Edmonton - Savvy Citizen Salon - "The G20: A '101 Primer' for Progressives

Date: July 19

Time: 7pm - 9:30pm (MST)

Location: TBA (Check online), Edmonton

MINI DESCRIPTION: An inspiring and informative evening where you will learn the basics of what you need to know about what happened in Toronto, how that directly affects us here and what you can do about it.

FULL DESCRIPTION:

We want to invite you to a fundraiser.

But not for e-sage. Let us explain.

It's been hard to ignore all the news about the G20 lately.

And, like us at e-sage, you were likely concerned about the shocking stories that have come out.

We have heard stories the $1 billion (ONE BILLION!) that was spent on security to the meeting. We've heard about respected reporters, non-violent protesters and totally clueless passers by violently assaulted (and detained) by police. We've heard of police breaking into people's homes of longtime advocates for justice and arresting them at gunpoint in the middle of the night. It was the largest mass arrest since the War Measures Act in the seventies.

Of course, most of what we've heard from the media about it all is how an angry mob of protesters burned cars and broke windows.

But you probably suspect that there's more to the story than this.

And yet - when you talk with your friends and family about it - what can you say?

A lot of questions are being asked:

- were all the arrests legal (or were people's rights violated)?

- what was all the property destruction about?

- what was happening inside the G20 meetings? Why were people protesting in the first place?

- who was arrested and why?

**Why is e-sage hosting this?**

e-sage focuses 100% on positive, green and local alternatives. Solutions, not problems. But we're also committed to keeping our members educated on the pressing current issues that affect our communities. And, make no mistake, what happens at the G20 meetings affects us here in Edmonton. The precedent set by police is Toronto - could affect us someday in Edmonton.

Protest and direct action have long played a vital role in securing justice and safety for those most vulnerable.

Gay rights, women's rights, civil rights - none of these would have even been on the table without people pushing hard to get them there.

And today, the movement at the forefront is the movement questions rampant corporate globalization. This movement is the twin sister of the movement to localize that so many of us feel drawn towards.

e-sage may not be directly involved in this work but it can and does support it. Some days it can seem like, for step that we take to secure local food and a thriving local economy, global organizations such as the WTO, the IMF, the World Bank or the G20 can drag us back. Fishermen try to secure a living - then BP destroys the Gulf Coast for decades. We work to secure local food and the city of Edmonton wants to develop our prime farm land North East of the City. We want to grow organic food but then Monsanto comes and pollutes our crops with their GMO's. The list goes on.

So, when people have the courage to stand up to these larger systems (like Martin Luther King Jr. stood up to racism and the war in Vietnam or Gandhi stood up to British Colonialism or Mandella stood up to Apartheid) we think it's important to support them. They're doing important work that might not be right for all of us. But it's important nonetheless.

If there were no people doing this work - the work that e-sage does would be pointless.

If we don't support those who work for justice - who will?

So, all of the money raised from this event will go directly to support those who were arrested by the police during the course of the actions.

Come join us to explore:

- what actually happened on the ground (hear from people who were there)

- how does the G20 affect our community here in Edmonton (more than you'd think)

- the ties between grassroots, community organizing, activism and the work that e-sage does

- the important role of protest in creating the kinds of communities we want to live in

PLEASE BRING:

- an open mind & critical thought

- your chequebook (it's a fundraiser!)

FB Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=137398492954824