Invitation to 25 Years Anniversary of The VOICE Refugee Forum - A quarter of a century since the break-up of isolation
Jena, 6th and 7th December 2019
Announcement and Invitation to Press Meeting
Saturday, 7th December 2019
14.30 h: RefugeeBlackBox Press Meeting with Refugees and Migrants political community activists in the Holzmarkt-Tent:
„25 Activists from Different Cities“ in name of the 25 Years of Struggle:
16:00 h: Demo with Parade:
RefugeeBlackBox Parade – Break the deportation culture
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In 2019 The VOICE Refugee Forum is celebrating its 25th anniversary in Jena. We are celebrating the history of 25years of self-organized, self-empowered and tireless refugee activism in Germany. Our consistent message of justice, freedom of movement, solidarity and breaking the deportation chain in Germany has been an inspiration to many other refugee groups for the last two and a half decades. We have been focusing on refugee community networking and solidarity with different activities in Jena and in other cities to empower the continuity of our struggles and to further inspire and strengthen the refugee community organizing for the years ahead.
25 years The VOICE Refugee Forum means 25 years of self-organization of autonomous refugee struggles: It means unrelentless struggle against deportation, social isolation, refugee lager, criminalization, residenzpflicht (restriction of refugee movement), police brutality, family separation, political prisoners and colonial injustice. It is 25 years of solidarity, refugee autonomy, community structural organization, activism, events, camps, manifestations, protest and fight for freedom of movement. Since 1998 we had a common struggle with the Caravan for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants, in 2017 the RefugeeBlackBox was created as the heritage of the struggle of The VOICE Refugee Forum and the Caravan for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants. 25 years of The VOICE means half a century of impact on the political u in Germany.
The fight against deportation had always been in the center of The VOICE‘s political activism. Our 25 years of unwavering commitment to breaking the culture of deportation in Germany had many importants steps:
The VOICE and The Caravan congress*Unite Against Deportation and Social Exclusion (2000)
The initiation of the concept of „Deportation is the last ring of the slavery chain“ (2014)
The Break Deportation and Isolation network in Thuringen
The initiation of the RefugeeBlackBox - Solidarity (2017)
„The #VOICERefugeeForum at 25: 25 years is not 25 secs, mins, hrs, days, weeks or months! It a quarter of a century, a generation and in this time, we changed Germany and gave the Refugees not only a only a VOICE but a place in this society. Celebrate with us “ (Dr .Mbolo M. Yufanyi)
Celebrating the 25 Years of The VOICE on 6th /7th December in Jena -Overview of the Program
Thursday, December 5, 2019
Arrival from 20.00 h – 22.00 h:
Meeting point and discussion in Friedrich-Schiller-Universität FSU Jena, Carl-Zeiss-Straße 3/Campus Ernst-Abbe-Platz, Seminarraum 309)
Friday, December 6, 2019 from 10:00h
Holzmarkt: RefugeeBlackBox Installation Tent on Holzmarkt Jena, Cultural Program
University ( Seminarraum 309): The VOICE Symposium on Refugee Grassroots Community and the Struggle against Colonial Injustice - with presentations, conferences and workshops on:
- The struggle against deportation and isolation
- Exile political activism
- The fight against freedom of movement restriction and deportation prisons
- Oury-Jalloh-campaign and police brutality in Germany
- Community engagement: the autonomy of self-determination
- The struggle against family separation
- Autonomy and decentralization of the RefugeeBlackBox Installations
- Exchange and documentation of the present situation of refugees
- Identity politics of the oppressed: The Refugee/Migrants community struggle against sexual abuses/strenghtening a safe place for the women revolution without discrimination.
- Empowering the refugee struggle: FightBack! Disrupt, disobey and organise against (the regulated Dublin) -deportations of refugees from Germany!
- The challenge to empower the grassroots community of a refugee community "Assembly" in Germany
Saturday, December 7, 2019 from 10.00 h
University (Seminar Room 3rd Floor, 309): Testimonies and inputs on The Struggle of The VOICE Refugee Forum
Holzmarkt Permanent RBB Installation Tent in Holzmarkt
14.30 h Press Meeting in the RefugeeBlackBox with Refugees and Migrants activists in the HolzMarkt Tent. „25 Activists from Different Cities“ representing the 25 Years of Struggle: Our Struggle has names! Activists from Wuppertal, Hamburg, Berlin, Gotha, Brandenburg, Bremen, Düsseldorf and Köln.
16:00 h: Demo and Presentation | RefugeeBlackBox Paradee, Gyration performance
RefugeeBlackBox parade against the Deportation Crimes and against Colonial Racism of Europe
After Music | Gyration and Performance on Holzmarkt
Venues: Holzmarkt and Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Carl-Zeiß-Straße 3/Campus Ernst-Abbe-Platz, Seminar Room 3rd Floor, 309)
The VOICE Refugee Forum, Schillergässchen 5, 07745 Jena, Tel.: + 49 (0) 176 24568988 (Whatsapp), E- mail: thevoiceforum@gmx.de, Thevoiceforum.org
https://www.facebook.com/RefugeeBlackBox/