10:00 - 11:00 Walk-in and registration

11:00 - 12:30 Welcome and Plenary at Cinema

12:30 - 13:30 Lunch at De Peper

13:30 - 18:00 Indigenous Resistance protest (2:30-4:30pm at Nelson Mandelapark)

15:00 - 18:30 Alternative activities for the ones not going to the protest (Movie screening at Cinema, R&R, walk around the Vondelpark, among others!)

18:30 - 20:00 Dinner at De Peper

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After the first International Encounter of Women who Fight, convened and hosted by Zapatista women in Chiapas in 2018, each one of the participants turned on a little light.

“We lit it with a candle so that it burns slowly,

That little light is for you.

Take it, sisters and compas.

When you feel lonely,

When you are afraid,

When you feel that the fight is very hard, that is, life,

Turn it on again in your heart, in your thoughts, in your guts.

And don't keep it to yourself, compas and sister.

Take it to the missing ones.

Take it to the raped ones.

Take it to the beaten ones and the harassed.

Take it to the migrants.

Take it to the exploited.

Take it and turn it into rage, into courage, into decision.

Take it and gather it with other lights.

Take it and, perhaps, later it will come to your thoughts that there will be neither truth, nor justice, nor freedom in this patriarchal capitalist system.

So maybe we'll meet again to set the system on fire. “

Sisters, compas, we warmly invite you to the first Encounter of women, inter, trans and non-binary people living in the Netherlands, with the Zapatista women.

The inequality and exploitation on which the Netherlands is built upon has increasingly been more evident than ever. Groups of people in situations of vulnerability, especially those with a migration background, are being pushed into poverty, more people are drastically struggling to find a home, a large number of cases of (sexual) violence against women are ignored, asylum seekers are dehumanised and denied the right to a dignified life, young farmers cannot make a living, and non-(hetero)normative gender and sexual identities face even greater forms of violence. More than ever, we must unite forces to resist, to rebel, and to bring our visions into light, inspired by the Zapatistas’ struggles. The Zapatistas’ visit to the Netherlands seeks to galvanise the struggles of different groups in this country with those of Europe and the rest of the world.

With this Encounter, we aim to facilitate a coming-together of different self-organised collectives and allies from below and to the left. We have prepared a diverse program in different formats (talks, workshops, storytelling, cooking, etc.) around the following topics: migration, cyberfeminism, art, music, sexual and gender-based violence, consent, intersectionality, literature, among others. The challenges we face can no longer be tackled in isolation. From the climate crisis to the disbandment of social protection measures, to systematic racism, to regressive attitudes towards women's rights and sexual minorities, we must gather our lights to envision that “another world is possible”, and to enact that vision together.

Come join us at OT301 on 16 and 17 October!

Food

Lunch (on both 16th and 17th) and dinner (on 16th) will be provided at the venue. You may confirm your reservation at the registration desk each day. The price is based on donation. Only vegan meals will be served.

Accessibility information

4bid Gallery and De Peper are wheelchair accessible and there is a wide toilet on the ground floor. The studio, cinema, and cinema lounge are upstairs, and there is no elevator. Volunteers will offer assistance to anyone who may require help.

What things to bring?

For the safety of the Zapatistas and all people involved, it is mandatory to wear face masks at all times and present a valid CoronaCheck-app QR-code at the entrance. People who are not vaccinated should present a negative Covid-19 test.

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Who are we?

We are a group of women and non-binary people who are part of Gira Holanda. We are a horizontal and diverse group of volunteers, coming from different backgrounds and experiences. We have been organising since spring 2021 to receive the Zapatistas in Europe, which has been named Slumil K’ajxemk’op or “Insurgent Land” by the Zapatistas, and to spur a movement against capitalism, colonialism, heteropatriarchy, racism, ableism, and other violent systems that destroy life.

Who are the Zapatistas?

The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) is a political militant group of mostly rural indigenous people practicing civil resistance and community autonomy, against the Mexican State since 1994. They have rejected and defied political classification but they are a far left group focused on anti-capitalism, anti-imperialism. It is a movement of radical hope for the possibility to build a world where many worlds coexist. Such a movement began beyond the nation state narratives, sprouted from ancestral memories from the collective dreams of the communities in the mountains of Chiapas, Southeast of what we now call Mexico. These communities are Mayan, Tojolabal, Tzotzil, Tzetal, Chol and Mam, people who have not yet forgotten Earth-knowledges, who are preserving their ancestral memories against the oblivion of the current system. They had first raised their voice publicly in January 1994, and ever since have been a great inspiration for pursuing an alternative relation to each other and the Earth as re-existence in autonomy and in defence for Life.

For more information:

Email: giraholanda.medios@gmail.com

Facebook: facebook.com/lagiraholanda

Instagram: @giraholanda

Twitter: @GiraHolanda

https://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx