RuralC at the II Encuentro Cultura y Ciudadanía

During the days 13 and 14 of October 2016 we were in the II Encuentro Cultura Ciudadanía

In 2016 the the Meeting focuses on a polyhedral reality, with multiple semantic drifts: the TERRITORY. This necessarily includes the sphere of the local, but it also implies a relational dimension that emphasizes the exchanges, negotiations, intersections and flows that occur or strike in a given cultural space. Beyond the city or municipality, culture is also expressed through spaces of encounter and fabrics of relationships that surpass and transcend the strictly local. Peers as center-periphery, global-local or urban-rural reject any absolute or antagonistic character, and appear rather as ambiguous and polysemic realities, in constant redefinition, based not so much on defining attributes as on relations and processes. Territory is also a flexible reality in spatial and symbolic terms, which can be expanded or contracted according to specific moments, circumstances and interests. 

The meeting was articulated as a dynamic forum with presentations and interventions of 10/15 minutes of about 200 projects. Also themed tables and performances. Our presentation was inside the table Rural Urban Dialogues, Global Local, moderated by Fernando Bayona.We told the origins of the RuralC association and some of the projects we have development, contributing our vision of how we think culture could help to face the challenges that are presented to the rural. 
Here we leave the slide of our presentation:

We also leave you some of the notes, tweets and projects presented:

Notes/tweets:

_  Facilitate processes and not events. (Alfredo _Fundación Cerezales)
_ Understand rural times and work from the rural. 
_ That the state guarantees the autonomy of the commons. (Lucas_Zemos98)
_ To understand the playful way of making a city.
_ Making objects as an excuse to make community.
_ Social challenges from scientific questions (@CCiutadana)

Projecto:

Fundación Cerezales and its "Terriotorio Archivo",  a project to learn a lot from the rural initiatives.

Katakrak is defined as a political enterprise, the time of work is dedicated to social transformation. 
It develops on a library and as it is ordered around cross-sections such as: body, ecology, feminisms or geopolitics to become a space that generates community.
With a canteen that establishes relationships around products of closeness and organic production, with prices varying according to your purchasing level.

Carles presented us Les Falles Populars i Combatives, a proposal for an open and self-organized party born in 2002, the result of the combined work of various groups of the city of Valencia. They have been consolidated as a space in which to recover the popular spirit of the fallas, giving life to the squares, the solar (through the Xunta Solar Fallera) and the networks. During his presentation he reminded us how National Catholicism instrumented these popular festivals of a critical nature, such as the left and the libertarian movements reneged during decades of this party that belonged to them, and how gradually the self-management of the feast is recovered from the communities and outside of institutions and multinationals.

Alberto presented us El recetario a platform that freely shares documentation and manuals on constructive solutions for Habitat from Waste (Hábitat a partir de Residuos).

Fernando presented us the Festival de Video Creative Commons, A festival that has been replicated by different cities, and that you can also copy.  It began with the Creative Commons licenses and has become a space for dialogue, knowledge and defense of Free Culture and audiovisual as a tool for criticism and transformation of our environment.

María Lobo and Roi presented us Rec Think. A web-doc with young people from rural areas in process of depopulation in four European countries. It seeks to involve them in a process to re-think and redefine their role in the future of these localities. Participatory video is the methodology used.
They release the code of all their methodology, offering Guides on the implementation of innovative strategies that promote the participation of young people in rural environments, on Participatory Video or on the promotion of transversal competences in rural environments.

We leave you a video of this project, which reflects the number of problems we face from the rural:

+ Photo album of the meeting by José Jurado _ RuralC on facebook.

We do not want to forget about the intense performance "Viva La guerra" Postverdiales, from the collective LOOPAI.

Cuerpo Astral in Atardeceres no Gaiás 2016

Last 11 of August we act with Cuerpo Astral
within the programming of Atardeceres no Gaiás 2016
at Cidade da Cultura of Santiago de Compostela .

We leave you some pictures of the performance made by
Raúl Abeledo:

!Agitation

In this lecture we present several performance models as a starting point to create cultural events and networks. We show several Fur Alle Falle projects, the keys for the realization and the results obtained.

About !Agitation, cultural dynamization and creation of networks.

For us, !Agitating is to make changes, dynamizing cultural and social structures.
Cultural Agitation is to promote active citizenship, capable of carrying out their own cultural projects.

Cultural agitator works as a link and initial motor of a network, promoting the participation of local actors in the creative process

The work of the agitator

Building tools, resources and innovative models. Teaching guidelines for reproducing this models, so that groups of citizens could learn and adapt to their circumstances and their evolution.
Updating or re-inventing spaces for use.

Improving the working methods of the groups.
Creating projects based on sustainability and self management (through the exchange of goods and services).

The work should contribute to the commons.

It´s not a "cultural animator". It must lead to changes and propose solutions to ideological or aesthetic problems.

It is not an "activist" because its function is not only political or social, is also aesthetics, acting on leisure (although it is hard not to be political).

Institutional or independent.
Being a cultural agitator out of the industry and institutions is complex, often not recognized as professional work and often not remunerated.

Many times cultural agitators are rejected or condemned because of the fact of causing changes that generate crisis (of power, ideas, etc).

In industry, the agitator could be a publicist or a community-manager. Institutionally, he would be a culture or social issues technician or councilor. Cultural agitator should spend time with citizens groups, to find common interests.

He should know the creative potential and the different skills of the members of their community. Then, to promote activities on these interests and abilities, creating knowledge sharing and social and cultural activity.

Voluntary or Involuntary
The agitator has to move structures that seem irremovable.

There are many cases where cultural agitation happens involuntarily, often caused by media or political interests. Check the #vigalondo case some weeks ago. Suddenly because of an ingenious tweet, some people thought about the limits of humor, censorship, and the use of social-networks tools. Another example is our project www.finisgloriaemundi.wordpress.com.

But this is another issue.

Scope
The models we show, stimulate the socio-cultural life of a community and create networks. Focus on sharing the nearest creative potential of your environment and your social-network.
The results of our actions are observed in a medium and long term. They are presented as products, speeches, lectures, events, happenings or performances.

Projets we show in the conference are:
Kitsch Kitchen
Torneo Passion
Kafé tà Kabaré
Ruralc