All the Rage: organising at work

Janine will run a workshop on organising at work at All the Rage, an annual socialist feminist one-day event.

All the Rage agenda

11:00am – 12:15pm All the Rage Plenary: Feminism and the Rise of the Far Right

Speakers: Sian Norris, author of ‘Bodies under Siege’; Kavita Krishnan, author of ‘Fearless Freedom’

From the US to India, Brazil to Poland, and here in the UK as well, the ‘culture war’ is shifting politics to the right across the world. The main targets of the ‘new far right’ are migrants, trans people and women.

Join our plenary session to hear about the religious right networks funding anti-abortion, anti-trans projects and to discuss how we fight back and build a politics of solidarity in their place.

12:15pm – 1:15pm Lunch

Cheap vegetarian and vegan food available and kids’ picnic.

1:15pm – 5:00pm All the Rage Practical sessions suitable for children and adults

Alongside talks and workshops, we will be organising some informal practical sessions – banner and placard making, lego building and zine creation.

These sessions aim to bring variety and accessibility to the event and will be open to adults and children.

If you don’t want to join talks and workshop-based sessions for the whole event, if you have kids with you and want to muck in with them, if you find discussing ideas while using your hands useful, you can fully participate here.

People with kids often find it difficult to attend political events – and women are often marginalised from politics because of this. There are many examples of women organising to counter this in the socialist movement, we want to build on those.

There will be a staffed creche at the event in addition to these practical, child-friendly sessions. Please make sure you let us know in advance if you are bringing children by writing to: [email protected].

1:15pm – 2:25pm All the Rage Workshop: Organising for Trans Liberation

The past decade has seen a ramping up of transphobic rhetoric and policy. This has come from both the right and the left.

In government, Labour has continued both the blanket ban on puberty blockers and hostile education guidance calling on schools to out trans and gender-questioning students to their parents.

This workshop will discuss these issues and consider the way forward to comprehensive trans healthcare and inclusive education, with a focus on the fight we need to wage in the labour movement.

1:15pm- 2:25pm All the Rage Workshop: Taking Control of Our Work

Janine Booth runs a participatory workshop looking at issues facing women workers and how we can organise to make work better, against employers and against sexism.

We will consider what to do in various scenarios, and participants can add their own.

2:45pm – 3:45pm All the Rage Plenary: Building Solidarity Not Borders. Defend Migrants’ Rights!

Ewa Pospieszynska, Labour Campaign for Free Movement; Zimbabwe Women

The hostile environment is flourishing under the Labour government. The Rwanda scheme was scrapped, but raids have stepped up, detention goes on, and basic rights to work, decent housing, healthcare and to family life, all continue to be denied.

Meanwhile, migrant workers are organising, and anti-raids campaigns are growing. Women are at the forefront of this work.

This session will discuss these issues and plan practical solidarity.

3:45pm – 4:15pm Break

4:15pm – 5:25pm All the Rage Workshop: The War on Woke

Professor Cath Fletcher

What is the ‘war on woke’ and how should feminists respond to it? This interactive workshop is a chance to discuss the latest developments in an ongoing ‘culture war’ that has seen attacks internationally ranging from closures of gender studies programmes to bans on teaching critical race theory.

We’ll look at a range of scenarios drawn from real life to explore different campaigning options, and consider where the right to free speech fits into this debate.

4:15pm – 5:25pm All the Rage Workshop: The Fight for Freedom in the Middle East

In Iran, 45 years of theocratic government have oppressed women and driven the left underground. In Israel, the far right runs the government. In Gaza, a genocide is underway.

Many of the forces touted as “resistance movements” on the western left – Hezbollah and Hamas – are themselves right-wing religious groups.

But across the middle east, there are movements aiming to build an alternative to the politics of racism, ethnic segregation and the religious right. Feminists are at the heart of this.

In this session, we will hear from Palestinian, Iranian and Israeli speakers directly involved in events, and discuss the struggle for freedom across the region. We will hear from:

• Azadeh Neman, Iranian feminism and trade unionist
• Ella Keidar, 17-year old Israeli military refuser
• Rula Daood, Palestinian National Co-Director of Standing Together

5:25pm – 6:00pm All the Rage Plenary: Labour in Power – What Next for Class Struggle Feminism?

The new government is already proving an unreliable ally of progressives – let alone socialists or socialist feminists.

Keir Starmer has ruthlessly attacked the left, and gone to great lengths to cut himself off from accountability including from the wider labour movement. On migration, trans rights, austerity and many other touchstone issues, Starmer shows little sign of breaking with the policy of the outgoing Tory administration.

But the election of a Labour government also presents opportunities that we cannot afford to miss. Most major unions are affiliated to the governing party, and can – if they are moved to by their members – have an impact. So what should we demand, and how can we win?

For All the Rage information and tickets, click here.