LA SOCIAL FORUM - REPORT BACK

27,28,29 de Junio

Over 60 workshops were successfully carried out.

Several car loads of participants arrived from San Diego, several people traveled from Berkeley and the San Francisco bay area. At least one international participant was from Nigeria. An FLMN member traveled from El Salvador. I want to give a special shout out to Elia Ramos who spent the last 6 months in Australia and whose son Jose Ramos has made it possible for the LASF to have a website.

We had 30 volunteer sign ins over the 3 days. I need to give a special mention to some I saw go above and beyond in time given: Amy Nyack, Ali Reza, Linda Langwell, Jeri Deitrick. Dan Ortiz. Jay Jayakumar, Maddie Briggs, Eisha Mason, Ben Parke, Anitra Wetzel, Charlotte Gibson.

I heard many compliments on the USC facility services and logistics. Gary Yeritsian deserves a medal for months of arrangements and 3 days of intense attention to detail to help fulfill the logistics needs for the Forum. It was a joy working with Gary, these three days, and the many months leading up to it. He, like all the volunteers, deserved a paycheck.

Thanks to the many planners and committee members who pitched in including Maricela Guzman, Yuisa Gimeno, Muffy Sunde, Jael Koren, Bruce Cooley, Barry Weiss, Peter Thottam, Bob Stiles, Rick Banales, Michael Kaufman, Michael Novick, Anna Kunkin, Marshall Burns, Callie Wight, Layla Tadjpour, Lucy Lee. Thanks to Ellen Reese for inspiring all the planners.

Thanks to William Grant Still Art Center for hosting Prison Nation workshop, and throwing us a great party Saturday night, and providing buses and drivers.

Thanks to Ami and Mary Sutton for the hard work of providing a second location.

Food not Bombs provided a great lunch for hundreds of people on Saturday in addition to the work they do when the Social Forum is not happening.

Remo provided 62 drums and percussion instruments, for a fun time, for our drum circle Friday night.

Thanks to the 60+ workshop presenters and mini-assembly presenters.

Thanks to Wil b for rap and poetry Friday night.

We heard many compliments for the logo and banner that Paul Hershfield designed. It is an eye-catching design that people wanted prints of.

For the people and groups not mentioned, thank you.

The LA Social Forum sends a special thanks to Don White, who helped in planning this Social Forum and gave a lifetime of inspiration to those of us who loved and knew him.

Thanks for the weekend of building bridges between LA-based campaigns for social justice, environmental action, criminal reform, election fairness, gender equity, political power and cultural expression.

The Los Angeles Social Forum was a place where Southern California activists will meet and share power, plans, perspectives, and ideas while building a network for peace and social justice.


"El Foro Social de LA es un programa de el International

Un grupo ha juntado para comenzar a planear un foro social en Los Ángeles en junio 2008. Invitamos a representantes de organizaciones interesadas que envíen a delegados del planeamiento al trabajo con nosotros. Invitamos además a individuos dedicados que pueden trabajar con nosotros a planear este encuentro.