Anarchism, Democracy and the Icelandic Constitution
In 2012 Iceland embarked on a process of rewriting its national constitution. Unlike many examples around the world where countries renew or change their constitutions, this was to be a ‘crowd-sourced’ constitution, with the people of Iceland having a more direct and participatory role in how the new constitution was to look. This discussion workshop will reflect on that process and ask what it means for something a process like writing a constitution to be genuinely democratic. How can people be actively involved? What barriers are there stopping certain people from taking part? How can those barriers be overcome. Drawing on anarchist ideas of democracy, the workshop builds on discussions with activists and others in Iceland to explore what it would take for participatory democracy to work properly.
The workshop takes place in English (interpretation by request) and is hosted by Dr. Thomas Swann:
“I completed my PhD at the University of Leicester School of Management in September 2015. Prior to that, I gained an MA in Social and Political Philosophy from Radboud University Nijmegen in 2010 and an MA in Philosophy from the University of Glasgow in 2008. My research has examined the connections between anarchism and organisational cybernetics, aiming to develop ‘anarchist cybernetics’ as a framework for understanding radical left social movement organisation. More broadly, this included looking at the nature of autonomy in anarchist organisation, the relationship between tactics, strategy and grand strategy and the ways in which communication can be understood in a radical left context. An important element of this work focused on the notion of alternative social media.”
Accessibility:
The building is currently not wheelchair accessible, unfortunately, but it is our top priority to make it so.
There is a step before the garden gate and then 5 steps leading to the main entrance, each 17 cm high, door widths in the building vary between 50 cm (upstairs washroom door) and 80 cm (entrance door), and the washrooms are so far only on the upper floor and in the basement. The door to the meeting room is 75 cm wide (as most other doors in the building).
Both washrooms in the building are gender neutral.
ENGLISH BELOW Á fundinum er farið yfir vinnuhópa, fólk getur tekið að sér verkefni, rætt mikilvæg málefni og séð önnur andlit sem tengjast Andrými. Dagskrá fundarins má sjá fyrir neðan. Þetta er fullkominn tími fyrir nýja og forvitna... Read More
Discover the Power of Yoga at Andrými! Would you like to treat yourself to a moment just for you—to breathe, stretch, and reconnect with your well-being? Then these classes are made for you. Join us every Monday and... Read More
Plöstum bækur! Lærðu að plasta rétt og aðstoða í bókasafni Andspyrnu 🫶 Let’s wrap some books in plastic! Learn how to correctly protect the books and help out in the Andspyrna library
Discover the Power of Yoga at Andrými! Would you like to treat yourself to a moment just for you—to breathe, stretch, and reconnect with your well-being? Then these classes are made for you. Join us every Monday and... Read More
Fríbúðin er opin! Allt ókeypis! Komið með dót/fatnað sem þið notið ekki lengur en viljið heldur ekki fleygja. Eða komið og finnið nýtt til að taka heim. The freeshop is open! All for free! Come and bring stuff/clothes... Read More
This is our first Kinky Film Club, we are a group of folk who like to watch movies crossing the domains of kink & sexuality. This is a very low-key casual event to hang out and watch films... Read More
Discover the Power of Yoga at Andrými! Would you like to treat yourself to a moment just for you—to breathe, stretch, and reconnect with your well-being? Then these classes are made for you. Join us every Monday and... Read More
Discover the Power of Yoga at Andrými! Would you like to treat yourself to a moment just for you—to breathe, stretch, and reconnect with your well-being? Then these classes are made for you. Join us every Monday and... Read More
Refugees and asylum seekers often find themselves in a liminal space, existing in a gap between the past and the future. In this in-between phase, individuals are neither fully part of their old culture nor fully integrated into... Read More
Fríbúðin er opin! Allt ókeypis! Komið með dót/fatnað sem þið notið ekki lengur en viljið heldur ekki fleygja. Eða komið og finnið nýtt til að taka heim. The freeshop is open! All for free! Come and bring stuff/clothes... Read More
A few bands will play at Andrými on the saturday 14th of June. Pay what you can! (We are still organising which bands and all gear and stuff, we will be able to give a better description soon)
Discover the Power of Yoga at Andrými! Would you like to treat yourself to a moment just for you—to breathe, stretch, and reconnect with your well-being? Then these classes are made for you. Join us every Monday and... Read More
Langar þér að læra um og vera hluti af No Borders hreyfingunni á Íslandi? Komdu við og kynntu þér starfið, kynnstu fólkinu og vertu með í skipulaginu! Do you want to learn about and be a part of... Read More
Fríbúðin er opin! Allt ókeypis! Komið með dót/fatnað sem þið notið ekki lengur en viljið heldur ekki fleygja. Eða komið og finnið nýtt til að taka heim. The freeshop is open! All for free! Come and bring stuff/clothes... Read More
Problems at work? Come by for (free) advice! ¿Problemas en su laburo? ¡Consejos gratis! Problèmes au travail? Conseils gratuits! Проблеми на роботі? Отримайте безкоштовну пораду!
Refugees and asylum seekers often find themselves in a liminal space, existing in a gap between the past and the future. In this in-between phase, individuals are neither fully part of their old culture nor fully integrated into... Read More
Fríbúðin er opin! Allt ókeypis! Komið með dót/fatnað sem þið notið ekki lengur en viljið heldur ekki fleygja. Eða komið og finnið nýtt til að taka heim. The freeshop is open! All for free! Come and bring stuff/clothes... Read More
Posted: 21st September 2018 by jay
Discussion Workshop: Anarchism, Democracy and the Icelandic Constitution
An independently organised event.
Anarchism, Democracy and the Icelandic Constitution
In 2012 Iceland embarked on a process of rewriting its national constitution. Unlike many examples around the world where countries renew or change their constitutions, this was to be a ‘crowd-sourced’ constitution, with the people of Iceland having a more direct and participatory role in how the new constitution was to look. This discussion workshop will reflect on that process and ask what it means for something a process like writing a constitution to be genuinely democratic. How can people be actively involved? What barriers are there stopping certain people from taking part? How can those barriers be overcome. Drawing on anarchist ideas of democracy, the workshop builds on discussions with activists and others in Iceland to explore what it would take for participatory democracy to work properly.
The workshop takes place in English (interpretation by request) and is hosted by Dr. Thomas Swann:
Accessibility:
The building is currently not wheelchair accessible, unfortunately, but it is our top priority to make it so.
There is a step before the garden gate and then 5 steps leading to the main entrance, each 17 cm high, door widths in the building vary between 50 cm (upstairs washroom door) and 80 cm (entrance door), and the washrooms are so far only on the upper floor and in the basement. The door to the meeting room is 75 cm wide (as most other doors in the building).
Both washrooms in the building are gender neutral.
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