Letter To The Editor: Occupy Isle of Wight General Assembly

This press release in from Occupy Isle of Wight about their next meeting, in their own words. Ed

Occupy protesterThe next Occupy IOW General Assembly will be meeting in St James Square in Newport on Saturday at 1.15pm.

This is a chance for EVERYONE, the 99%, here on the Island to come together to work towards positive, constructive ways of tackling the very real problems facing Islanders.

If you have ideas or suggestions as to how the movement can affect change for Island people then please come along on Saturday and make your voice heard.

Direct democracy
The process of direct democracy is used within the movement to ensure that everyone’s voice can be heard. There is no hierarchy, everyone works together to come to decisions through consensus.

Although this can be slower, because it’s not top down, decisions being voted on are stronger. When decisions are made by the Council, or government too often people don’t feel that their view is being represented, but through direct democracy at a general assembly you can have a real say.

Key points of discussion will be:

  • Economic change- Making a difference as individuals, together.
  • Political change- Improving engagement in the political process.
  • Ecological Change- Working towards a sustainable future, now.
  • Media change-Supporting independent media and being aware of monopolies.

We want Island people to feel empowered to make little changes together to make a big difference. We aim to provide real alternatives that we can take forward to our representatives in the Council and in Government, and for the Island to be the tiny ember that sparks the fire of change.

Image: [casey] under CC BY 2.0