On Tuesday, November 5th, we will continue our exploration of the living experiment in autonomous self-rule in the region of Rojava, reading about how the system of local people’s councils was created and works in practice.
Our reading this week is Chapter 6 – Democratic Autonomy in Rojava from the book “Revolution in Rojava: Democratic Autonomy and Women’s Liberation in Syrian Kurdistan” (https://archive.org/details/
“Revolution in Rojava” tells the story of Rojava’s groundbreaking experiment in what they call democratic confederalism, a communally organized democracy that is fiercely anti-capitalist and committed to female equality, while rejecting reactionary nationalist ideologies. Rooted in the ideas of imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan, the system is built on effective gender quotas, bottom-up democratic structures, far-sighted ecological policies, and a powerful militancy that has allowed the region to keep ISIS at bay.
As always, we will be meeting at 7pm (with doors open at 6:50pm) at 2620 Quadra Street in unceded Lekwungen territory.