Europe

Balkans - Andre Grubacic

Interview Details

Transcript

Andre Grubacic: The PGA was a phenomenal experience because it was so international. You could hear a rumor coming from India or Nepal, while based in Eastern Europe, where I was working from. Curiously, gossip was a weird way of keeping PGA alive. It had a useful, movement-building function. The politics was very intimate. And of course, gossip and rumor have their other side, a vicious or malicious rumor which would set people apart in ways that were; especially before our PGA conferences, which were this big meeting places of transnational encounter. It was exceedingly difficult to organize things because there was so much rumor and intrigue of both kinds. The Greeks use the term hora, meaning political space. PGA was a fascinating political space.

Catalunya - Arnau Montserrat

Interview Details

Transcript

Arnau Montserrat: I’m pretty sure that I was there as a delegate or representative of MRG [Movement for Global Resistance] but I’m not totally sure maybe Enric has a better memory from that, but I think it was a formal relationship between MRG and PGA and not only personal level. Anyway, everything is also personal because with this kind of thing; at the end of the day, it works because some people are really willing and putting energy in, and we were into that coordinating efforts and being inspired.

Catalunya - Mayo Fuster-Morell

Interview Details

Transcript

Terry Dunne: We will start. You’ve already seen the questions we are interested in. I want to start with now and work backwards chronologically. So you were involved in Movimento de Resistência Global. Yeah. So I want to be maybe specific to that organisation.

Catalunya - Victor

Interview Details

Transcript

Terry Dunne: So, Victor, maybe the first thing I could ask you is how you how you started to get involved in PGA activism.

Victor: At the time of the Prague protests.

Victor: Involved; I was always left. But before we supported Zapatista solidarity.

Germany - Ann Stafford

Interview Details

Transcript

Michael Reinsborough: This is an oral history in review around the role of Peoples’ Global Action (PGA) Network. While no interview was done with Ann we are greatful to be able to share this chapter from her biography with permission of the author John Stafford.

Germany - Friederike Habermann

Interview Details

Transcript

Michael Reinsborough: This is an oral history in review around the role of Peoples’ Global Action (PGA) Network. I’m going to ask a series of questions. A lot of the stuff we’re talking about is quite far away, I wouldn’t be that concerned with dates or the specifics more or less because I think if it’s twenty years away, you won’t remember exactly what happened. We’re quite clear in acknowledging that this interview is about how people now think back about the past, and some of the actual documentary…like finding the actual documents and stuff like that, we could put some of the dates. The PGA website seems to have a lot of those dates and events. We talked a little bit about how this recording will be used, hopefully an archive of activists that will be interviewed about PGA oral history, about what the PGA did in this particular time.

Ireland - Barry Finnegan

Interview Details

Transcript

Mags Liddy: That’s great stuff so thank you for agreeing to be interviewed.

Ireland - Clare B

Interview Details

Transcript

Mags Liddy: We’ll be talking about PGA- and we can talk a little more about the consent at the end. And have a think about it. Sure I can leave you the form and you can send it on.

Ireland - Eoin Ó Broin

Interview Details

Transcript

[Note from interviewer: this interview was completed via Skype, and I did not have the recording set-up correctly in the beginning as I was using a headset. Initial 3 minutes are lost, but I did stop EOB from speaking for some time.]

Italy - Eva

Interview Details

Transcript

Mags Liddy: And we begin by asking a lot of people about their involvement with PGA. As you were saying the years that you were involved there …but maybe maybe we go a little bit back from that and tell me how did you get… and how did you become an activist, maybe going back. How did you become interested, or involved.

Italy - Luca Mondo

Interview Details

Transcript

Terry Dunne: So thanks for this Luca. I think the first thing we want to ask you just to get things started is what was your role in PGA?. What were you involved in within PGA?

Luca Mondo: Yeah. So thank you for doing this work.

Italy - Riccardo

Interview Details

Transcript

English & Italian Sonix transcription

Interviewer: First of all, thanks for taking part. And I think maybe we’ll start by asking how you first became involved in politics or in activism?

Riccardo: Nel 1977 in Italia con un grosso movimento di lotta che era il movimento dell’Autonomia Operaia. E si lavorava soprattutto nei territori e nelle fabbriche. Io ho iniziato come studente e poi piano piano ho continuato a far politica. Quindi ho iniziato a 14 anni adesso ne ho 54.

Italy & UK - 4 participants

Interview Details

Transcript

Terry Dunne: Well we’ll start with the Zapatistas. Can you tell us a little bit about how the Zapatistas influenced movements in Europe in the process that led to the establishment of Peoples’ Global Action

Switzerland - Four Organizers

Interview Details

Transcript

Olivier: [00:00:01] That was the blocking of the G8 summit in Evian in 2003, remember?

Yvonne: (Yvonne)[00:00:05] It’s now recording, right?

Olivier: [00:00:12] Yeah. But yeah, that was the answer to the question of what was the last thing. At the end of PGA, this was one of the last things that was – not officially, but the blocking was essentially promoted by PGA people from all Europe. After there were other summits and blockades with participation of PGA people, such as the G8 at Gleneagles, Scotland in 2005 with the Wombles, who were inspired by PGA, or Heilegendam in 2007, but in the context of larger coalitions with ATTAC Germany for example.

Switzerland - Olivier de Marcellus

Interview Details

Transcript

Lesley Wood: All right. Its December 21st, 2022. I’m talking to Olivier de Marcellus. I want to start out with the story from your perspective, because I think I’ve heard some stories from others’ perspectives. But how did you get involved in this PGA tour? When did you first hear about this idea? What happened? How did this come about? Origin story, please?

United Kingdom - Caravan1

Interview Details

  • Region: Europe
  • Language: English
  • Interviewee: anonymous
  • Interviewer: Michael Reinsborough
  • Date: 14 October 2022
  • PGA Affiliation: Caravan
  • Bio: Participant was involved in supporting the UK caravan and organized a meeting space where Reclaim the Streets planned the J18 Action Day
  • Transcript: https:

Transcript

Speaker1: Okay, so today is October the 14th and we’re at the British Library. My name’s Michael Reinsborough, and we’re doing an interview.

Speaker2: (acknowledges)

Speaker1: Okay, great. And tell me how you first became an activist.

United Kingdom - John Jordan

Interview Details

Transcript

Michael Reinsborough: For the purpose of the tape, do you wanna say your name?

John Jordan: I’m John Jordan.

Michael Reinsborough: Okay, and I’m [redacted], and we just happen to be in London. [Redacted] gave a very marvelous talk last night, and it was in London, so I’m taking advantage of doing an interview. So this is an oral history interview and we’re not really expecting you to know dates and times. People’s memory from events that were 20 years ago are often more confusing than the actual looking at the details and some people in the oral history department have done a good amount of that kind of.. um. documentary looking at the historical details um but so it’s an interview about how you feel about things from NOW um looking back with retrospect so really that’s what you should think about but um tell me a little about how you became an activist.

United Kingdom - Michael Reinsborough

Interview Details

  • Region: North America
  • Language: English
  • Interviewee: Michael Reinsborough
  • Interviewer: Leen Amarin
  • Date: June 7 2023
  • PGA Affiliation:
  • Bio: Michael Reinsborough was involved in various Global Action Days in San Francisco, Dublin and other cities and participated in the PGA European network from 2002 onwards. He is involved in the Peoples Global Action Oral History project, and currently works in London, United Kingdom.
  • Transcript:

Transcript

Leen: Okay, so I’m going to pull up my– just will, just share my screen to share the consent form with you. And then we’ll go through that quickly together. And then we’ll get right into it.

United Kingdom - Uri Gordon

Interview Details

Transcript

Lesley: So it is July 26th, 2023, talking to Uri Gordon. So how did you get involved with PGA?

Zbrati - Russia - International Socio-ecological union

Interview Details

  • Region: Commonwealth of Independent States
  • Language:
  • Interviewee:
  • Interviewer:
  • Date:
  • PGA Affiliation: International Socio-ecological union
  • Bio:
  • Transcript: Zbrati: Ta spletna stran je škrbina za snemanje intervjuja. | To gather: This web page is a place-holder stub for an interview.

Transcript

Interviewer: bla-bla

Interviewee: la-la-la

We are currently hoping to recieve or collect an interview from this organisation.

This project does not represent the full array of movements and activists involved in PGA. Like so many activist and research projects, this one is shaped by limited social networks, and the resource imbalances and priorities within our global system.

Zbrati - The Netherlands - Eurodusnie

Interview Details

  • Region: Western Europe
  • Language:
  • Interviewee:
  • Interviewer:
  • Date:
  • PGA Affiliation: Eurodusnie
  • Bio: This was a convenor organisation within the PGA network.
  • Transcript: Zbrati: Ta spletna stran je škrbina za snemanje intervjuja. | To gather: This web page is a place-holder stub for an interview.

Transcript

Interviewer: bla-bla

Interviewee: la-la-la

We are currently hoping to recieve or collect an interview from this organisation.

This project does not represent the full array of movements and activists involved in PGA. Like so many activist and research projects, this one is shaped by limited social networks, and the resource imbalances and priorities within our global system.

Zbrati - Ukraine - International Socio-ecological union

Interview Details

  • Region: Commonwealth of Independent States
  • Language:
  • Interviewee:
  • Interviewer:
  • Date:
  • PGA Affiliation: International Socio-ecological union
  • Bio:
  • Transcript: Zbrati: Ta spletna stran je škrbina za snemanje intervjuja. | To gather: This web page is a place-holder stub for an interview.

Transcript

Interviewer: bla-bla

Interviewee: la-la-la

We are currently hoping to recieve or collect an interview from this organisation.

This project does not represent the full array of movements and activists involved in PGA. Like so many activist and research projects, this one is shaped by limited social networks, and the resource imbalances and priorities within our global system.

Zbrati - United Kingdom - Reclaim the Streets

Interview Details

  • Region: Western Europe
  • Language:
  • Interviewee:
  • Interviewer:
  • Date:
  • PGA Affiliation: Reclaim the Streets
  • Bio: This was a convenor organisation within the PGA network.
  • Transcript: Zbrati: Ta spletna stran je škrbina za snemanje intervjuja. | To gather: This web page is a place-holder stub for an interview.

Transcript

Interviewer: bla-bla

Interviewee: la-la-la

We are currently hoping to recieve or collect an interview from this organisation.

This project does not represent the full array of movements and activists involved in PGA. Like so many activist and research projects, this one is shaped by limited social networks, and the resource imbalances and priorities within our global system.

Zbratiz - Central & Eastern Europe/Commonwealth of Independent States - Various Groups

We are currently hoping to receive or collect interviews from various CEE/CIS organizations.

This project does not represent the full range of movements and activists involved in PGA. Like so many activist and research projects, this one is shaped by limited social networks and by resource imbalances and priorities within our global system.

We have interviews from just a few of the following organizations:

Central & Eastern Europe/Commonwealth of Independent States

Zbratiz - Western Europe - Various Groups

We are currently hoping to receive or collect interviews from various Western Europe organizations.

This project does not represent the full range of movements and activists involved in PGA. Like so many activist and research projects, this one is shaped by limited social networks and by resource imbalances and priorities within our global system.

We have interviews from just a few of the following organizations:

Western Europe

  • Indymedia France
  • Collectif STAMP, France
  • Collectif Friche Artistique-Autogérée, France
  • Hameau collectif,France
  • Intercontinental project, Berlin, Germany
  • AStA Technische Universitaet Berlin (students union)
  • European Network of the Marches against Unemployment, Precarity and Social Exclusion (Euromarches), Germany
  • No One Is Illegal, Germany
  • Committee Against Olympic Games, Athens, Greece
  • Italy IMC
  • Tactical Media (Italy)
  • Ya Basta (Italy)
  • Politiek Infocentrum Wageningen / Leftwing Analysis of Biopolitics (LAB), The Netherlands
  • Bangladesh People’s Solidarity Centre (BPSC), The Netherlands
  • Eurodusnie, The Netherlands
  • Play Fair Europe! Amsterdam / “Mental Defective Giraffes against Plan Colombia” / the process on gender “Nor Men Neither Women, but just the Opposite”, The Netherlands
  • Politiek Infocentrum Wageningen, The Netherlands
  • Rising Tide, Netherlands
  • Vrienden van GroenFront! (GroenFront! / EarthFirst! Netherlands Support Group), The Netherlands
  • Interculturalidade - Associação de Professores (IAP), Portugal
  • Global Action Scotland, Scotland
  • Autonomous Centre, Scotland
  • Ecologistas en Accion, Spain
  • la Red Ciudadana por la Abolición de la Deuda Externa (RCADE), Spain
  • Play Fair Europe!, Spain
  • Movimiento de Resistència Global de Catalunya (MRG), Catalunya, Spanish State
  • MRG, Madrid
  • SAC-syndikalisterna. Sweden
  • Globalisering underifrån, Sweden
  • Antifascistisk Aktion, Sweden
  • Ingen människa är illegal. Sweden
  • Foundation North-South XXI, Switzerland
  • Nord-Sued-Koordination, Switzerland
  • Action Populaire Contre la Mondialisation (APCM), Switzerland
  • People Not Profit, UK
  • Earth First!, UK
  • Reclaim The Streets! London (UK)*
  • Campaign Against the Arm Trade (UK)
  • Globalize Resistance UK
  • Colombia Solidarity Campaign, UK
  • Socialist Workers Party, UK
  • Wombles, UK

If you can help with contacts, interviews, or would like to participate in some other way, please contact us. We invite you to tell your stories and collect the ones you think need to be told. Despite the many gaps in this project, we present it with the intention of inspiring others and indicating a sample of the diversity of participation.

Germany - Ann Stafford

Interview Details

Transcript

Michael Reinsborough: This is an oral history in review around the role of Peoples’ Global Action (PGA) Network. While no interview was done with Ann we are greatful to be able to share this chapter from her biography with permission of the author John Stafford.

Chapter 19 - Peoples Global Action: The Early Years