PAZ Conference
From Louisville Punk/Hardcore History
A Conference on Building Permanent Autonomous Zones (PAZ)
August 31 - September 3, 2001, Labor Day Weekend at The Brycc House
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE This is the first annual conference about Permanent Autonomous Zones, a concept named by Hakim Bey and fleshed out by many people in practice. This conference aims to promote the institutions we are creating to provide alternatives to those controlled by government or profit-motivated forces. Questions this conference will pose includes: What kinds of PAZes exist right now? How do we begin a new PAZ or improve an old one? Where do we get the start up funds? How do we structure them? What can we do to increase membership and attract more reliable members? How do we overcome the unique problems encountered by organizations that are collectively-run, such as making sure all members of the community (women, people of color, etc.) have an equal voice? How can we ensure that responsibility won't fall onto one or two "leaders"? How can we ensure that our organizations will have the independence and strength to continue after we do? THIS CONFERENCE WILL BE PARTICIPANT-RUN! Participants will be people already involved in a PAZ, past members, or people planning a PAZ. We are seeking action-oriented people and organizations, not simply "idea people." Other possible discussions will include consensus vs. majority decision-making, how to deal with hostile outside communities, how to successfully delegate responsibility, strategies to deal with government interference, fundraising, becoming more accessible to oppressed peoples, and how to start particular kinds of PAZs. We invite you to look at the workshops page for more details or to submit your own workshop. We are depending on YOU to bring your experiences to the conference, so submit that workshop as soon as possible.
What is a PAZ?
We offer these definitions:
- An autonomous, collectively-run community center
- A community living space: communes, squats, self-sustaining villages, treehouses
Independent and/or free schools, self-education centers or organizations
- A community garden or greenspace, efforts to preserve nature
- A non-authoritarian news organization, publisher, low power or pirate station, infoshop, internet service provider, or other non-profit group that provides a service to the community
- Collectively-run organizations or networks that promote non-hierarchical principles and localized autonomy
- Any continuous space, group, co-op, or individual effort accessible to a community that is founded on anti-authoritarian principles and autonomy within an egalitarian community. A PAZ is not controlled by the government or a religion.
What about TAZs?
There are examples of TAZs (Temporary Autonomous Zones), such as conferences or festivals, that are important to the ongoing growth and renewal of PAZs. We invite discussion of TAZ-related topics at the conference, especially as they relate to strengthening a PAZ.