Kebele social centre is pleased to be hosting the next UK Social Centre Gathering on 28 & 29 November, which comes at the end of our NovemberFest. This event currently occurs twice a year, and is for all those involved in social centres (or aiming to set one up soon) around the UK. This list of social centres is slightly outdated but includes some good info.

Activists will come together to discuss, debate, skillshare & plan in relation to our social centres.  People wishing to attend are expected wherever possible to attend the full two days, and to register in advance with us so that we can cater accordingly & provide the necessary crashspace – if you want to attend please email us well in advance – kebelesocialcentre[at]riseup[dot]net. There’ll be a party at Kebele on the Saturday night from 7pm, with acoustic acts & DJ’s, which is open to local activists who are not attending the gathering. Meals during the gathering, and the party, will be for a reasonable donation.

The agenda & timetable for the 2 days is still being finalised, but will be sent out before the event. It will probably run from 10am-5.30pm on Saturday and 10am-4pm on Sunday. Food & crashspace will be available from about 5pm on the Friday evening at Kebele. Topics likely to be up for discussion include:
– the role & politics of social centres
– practical networking & outreach
– anti-oppression work
– improving accountability processes
– future plans
If you are coming these 2 articles (pdfs) about 2 Bristol social centres might help to get you in the mood: What is Kebele? and Beyond ‘Cake or Death’. Also worth a read is this book from 2007 about UK social centres – ‘What’s this place?’

This is a great opportunity to meet up with activists from other social centres and share experiences, so get in touch if you’d like to come along!