Report: 6th University 2011, Trevi, Italy

The 6th Summer University, 2011, organized by the European Left party and transform! europe, took place in Trevi, Perugia, in Italy. The hosting party was the Rifondazione Comunista. Simultaneously, the meeting of the Executive Board of the EL took place at the Hotel della Torre, so that members of the Executive Board of EL also

The 6th Summer University, 2011, organized by the European Left party and transform! europe, took place in Trevi, Perugia, in Italy. The hosting party was the Rifondazione Comunista. Simultaneously, the meeting of the Executive Board of the EL took place at the Hotel della Torre, so that members of the Executive Board of EL also took part in the summer university.

“Change Europe, Change the World” was the motto of the event in which about 200 leftist activists from all over Europe gathered to learn from each other, discuss, exchange experiences and build networks. transform! europe also organized a group of volunteers doing highly professional whispering translation in workshops. This made it possible for participants to deepen the discussions in various smaller workshops besides the plenary discussions.

The programme was varied and dense:

The first day was reserved for welcome speeches and first discussions, and also for a presentation of the work and projects of transform! europe.
Under the slogan “Ten Years after Genoa, the Struggle Continues in Europe and the World” there was the presentation of a book on the counter summit and the protests against the G8 and the following repression. “The Hopes Coming from the Squares” was the motto of the session where insights and political assessments of the “indignant movements” in Europe were presented.
Two plenary sessions dealt with “Ways out of the Capitalist Crisis and Left Alternatives in Europe” and the question of the “Markets’ Dictatorship and Left European Strategies”.
One day was dedicated to the “New Revolts and Development of New Internationalism”. The major topic was the situation in Tunisia and Egypt with different perspectives on it being included. This study day was closed with a controversial but friendly discussion on “New Imperialism and Internationalism” with Samir Amin, Harris Golemis and Maite Mola.
The youth organization of Rifondazione Comunista – the Giovani Comunisti, organized the “Youth Plenary”. Activists of each youth organization represented at the summer university were invited to give a short report on the situation of education and precariousness in their respective countries.
On the last day “Media and Democracy” and the responses of the radical Left in Europe were discussed.
Besides the studying sessions, an evening visit to a concert and a day-trip to Assisi were offered and in the evenings the facilities of the hotel were used for music and dancing.