A-Infos (en) Ireland, Dublin, Seomra Spraoi opens new autonomous social centre*.

They'd never gone away y'know ---- We haven't gone away, ya know ---- Seomra 
Spraoi is back. After 10 long Seomra-less months a new home has been found, and 
work is underway to transform the space into a fully functioning social centre. 
A lot has changed since being forced from our last space. We've been pretty busy 
too. ---- Since moving out of our last address (at Mary's Abbey), we've been 
kept busy organising Ireland's first social centre gathering, hosted a large 
talk at the Dublin Anarchist Bookfair, and ran lots of fundraising gigs/quizzes. 
We've provided catering, kids' activities & entertainment at the Grassroots 
Gathering, organised a beach party, several people's kitchens & kids days. We've 
also restructured our working groups & learnt a lot about fire safety.

Not to mention scouring Dublin for a suitable new premises, (some of which we've 
added pictures below for) an experience which only compounded for us just how 
difficult it is to access space in our city. We've also contributed to the 2008 
publication '"What's this place?" a booklet with stories from radical social 
centres in the United Kingdom and Ireland at 
http://socialcentrestories.wordpress.com/

In October our search came to an end when we moved into 10 Belvedere Court, just 
off Gardiner St., in Dublin's North inner city. This two storey building is 
ideal for all sorts of cultural and political activities, but we're still 
missing one crucial component: you!

The new Seomra Spraoi wants to be an active hub of positive action. As billions 
of our taxes are spent covering the bets of banks, it's the elderly, students, 
those on welfare and ordinary workers that now have to bear the brunt of 
recession. There never has been a time in recent years where the naked ugliness 
of capital has been so obviously on display. You know that's shit, but now's 
your chance to do something about about it.. We want it to be a space where all 
can develop some of the skills and tools needed to dismantle capitalism, a space 
and project to help take back control of our own lives, shape our own fates and 
that of the city we live in. We want to turn this (for now) empty building into 
a hub of Do It Yourself activity
Dublin needs alternatives to the exploitative, boring, melancholic reality that 
too often characterises life in the city. Seomra Spraoi is an open experiment in 
non-hierarchical organisation and another way to live, work, resist, and create 
right now. So if you want to organise a workshop, exhibit some art, start a 
revolution, screen a film, hold a talk, develop a community based-project or 
explore the possibilities and politics of social centres then get involved in 
the brand new Seomra Spraoi. It's not about waiting for things to happen, but 
about making them happen. Already many groups using the space are doing just that.

At present our new building hosts activities, meetings, & activities for Choice 
Ireland, Revolutionary Anarcha-feminist Group, Shell to Sea, Workers Solidarity 
Movement, Irish Climate Camp, & the Soupstone Kindergarten, as well as all the 
Seomra Spraoi Working groups. Whilst the building is a bit of a building site 
right now, we have two fully functional meeting spaces and we hope, with your 
help, to be up and running by Christmas

Our new building needs a serious makeover: walls to be built, others to be 
knocked down, a kitchen to be constructed, a café space to be opened – maybe 
even a garden to grow. We've held out to get a building with ground floor & wide 
doors & aim to make the building accessible with the addition of whellchair 
ramps & toilet for disabled people. To make all this happen we need to get stuck 
into some serious handy work and we need plenty of skills and equipment. If any 
of this sounds like something you could help with please get in touch at the 
email address below. So, whilst the building might have the look of a space 
under going work, we aspire to have that completed by December. Right now though 
we have two large meeting rooms and can host other activites so get in touch.
Seomra Spraoi is a strictly not-for-profit operation, but unfortunately the 
world we're in isn't.  As an anti-capitalist project we seek to separate out the 
financial costs of running and maintaining the building from the range of 
activities and project that happen within it, or that are borne out of it. We 
want to make the relationships between the social centre and the people, groups, 
and others who use/participate in the space to be as undistorted by money as 
possible. We don't depend on a few big donations and we neither get them nor 
look for them. Fundraising remains a part of our activities, a part without 
which the project would simply and realistically not be possible.
We organise regular fundraisers and if you can help by organising a gig, 
exhibition, or table quiz – or something else entirely – this is a massive 
contribution. The other two ways to contribute financially are through the 
PayPal system on our website ( www.seomraspraoi.org ) or by taking out a 
standing order. By setting up a standing order, for even a small amount, you 
help the project become more stable and effective. It might seem like a very 
little amount of money but it's a bit like the little fish - big fish idea. The 
project is part of a grassroots movement, and that is a strength we want to 
build upon and encourage. The project's desire to remain strong and autonomous 
is made real by sharing out the responsibility for making it so.
Signing up for even a small sum each month affords the project a much needed 
element of stability. We reckon if we can get 100 people contributing €20 a 
month, Seomra Spraoi's finacial future would be guaranteed – which means we 
could really get down to the business of making an alternative, open-to-all 
social space in the heart of Dublin. If you'd like to set up a satnding order 
contact us at seomraspraoi@gmail.com


But of course, the most important thing to do is to GET DOWN AND GET INVOLVED 
WITH THE NEW SEOMRA SPRAOI

We're still busy getting the building in ship-shape, but we'll publicise regular 
opening hours as soon as we can. In the meantime, however, we want to enable 
anyone who wants to check the place out and think up plans and projects to fill 
it with, and turn it into a thriving social centre and a real alternative in 
Dublin. Just email us at seomraspraoi@gmail.com, and keep an eye on our website 
( www.seomraspraoi.org ) and our MySpace (www.myspace.com/seomraspraoi )  and of 
course Indymedia.ie for news of upcoming events.

Seomra Spraoi Aims and Principles. Below these are principles that are in the 
process of being discussed and agreed

Aims

To create self-managed, autonomous social spaces in
Dublin. The purposes for which are to:-

Provide safe, positive space, enabling people to be informed about and empowered 
through engagement in struggles for a more just, equitable & sustainable society.
Provide resources for, and facilitate the needs of activists and campaign 
groups, enabling them to meet, discuss, plan, create links, recuperate, 
strengthen, consolidate, re-energise, and develop new ideas.
Provide an environment in which people can access, create, play, and enjoy, 
music, art, theatre, film, poetry, etc; exploring and integrating ideas of 
creativity with activism.
Demonstrate and promote viable alternatives to the profit-making, hierarchical 
power structures and social relations of capitalism - based on grassroots direct 
democracy, co-operation, consensus, non-profit, social justice and environmental 
sustainability
To promote and support people having democratic control of their lives and the 
world around them, their workplace, communities etc.

Principles

< Autonomy and self-management >
Seomra Spraoi aims to run independently of local authority, government, church, 
business, or other controlling body. It is managed collectively by the people 
who use it.

< Openness and inclusion >
Seomra Spraoi seeks to be open and inclusive, providing a space that is 
welcoming to everyone irrespective of age, race, ethnic background, gender, 
class, sexuality and ability. We encourage - and aim to provide equal access to 
- participation in Seomra Spraoi.

< Horizontal (non-hierarchical) organising >
Seomra Spraoi believes in organising without leaders or bosses, and in everyone 
having an equal say. When power is shared equally in a group, it can be more 
effective and sustainable - as well as empowering - for all involved.

< Collective decision making >
We reach decisions by consensus, as far as practically possible. Consensus 
decision-making is about trying to find common ground and solutions that are 
acceptable to all. This attempts to ensure that everyone's opinions, ideas and 
concerns in Seomra Spraoi are taken into account.

< Co-operation and mutual aid >
In a world dominated by competition and conflict, we believe that working 
together, sharing knowledge, skills and resources, and helping each other out, 
builds strong communities and networks of support and friendship.

< Not for profit >
Seomra Spraoi is a not for-profit collective. Fixed bikes, food and drinks, 
information, books, internet access and meeting space are available either for 
free or in return for donations. We strive to make our activities genuinely 
affordable - and accessible - to all.

< Environmental Sustainability >
In an effort to minimise the ecological damage we cause, Seomra Spraoi tries to 
reuse/recycle as much as possible. From reused furniture, bike and computer 
parts to recycling our rubbish, an ecologically sustainable outlook is 
fundamental to Seomra Spraoi.

Principles currently being disscussed

All that happens at Seomra Spraoi is made possible by people freely giving their 
time and sharing the work of organising a social centre. With no wages or bosses 
involved, it's a
different kind of work. People contribute what and when they can. We work 
together to our collective goals, and on our own terms.

Seomra Spraoi is anti authoritarian, opposing the perpetual waste and 
exploitation generated by today's capitalist system and proposing one where 
everyone has a say in decisions that affect their lives in a spirit of mutual 
aid rather than competition. We support the people who struggle alongside us for 
real democracy everywhere.

Direct action means refusing to be a spectator, or waiting for someone else to 
do it for us. It is about taking back control of our lives and realising our 
potential to bring about change.

Some useful links
Ireland's first Social Center Gathering  - http://www.indymedia.ie/article/86848
Hidden History of social centres in Ireland   http://www.indymedia.ie/article/87044
What's this place?  http://socialcentrestories.wordpress.com/

Links to some of the groups and links that use the space. Check out what they 
get up to!
RAG. http://ragdublin.blogspot.com/
WSM http://www.wsm.ie
Shell to Sea http://www.corribsos.com
Choice Ireland http://choiceireland.blogspot.com/
Revolt video http://revoltvideo.blogspot.com/
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http://www.indymedia.ie/article/89823
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* An antiauthoritarian anticapitalist initiative
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