𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 ‘𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐦’ 𝐚𝐧𝐝 ‘𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐭’ 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜? What are the challenges activists and marginalised groups face? How do Covid-19 restrictions deepen and disclose existing inequalities and injustices? How do physical distancing and quarantine life shape, limit and open up new avenues for activism and resistance?

These questions are central to our seminar “𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝-𝟏𝟗” on the evening of the 9th and 16th of November 2020.This seminar will be a place where experiences, knowledge and tools on resistance and activism in these special times can be shared, where people from different positions in society can meet each other, and where our agency is explored.

𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 (for free)
The event is online. Register here:
https://forms.gle/duayxU3TNQxfYSZo6 You register for both evenings. Each evening has a plenary session and a workshop. You can choose two workshops in the registration.

𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌

𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟗 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫
19.00 welcome and warm-up
Plenary session 1
‘𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧 (𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝) 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞’
20.30 active break
20.45 parallel workshops
21.45 wrap up
22.00 end

𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟔 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫
19.00 introduction and warm-up
Plenary session 2
‘𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲’
20.30 active break
20.45 parallel workshops
21.45 wrap up
22.00 end

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐋 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐒
★ 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝: how framing a story rules the power of discourse.
★ 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 & 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬: what has this crisis taught us?
★ 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭: how to bring a protest online.
★ 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: the use of the body when the public space is limited

𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘:
★ Build Your Movement (a collective of community facilitators)
★ the critical student organisation OtherWise
★ the Sociology of Development and Change group at Wageningen University and the Political Agency at the Grassroots cluster within the Centre for Space, Place and Society

𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓?
Covid-19 changed everything. The political and social response to Covid uncovers society’s profound injustices and inequalities. Restrictions are limiting not only people’s everyday life social space, but also the activists’ space to stand up for resistance and defend nature, land, rights and people. Lockdown restrictions are making human rights defenders and activists more vulnerable, leading to criminalisation, police persecution and paramilitary violence in different parts of the world. Restrictions from governments to control the spread of Covid-19 are being met with resistance and, in some cities, rioting. At the same time, social movements are finding many new ways of doing activism online, sometimes in combination with on-site actions, using the Covid crisis in creative and strategic ways. All these different, but interrelated developments have changed – and are still changing – the field on which activism and resistance takes place.