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November 2008.
A Canadian Perspective on the IDUD and the INPUD meetings at BF in Copenhagen 2008.
By Cheryl White
Well folks, the members of BrugerForeningen (BF), can pat themselves on the back for a job extremely well done. I must start by stating my heartfelt thanks to Joergen and the other members of BF who made my participation possible. Without their help and commitment to my inclusion in these events I would not have been present at this most historical gathering of international user-activists. As it turned out, their care of me and others extended far beyond financial assistance.
From the get-go members of BF greeted us at the airport and brought us back to the union building. We were also treated to a small gift that set the tone for the rest of the weeks’ user activities. Our meals were carefully planned out and were comprised of the best possible foods, fresh and healthy all the way (which is very important for the well-being of users, as you all know). The members of BF literally slaved away in the kitchen the whole time we were there, missing the meetings to attend to our needs; something I know everyone was extremely grateful for. The dinner they presented on the Saturday night was above and beyond all our expectations (with ice cream cake for desert; really, who could ask for more?)
The BF space is certainly beyond belief and should give us all hope for our own organizing activities back in our respective homes. The large eating area and kitchen are great, but it was the wicked message chair that will stay with many of us who got a chance to sit in it for a while.
As for the meetings, well, this was the first time I ever attended an event with such divergent people holding such different views all committed to building an international organization that can represent us all. One problematic was the absence of representation from people from Africa, the Caribbean and the Middle East. These are pretty huge areas to go without representation. On the flip side, we did have pretty good representation from many areas around the world, including Australia, Canada, Western and Eastern European countries and the USA. But the event would have benefited much from equitable representation from all parts of the world.
The meetings themselves went really well and I have to take a moment here to thank Matt, Eliot and Joergen for much of that success. We did well to hire Matt as our consultant. I believe we have a good working board to carry us through to Thailand and then to Liver Pool. We managed to reach consensus about the board, and utilized the working group outcomes to provide a foundation for issues we want covered. These include membership requirements (with the overwhelming number or participants agreeing that INPUD should be a user-only organization – thank god); gender issues (with a view towards never seeing overheads that state “Wise Men…” or anything of that ilk); and issues of communication (with an expanded google group covering particular topics, such as gender issues and regional representation), as cases in point.
Speaking for myself, the highlights of the gatherings included seeing Pat play saxophone, getting a chance to jam with other musicians, making lasting friendships with new folks, renewing my friendships with old colleagues, feeling like my contributions were heard, and being part of a truly historic gathering with an incredible commitment to progressive social change.
But at the end of the day, it was truly the hard word of BF members that made our stay in the lovely city of Copenhagen so memorable. As I stated earlier, I can never thank these folks enough. Much love to all of you at BF and all user-activists around the world whom made IDUD and INPUD 2008 an occasion I know I will NEVER forget.
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