Up the Anti had something of an experiment-like character. We wanted to build a broad, left wing conference, that appraised the big questions facing radical politics in a fraternal atmosphere of critical debate, where people from different political traditions (and none) could discuss the future of the movement and progressive politics more generally.
By those criteria, the event was a success.
Given that it was co-sponsored by a collection of left wing websites, networks and magazines with a small number of activists amongst them, the event still attracted about 300 people (we had 322 registrations in total but not all advance ticket holders turned up so attendance was below that).
Sessions on debt strikes, trade unions, and Greece attracted good numbers of people with lively discussions. The journalism session was informative and good spirited. Radical interpretations of the crisis had mixed, indeed many negative, reviews that were summed it up by one person as “four middle-aged white men arguing with each other”. The session on the extradition of Talha Ahsan and Islamophobia saw moving, powerful talks from Victoria Brittain and Talha’s brother Hamja Ahsan that were incredibly composed and balanced, given the scale of the injustice discussed.
Sorry if this is out of place; couldn’t find a spot on the page featuring the article, but I just read your piece on ‘Lincoln’. Well said. Haven’t seen the movie yet, but really enjoyed your historical perspective. Thanks.
Comment by Tim Cummings — December 6, 2012 @ 12:19 am
I’ve always wondered how you deal with the heartbreak of such low turnout.
Comment by Pandora — December 6, 2012 @ 1:27 am