>3.5 Weeks to the Conference! Final Chance for Workshop Proposal!<
>Registration OPEN!<

 

http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org/2009Conference/

Phone: (773)942-2268 | e-mail: info@ImmigrantSolidarity.org

****Student/Low-Income Specials***
http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/2009Conference/registration.htm
[Regular/Organization: $50.00; Student/Low-Income: $35.00]
**for those who cannot afford, family, youth and workers,
we'll offer sliding Scale, No ONE Will Turn Away for Lack of Funds**

Workshop and Speaker Proposals | Campaign Proposals | Tabling
Lists of Workshops

Weekend of Celebration of Immigrant Rights! Friday April 10: Community Action Friday – Saturday April 10 – 11: National Immigrant Rights Film Festival Friday - Sunday April 10 - 12: National Grassroots Immigrant Strategy Conference Saturday April 10: Immigrant Community Town Hall and Cultural Festival (evening) Saturday April 10: Immigrant Conference Benefit After Party (evening) Sunday April 12: Easter Celebration

National Immigrant Solidarity Network (NISN), the leading national immigrant activist network, is calling for 4th National Grassroots Immigrant Strategy Conference and Immigrant Rights Film Festival at the weekend of April 10-12, 2009 on Chicago, IL!

The conference will be our strategy planning meeting for grassroots immigrant activists looking 2009 and beyond. We want to send a clear message to the Congress and our new President: 
Stop Immigrant Raids! Support Immigrant Workers Rights! 

For more information, please visit: http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org/2009Conference/

It's Your Conference! We're accepting your campaign, program, workshops and speakers proposals!

 

Our Focus:
The conference will focus on building multi-ethnic, multi-constituent, broad-based grassroots immigrant rights movements run by de-centralized volunteer-based community-rooted immigrant rights activists from youth, workers and community members who can play more active role on campaign formulation and decision making for local coalition building to organize popular education campaigns, such as: campaign to against immigrant dentition, deportation & raids; immigrant labor rights movement; campaign against local anti-immigrant ordinance; and linking the immigrant rights movement with other struggles, such as: anti-war and anti-globalization movements.

We'll also discuss the lessons from the 2008 election and what we should expect from the new President and the Congress affecting immigrant legislation for the next two years. 

 

Workshops and Strategic Campaign Proposal:
The conference will be focus on the following areas, at the end of the conference, we'll draft a strategic campaign proposal.

- 2008 Elections and How It'll Impact Immigrant Rights Movement
- Linking Immigrant Rights Movements with Other Struggles
- Immigrant Raids, Detention & Deportation
- Immigrant Labor Campaigns and Day Labor Centers
- Housing, Education and Healthcare Rights for the Immigrants
- No to the Border Wall and Militization of the Border
- Strategic Resources for the Immigrant Activists
- Support Local Chicago Grassroots Immigrant Campaigns
- Building a Multi-ethnic, Multi-Constituents-Based Immigrant Rights Movement
- Congressional Immigrant Legislation
- International Immigrant Rights Campaigns

Please contact us: siuhin@aol.com and info@ImmigrantSolidarity.org if you can help us.

In solidarity! Lee Siu Hin
National Coordinator
National Immigrant Solidarity Network

 

Main Events of the Conference

April 10 – 11: National Immigrant Rights Film Festival

Over Dozen Films! The Immigrant Rights Film Festival is part of the activities for the 3-days April 10-12 Chicago, IL National Grassroots Immigrant Strategy Conference.

Time:
Friday April 10 6:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Saturday April 11 10 AM - 5:00 PM

Location: UIC School of Medicine, Chicago, IL

Admission: $3.00

Feature Films

Made in L.A.
(Producer Will Be Coming to Speak at the Film Fest and the Conference)

Directed by: Almudena Carracedo & Robert Behar

View Trailer: http://www.madeinla.com/

Made in L.A. follows the remarkable story of three Latina immigrants working in Los Angeles garment sweatshops as they embark on a three-year odyssey to win basic labor protections from a mega-trendy clothing retailer. In intimate verite style, Made in L.A. reveals the impact of the struggle on each woman’s life as they are gradually transformed by the experience. Compelling, humorous, deeply human, Made in L.A. is a story about immigration, the power of unity, and the courage it takes to find your voice.

 

La Americana
(Chicago Premier! Producer Will Be Coming to Speak at the Film Fest and the Conference)

USA vs Al-Arian
(member of the Al-Arian Family Will be Coming to Speak at the Film Festival!)

Diected by: Line Halvorsen

View Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcV9no5TUwU

In February 2003, university professor and pro-Palestinian civil rights activist Sami Al-Arian was arrested in Tampa, Florida, charged with providing material support to a terror organization. For two-and-a-half years he was held in solitary confinement, denied basic privileges and given limited access to his attorneys. While the Bush administration considered this a landmark case in its campaign against international terrorism, Sami Al-Arian claims he was targeted in an attempt to silence his political views.

The film follows Sami Al-Arian’s wife Nahla and their five children throughout his 6 month-long trial. It is an intimate family portrait that documents the strain brought on by the trial, a battle waged both in court and in the media. In the film a tight-knit family unravels before our very eyes as trial preparations, strategy and spin consume their lives. This is a nightmare come to life, as a man is prosecuted for his beliefs rather than his actions.

The film raises questions on whether it is possible for a man like Sami Al-Arian to receive a fair trial in the United States given the current hostile environment against Muslims and the strong US support of Israel. It presents democracy in a new light in a post-9/11 culture of fear, where "security measures" trump free speech and punishment is meted out in the name of protection. It is an example of how the American government’s hunt for terrorists is a struggle that can be seen from multiple angles.

 

Lost in Haiti
(Producer Will Be Coming to Speak at the Film Fest and the Conference)

 

The Deportee's Wife *Special Live Performance*

By: Giselle Stern Hernández

View Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoJg9Ye3buk

In this solo show, Giselle Stern Hernández’s marriage is laid out on the front lines of the North American immigration debate.  Giselle’s husband, Roberto was deported from Chicago, Illinois back to Mexico in April of 2001.  Giselle moved to Mexico to live with him in August of that same year.  While she was born and raised in the States, and they were legally married, it didn't make a difference at all; her husband was deported anyway, with the order to stay out of the U.S. for twenty years. 

And then there came the day that he wasn't allowed to enter Canada. 

Through music and images, she tells their unforgettable story.  In THE DEPORTEE'S WIFE, Giselle brings a clear, distinctive and personal voice to an issue that's often swept away between sound bites and presidential campaigns. 

Giselle tells you a love story you'll never forget.