“Citizen Legislative Advocacy in Minority Communities” Testimony from the 3rd U.S. Mentors Delegation visiting Europe on January 25 — February 15, 2013
Rachel Ramirez, Chicago, Illinois Chicago Coalition for the Homeless “I am leaving Central Europe a very inspired woman, and organizer! Thank you to the U.S. State Department, Great Lakes Consortium, European Community Organizing Network, and all who make this exchange experience possible for myself and my U.S. and European colleagues. I am inspired by the commitment of the people I've met in Budapest, Timisoara, Banska Bystrica, Zvolen, Bratislava, and beyond. They are determined to create a reality in which democracy is not a political system that is won, but a way of society that is lived and nurtured. In this reality, people from all walks of life work together and support one another in solving their community's problems. It has been an honor to learn about life and the struggles of civic participation in Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, and to think together on how community organizing methods can be applied. The success stories of European people achieving improvements in their own lives through organizing are growing in number, and I am confident that community organizing and democracy has a strong future here. I look forward to sharing the stories of what I learned here with the homeless people with whom I work, and with my other colleagues. In the U.S. we have models and successes that are January 26, Hungary: Rachel Ramirez with Judit Szollar visiting a homeless shelter in beacons of hope for all of the work that we do, and we are the 8th District of Budapest. lucky. Most people in the U.S. have a feeling that when we come together we can achieve great things for a more equal and just society. These lessons are still crystallizing here in Europe. I want the people in my work and community to know that we have a big responsibility to keep up our end of this bargain, because we have colleagues here on the other side of the ocean that are working against waves of doubt and discouragement for a better world. I am committed to continuing to support this European process.”
January 27, Hungary: 8-member of the 3rd U.S. Mentors delegation get know each other on their first dinner together at the Oliva restaurant in Budapest.
Michael Tierney, Charleston, West Virginia Step by Step “It has been a privilege to spend time seeing all stages of community organizing during my three weeks in Eastern Europe. I had hosted Jolana Natherova and Marcela Beresova in October in West Virginia and had the pleasure of seeing them in action as well as meet their colleagues and a score of others dedicated to lasting social change in Slovakia and Hungary. So many people stand out ranging from young people making their first efforts (Hungarian students, Slovakian teenagers getting conflict resolution training to bridge the gap between Roma and majority cultures) to seasoned community members seeking new skills. I think particularly of Csaba Szikra, a young Jewish organizer who considers the street his “office” and who is helping to revive a vibrant synagogue in Budapest’s eighth district…a young woman in Miskolc who after being denied a job because she is Roma is ready to run for the minority council…the vibrant, hardworking staff of the housing project Kotwa in Banska-Bystrica, that engage families who remain optimistic as they spend as many as four years in a single room… grassroots groups across the region strategizing for short term victories and long term campaigns…our ambassador in Slovakia noting that his “boss” (President Obama) is a veteran community organizer and affirming what a difference it has made that Secretary Clinton has consistently January 25, 2013, Hungary: Michael Tiermet with NGO’s in her travels through the region. ney on meeting with university and high But I was most struck by a visit with Jolana Natherova school students interested in community to one of the families she supports in her role with Hope for organizing at a workshop in Budapest. Children. Adelka (who gave me permission to share her story) and her six brothers and sisters were separated in orphanages across the country when their mother died. I don’t think there were even two of them in the same institution. Today, Adelka lives with her husband (that she also met in the orphanage), a thriving young daughter and one of her brothers. A friend from the same orphanage (who was non-Roma) was visiting (and staying with Adelka’s family) while she gets established in Banska Bystrica. Adelka has tracked down all of her siblings and helped all but one find a place to live in Banska Bystrica. My sense is that she has helped a number of other friends from the orphanage she grew up in do the same. As we talk about community organizing here, I keep thinking of these natural leaders as the ones to invest in for social change. It reminds me of a woman I met in Mississippi in the 1990s who said she looked for leaders in the January 27, 2013, Hungary: Michael Tiertough community she worked in by noticing who broke up ney and Genevieve Lysen experiencing the fights in the pickup basketball games that unemployed train ride - travel to Miskolc by train from men engaged in to pass the time. In West Virginia I like to Keleti train station in Budapest. notice what people look out for other people’s children as well as their own on the playground or at a community gathering. That combination of empathy, negotiation skills, and juggling personalities is what helps people survive and, if channeled, is the beginning of social change. And Eastern Europe is full of people blessed with these gifts and ready to make use of any skills we can share across our nations.”
Christine Doby, Flint, Michigan Charles Stewart Mott Foundation “Just before leaving Michigan to participate in this professional exchange program, I met with a Detroiter who runs a recycling business here and had been working with community-based organizations in India. Who would have thought there’d be a connection to Slovakia? But there it was: clear parallels between the organizing story he told me about poor residents of India and what I saw going on with poor residents of Slovakia, all of whom are all trying to get a simple, municipal task done well and on time: pick up the trash. The encounter in Slovakia reminded me once again that the basic methodologies of community organizing in democratic societies work anywhere and everywhere. While the practices need to be adjusted to the local culture and economic reality, the basic methodology is universally translatable and transmissible: build relationships of trust and reciprocity, identify the problems that enough people are willing to work on, do the research to find partners and responsible parties, design a campaign, and take action. Looks easy on paper but it’s hard in practice, which is why this exchange program is so very important. I know that I am an incredibly fortunate woman to have been selected to participate in the Professional Fellows delegation to Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania. What I learned from the people who are embracing and implementing organiz- January 27, 2013, Hungary: Christine Doby ing in these still-emerging democracies will inform and in- at the workshop on “Alternative Fundraising from a Funder Perspective” at the Kapspire my work in the States for the rest of my life.” tar in Budapest.
Kayla Mason, Detroit, Michigan Harriet Tubman Center “Being a part of the Citizen Legislative Advocacy program was a transformative experience. I met with organizations in Romania and Hungary who are helping underserved communities address systemic issues. On the plane to Europe, my understanding of community organizing approached issues on a local level, addressing concerns of neighborhoods and residents. But now, I see a bigger picture. These systems of oppression relating to crime, poverty, and unemployment exist in the United States, but also in cities like Bucharest, Szeged, Budapest, and many other places. The importance of this exchange program is helping communities understand how to move forward when faced with numerous challenges. I see a need for international movements so organizers can have understanding, additional support, and further resources. This is something I never thought about before the program, but I have made a commitment to myself and organizations in Europe, to work on an international youth movement and it is because January 25, 2013, Hungary: Kayla Mason of the exchange program that my eyes were opened to a with Rachel Ramirez and Ramon Perez in new area of community organizing.” Budapest.
Genevieve Lysen, Lewiston, Maine Maine People's Alliance “The work I did in Hungary and Bulgaria, visiting and training dozens of NGOs and community groups, has left me feeling inspired, humbled and committed to helping to make change in this part of the world. The most interesting and inspiring experience during my time in Hungary was meeting with an emerging Roma organization in Bocs, outside of Miskolc. It was so exciting to see Kristina Molnar, who I hosted at Maine People’s Alliance last fall, in action! Clearly she has started to apply some of what she learned in the U.S. and has brought together a group of Roma to identify the most urgent problems in their community. In the first meeting of the group the community members and leaders shared stories, identified common issues, and began to think about where to focus their energies and to craft a campaign. The following day we returned and trained a sub set of the larger group on the importance and power of the vote, holding elected officials accountable and how to craft and document your personal narrative to affect policy change. Some of the hardships that Roma communities like Bőcs face are unthinkable and there are ample opportunities for the application of community organizing theories and strategies. It will be so exciting to see what this group in Bocs will accomplish, consult from the United States when I am asked, and follow their work deep into the future. I am confident that I met some of the people that will be the leaders of making change in their community, village, county and country. The training with the student network in Budapest was a stimulating one. The students in Hungary are already employing community organizing January 31, 2013, Hungary: Genevieve strategies and tactics to fight back against cuts to higher Lysen at the presentation “Community Oreducation and changes to the system that do not put the ganizing in the U.S.” for university stustudents or faculty first. The network has proved that they dents studying community development in are able to mobilize thousands to take to the streets to fight Budapest. for their issues and it was a privilege to work with them. I was able to walk through what it takes to craft a campaign plan - students were excited to have a tool to organize their thoughts on their Vision, Goals, Strategies, Tactics and Operations. In the face of powerful and moneyed opposition this network of students has and will continue to defend and improve the higher education system for students in Hungary. I am coming away from the experience a better trainer more able to think on my feet and adapt to changing environments, political contexts and issues. I have learned a great deal from the people that I have met and built relationships with here, and my experiences through this exchange will inform and enhance my work in the United States. I take home so many memories, connections, learning and relationships built, and for every one of them I am grateful.” Genevieve Lysen and Hannah Gelder with Emil Metodiev and the selected participants of the Spring and Fall 2013 Bulgarian Delegation in Sofia.
Hannah Gelder, Chicago, Illinois Lakeview Action Coalition “I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to have participated in the organizing exchange between the United States and countries in Eastern Europe. In addition to hosting 5 individuals from Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, I was fortunate to spend two weeks in Hungary and one week in Bulgaria. This exchange allowed me to make connections with people engaged in the struggle for justice around the world and think critically about participatory democracy, governing and economic models. Our hosts in Hungary and Bulgaria developed a rigorous agenda that exposed us to a wide variety of methods being used for social change in those countries. I learned about different models of justice work and was challenged to think how the lessons we’ve learned from community organizing in the States could be applied in the political, social and economic contexts in those countries. We have a long history of democracy in the US and there are many examples of what People Power has accomplished – from repaved streets to civil rights. Democracy is only 25 years old in those countries and people are learning how to build an active civil society. To me, this seems like a prime time to learn the methods of community organizing so there can be a vibrant and true democracy. My experiences with the NGOs in these countries reminded me that people experience oppression all around the world. Marginalized and disenfranchised communities everywhere are forced to deal with racism, unemployment, access to health care, homelessness, and a growing divide between the haves and the have-nots, to name a few of the problems. I think the Hungarians and the Bulgarians were surprised to learn that conditions are just as bad in some communities in the States as they are in their countries. Coming from a background in community organizing in Chicago, I was excited to share ideas and examples of methods we’ve used to build people power and develop leadership skills in grassroots leaders in order to create change. From my conversations, I learned that many of the problems they are facing, seem to February 7, 2013, Bulgaria: Hannah Gelder at the meeting with youth of the ARETE Youth have arisen since the end of communism, especially Foundation in Sofia. unemployment, access to health care and homelessness. These problems are even more prevalent in Roma communities. Considering all of these are major problems in the United States, especially in communities of color, I felt challenged to think about what economic and governing systems will help to ensure all human rights are met, while also ensuring people have the freedoms and liberties we enjoy in the United States. I feel reenergized about my work in the United States, and recommitted to this model of social change. On a personal level as an American Jew, it was a moving experience for me to visit countries that were part of the Axis Powers during World War II. Unfortunately, the extreme right wing, racist, anti-Semitic parties are growing in popularity in these countries. In meeting with my Jewish peers, they each had stories of experiences with anti-Semitism. It has been a privilege to grow up in communities in the United States where I have not experienced those sentiments. I truly believe it is my duty, as a Jewish person to be fighting for justice and the liberation of all oppressed people. My community knows too well what happens when people and communities are divided and pitted against one another. I strongly believe we need to be building strong communities that celebrate their shared humanity rather than focusing on their differences. And to do this, we must be fighting for everyone’s human rights, developing grassroots leaders, and building People Power. I am excited to continue my work in the United States and to support the work being done around the world. Exchange programs like this are crucial for this justice network to be built.
Ramon Perez, Toledo, Ohio One Village Council “I am very grateful for GLC/WSOS and the opportunity the program gave me to meet organizers, apprentice organizers and residents from Szeged and Budapest in Hungary and Bucharest of Romania in Eastern Europe. Changing the world one city or village at a time is possible. The people in Timisoara, Romania proved that in 1989. There are many more examples of this around the globe including the U.S.A. I believe this program will help hundreds if not thousands of people believe, no matter where they live, that they themselves can improve their social, economic, and political circumstances so that everyone around them has equal opportunities for a better life. I have been staying in touch with my new friends to ensure that we keep using February 2, 2013, Romania: Ramon Perez best practices and also finding new ways together to bring presented at the workshop with the CeRe’s community organizing staff in Bucharest. social justice and change where ever it is needed.”
Jade Souza, Portland, Oregon Poverty Initiative “I was involved in this exchange as a mentor, but these 3 weeks in Europe has provided invaluable professional experience and knowledge for me as an American community organizer as well. Through this program I have learned so much about how varying histories, cultures, and conditions affect the way people work for democracy and social change. I have had the chance to meet some true visionaries Romania and Hungary, and I hope this is just the beginning of ongoing mutual exchange between our organizations. While there are many differences in our experiences, we have much in common in the work to unite our communities, bring creative solutions to social problems, and inform the public policies that affect us. We received such great feedback from the dozens of NGOs and hundreds of people who attended our workshops and consultations. The interest in this work in Eastern Europe is tremen- January 28, Romania: Jade Souza and Radous and inspiring. I am honored to have been a part of chel Ramirez with awesome participants this amazing project! I return home with renewed hope, in the after-school program for Roma stunew ideas, and a worldview that includes many new com- dents in Timisoara. munities far from me.”
Sponsored by the U.S. State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of Citizen Exchanges, Professional Fellows Division. Organized by Great Lakes Consortium for International Training and Development with its collaborating partners in Europe: CEGA in Bulgaria, CeRe in Romania, CKO in Slovakia and CCF in Hungary