our monthly organizing meeting. 
We will discuss updates from the region and the results of the elections in Turkey. The meeting will be followed by a advocacy phone bank.

Please use this link to register. 

Register Now To Attend This Event At The Following Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/.../tZwpfuGspz8vGdWKRcDMn7hcJegt...

The Vermont AFL-CIO and the Emergency Committee For Rojava would like to invite you to a virtual exchange with representatives of trade unions in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), commonly known as Rojava, joined by their counterparts from Vermont AFL-CIO, David van Deusen (President) and Katie Harris (Executive VP).

The people of the AANES have heroically defeated ISIS and have been building an innovative autonomous government based on values of pluralism, direct participatory democracy, social ecology (as articulated by Vermonter Murray Bookchin), equity, and women’s liberation. Their new revolutionary system of collective government and self direction, not unlike Vermont's tradition of Town Meeting democracy, offers a unique example of how these values can be put in practice and could be a model for a secular the Middle East and beyond.

Trade union organizing has been recognized by the AANES as one of the central spheres for the pursuit of social transformation. The unions’ umbrella TEV DEM does not just aim to defend workers’ rights, but to enact a broader social change by encouraging civic participation among diverse sectors of the society and enhancing people’s capacity for democratic self-governance in all spheres of life, including workplace.

But of course the Revolution in Rojava, which is as far reaching as the Paris Commune of 1871 and the asperations of the CNT/FAI during the Spanish Civil War, is not without its challenges. In fact at this very moment Turkey, who's autocratic government feels threatened by this social transformation on its southern border, has invaded and and occupied aspects of Rojava's north, and has been attacking the autonomous region with artillery and by other means on a regular basis. Yet the people and Unions of Rojava are continuing to defend their Revolution by force of arms.

Upholding the internationalist ethos of the AANES as a whole, TEV DEM is welcoming opportunities for knowledge exchange and cooperation with trade unions and labor organizations outside Rojava. The aim of this encounter is to offer an opportunity for unions from both parts of the world to share their experiences, approaches to organizing, successes and challenges, as well as to explore possibilities for mutual support.

The event will take place over Zoom on Saturday, May 20, 12:00 pm EST. Please spread the word!

Register Now To Attend This Event At The Following Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/.../tZwpfuGspz8vGdWKRcDMn7hcJegt...

Dear friends,

Join us on Sunday, May 7 at 12 PM EST to commemorate the life of our co-founder, feminist organizer and writer, Meredith Tax. We will be joined by her friends from different movements and all around the globe. Please register here for the Zoom link. 

We will discuss the recent developments in the region and our ongoing efforts.

The meeting will be in hybrid format, both in person in NYC and online. We will be meeting at CUNY Graduate Center (365 5th Avenue, NY 10016), CPCP Seminar Room 6107, 6th Floor. 

Those of you who are not in New York area or can't attend in person, please join us via Zoom. Please use this link to register. 

Join on Thursday, March 2, 7PM EST/4PM PDT for our fourth reading group session of the series focused on Democratic Confederalism!

This series covers theories and history of democratic confederalism as practiced by the Kurdish Freedom Movement. The sessions started with an introduction of the historical context and overview, and then moved to Öcalan’s theories of history and democratic civilization. After reading about state and class-based societies and capitalist modernity, we will dive into democratic confederalism and social ecology as alternatives. We’ll end the series with a discussion of women’s liberation and eco-feminism and how these concepts and practices relate to democratic confederalism. 

In the February session, we will read about the emergence and workings of Capitalist Modernity and Nation-State. You can find the readings through the folder linked here.

Please register for the Zoom link here.
We will be reading:

• “Eurocentric Civilization’s Hegemonic Rule,” in Abdullah Öcalan’s Sociology of Freedom, pp. 72-82

• “The Nation-State, Modernity, and Democratic Confederalism,” in Abdullah Öcalan’s Sociology of Freedom, pp. 208-218

Recommended:

• “Introduction,” in The World System: Five Hundred Years or Five Thousand? edited by Andre Gunder Frank and Barry K. Gills, pp.3-11.

You can check our previous reading sessions here.