The Occupation Cookbook, or the Model of the Occupation of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb (2009/2011) [Croatian/English]

The Occupation Cookbook is a “manual” that describes the organization of the student occupation of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences that took place in the spring of 2009 and lasted for 35 days. It was written for two reasons: to record what happened, and to present the particular organization of this action in such a way that it may be of use to other activists and members of various collectives if they decide to undertake a similar action.

What does it mean to “occupy” a school? A school occupation is not, as the corporate media like to portray it, a hostile takeover. A school occupation is an action by those who are already its inhabitants – students, faculty, and staff – and those for whom the school exists. (Which is to say for a public institution, the public itself.) The actions termed “occupations” of a public institution, then, are really re-occupations, a renovation and reopening to the public of a space long captured and stolen by the private interests of wealth and privilege. The goal of this renovation and reopening is to inhabit school spaces as fully as possible, to make them truly habitable – to make the school a place fit for living. – Marc Bousquet, from the Introduction

Originally published in the Croatian as Blokadna kuharica ili kako je izgledala blokada Filozofskog fakulteta u Zagrebu by Center for Anarchist Studies, Zagreb, November 2009
Written by students of Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Zagreb
Translated by Drago Markiša
Introduction by Marc Bousquet
Foreword by Boris Buden
Released by Minor Compositions, London/New York/Port Watson, April 2011
ISBN 978-1-57027-218-9
82 pages

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Daniel Domscheit-Berg: Inside WikiLeaks: My Time at the World’s Most Dangerous Website (2011)

What has been made public so far about WikiLeaks is only a small fraction of the truth. With his insider knowledge, Daniel Domscheit-Berg is uniquely able to tell the full story.

Since its launch in 2006, WikiLeaks has rapidly grown into the most powerful and influential whistleblowing organisation ever. Its status as a repository and publisher of leaked sensitive and confidential documents — while preserving the anonymity and untraceability of its contributors — as well as the statements and behaviour of its leader, Julian Assange, have made WikiLeaks daily front-page news and a topic of enormous controversy.

In this eye-opening account, Daniel Domscheit-Berg, who joined WikiLeaks in its early days and became its spokesman, reveals never-disclosed details about the inner workings of the organisation that has struck fear into governments and businesses worldwide. He also provides a remarkably up-close portrait of Julian Assange himself.

Under the pseudonym Daniel Schmitt, Domscheit-Berg was effectively No. 2 at WikiLeaks and the organisation’s most public face after Julian Assange. In this book, he tells the backstories of major leaks, and reveals the evolution, finances, and inner tensions of the whistleblower organisation, beginning with his first meeting with Assange in December 2007. He also describes what led to his September 2010 withdrawal from WikiLeaks, including his disenchantment with the organisation’s lack of transparency, its abandonment of political neutrality, and Assange’s increasing concentration of power.

Publisher Scribe Publications, 2011
ISBN 1921844051, 9781921844058
305 pages

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VideoChronic: Video Activism and Video Distribution in Indonesia (2009)

VideoChronic publication is the result of a collaborative research project charting how activists are engaging with video technologies in Indonesia, addressing some of the issues of technology-mediated social movements, and exploring the potential and limitations of online video distribution.

The past decade in Indonesia has seen a dramatic increase in the use of video as a social change tool by community, campaign and activist organisations. Access to the tools for producing video have become increasingly democratised over this period, and rapidly adopted. Since the fall of Suharto’s New Order regime, space has been opened up for a host of new media projects to emerge. Individuals and organisations dealing with issues such as the environment, human rights, queer and gender issues, cultural pluralism, militarism, poverty, labour rights, globalisation and more have embraced video as a tool to communicate with both their bases and new audiences.

What groups are currently active in producing social and environmental video in the archipelago? What are the histories of that work? How is it currently being distributed? How are activists thinking they might approach distribution in the future?

Key researchers: Ferdiansyah Thajib M.A. and Nuraini Juliastuti M.Sc.
Project Manager & Editor: Andrew Lowenthal
Publisher: KUNCI Cultural Studies Center and EngageMedia, Nov 2009
ISBN: 978-0-646-52000-1
140 pages
Licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share-Alike 2.5 Australia

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