about us

What do we need an “Internationalist center” in Dresden for?

Excerpt of our position paper for an “Internationalist Center” in Dresden

We will create a place in Dresden capable of promoting exactly that kind of exchange. It should become a place for emancipatory ideas and radical critique: An invitation to change perspectives and to understand mechanisms of various forms of domination and to develop concrete counter-strategies in theory and practice. It is necessary to learn from the history of the various internationalisms and to critically review them. The proposals (among others) from Rojava / Syric-Kurdistan (democratic confederalism) or Chiapas (Zapatistas) must be examined critically and serve as guidance. Together we want to discuss how we can live and expand solidarity while reflecting on different social conditions. Without steady and long-term communication this cannot work. Therefore we want to promote and make practical use of this exchange across borders. This includes, among other ideas, identifying and visualizing different perspectives and social struggles from around the world. This can happen through lectures, discussions, films, radio programs, theater plays or city walks. We want to create the”Internationalist center” as a relay station, where global dissent can be translated into local conditions without ignoring the distinct circumstances of different struggles. Delegations in all directions are another desirable option, as well as the concrete organization in  the neighborhood and with refugees. We already have a few ideas on how this could be put in practice.

The “Internationalist center” should be both a place for working and for meeting. Since December 2015 we are officially a part of the self-organized housing and cultural project “Zentralwerk” in Dresden.We have about 55 m² space for meetings and self-organization. In addition we can use a large event hall as well as the neighborhood bar that is coming into being. A second room of about 200 m² could expand our capabilities and the structure of the “Internationalist center” even further. The “Internationalist center” is our starting point for changing the political culture in Dresden. It must be understood as part of a medium- to long-term strategy to develop combative positions. There is still much to do but we have taken a first step.

And what about financing?

We have deliberately decided against accepting money from foundations. We clearly want to reject party politics (and in our eyes, political foundations are a part of party politics). We do not want to become dependent on these structures. Instead we rely on your solidarity and we want to create our own solidarity networks that help us finance our projects and ideas. If you want to support our work, you are welcome to set up a monthly standing order. You yourself decide the amount of your support.  We are happy about any amount and will put it to good use. If you want to support our work with your ideas and input or in a different matter please feel free to get in touch with us via e-mail.

We will not leave it up to PEGIDA to shape the political opinion and decide on the political interpretation in Dresden!

Especially right now it is important to create spaces, to strengthen networking and organization and to broaden our perspective!

If you want to support our projects financially, please do so by a bank transfer to the account below. The best option is a regular standing order. This helps us to calculate the rent and plan future events and projects. Of course we are also happy about non-financial assistance: maybe you can help us with translations or by being active in the project. If you are interested, please contact us.

bank details:

Rote Hilfe Dresden
Subject: Internationalist Center
IBAN: DE72 3601 0043 0609 7604 34
BIC: PBNKDEFF