Building Democracy in Western Mass
A participatory retreat on shifting power from corporations to citizens in the Pioneer Valley & Berkshires

Special Retreat Facilitators:

Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap: Measure T campaign coordinator (working with David Cobb), Humboldt County, California

Fresh off her recent Measure T victory banning non-local corporate campaign donations and asserting citizen authority over corporations in Humboldt County, California. She will share her skills and help us develop strategies to connect our local issues & campaigns throughout our region.

Ward Morehouse: Shays 2; POCLAD (Program on Corporations, law and Democracy)

Co-founder of Shays 2 and co-founder and current member of POCLAD (Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy) will share the 12 years of national anti-corporate democracy work that has spawned similar grass roots movements around the country.

This retreat is organized by Shays 2:

Shays 2: The Western Massachusetts Committee on Corporations & Democracy is a grassroots organization working through education and peaceful action to strip corporations of powers, that have been usurped from we the people, in the law. We are committed to working in the Pioneer Valley & the Berkshires, the historic region of Shays Rebellion, as part of a growing, nationwide movement to build real democracy in America.

Fees: Sliding Scale

TWO DAYS: $75 to $125*
ONE DAY: $50 to $100*
Saturday night overnight accommodations at Sirius: $25 to $40 (includes breakfast)

Fees include materials, the POCLAD classic book Defying Corporations, Defining Democracy, snacks and lunches on Saturday and Sunday

Meals are organic, vegetarian, and mostly local. Overnight accomodations, additional dinners, and breakfast are also available onsite for small additional fees. Please let us know your needs when you register.

*Additional donations are gratefully accepted to enable lower income participants to be involved

For more information or to register:

Email: info@shays2.org
Phone: (413) 584-0722

The "Building Democracy" retreat will help us explore together how we can reclaim our rights to democratic self-governance, and why democracy is impossible when corporations wield so much power. We create a culture of solidarity among our own Western Mass local citizens -- organizers, local business people, community activists, and working people -- by examining strategies to fight corporate dominance in Western Mass., and address proven ways to fight corporate dominance at home. Such connections provide fertile ground for local empowerment and region-wide efforts to challenge corporate rule.