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My translation may not be exact, but I found what I read to be quite horrifying: "The 20 round tables are ordered around seven thematic axes: restructuring through the processes of capital, educational practices of geography, Brazil in Latin America, social movements and resistances, nature and society, geographical wisdom and social struggles, languages and technologies. Additionally, working groups meet in session to undertake mini-courses and to open spaces where the groups can share their research….. The 100 dialogue and practice spaces are worth a special mention where around 3,000 papers are debated horizontally, with a strong emphasis on the most recent social struggles and politics now that the encounter takes place every two years… All things considered, it was an encounter in which social militants and dedicated professionals participated…. For those amongst us who were not university students and who felt a certain discomfort towards uncommitted academic outputs, the Encuentro Nacional de Geografos revealed itself to be a democratic and highly politicized space, where the final decisions were taken in assembly. It was a movement which rejected a profoundly dominant individualism fed by a “common sense” that considers the university as a social ladder rather than a service to the community.” Social struggles? Horizontal debates? participation by 'social militants? A 'democratic and highly politicized space'? Have they learned nothing from the RGS and the AAG? Do they not realize that the best geography is produced in exclusionary, hierarchized assemblies where a self-elected white elite meets discreetly to discuss the future of the discipline? And what about the fees? You can't tell me that they think that letting just *any* riff-raff in is acceptable, with no thought at all for the financial future of the bureaucracy? Dr Jon Cloke LCEDN/MEGS Research Associate Geography Department Loughborough University Loughborough LE11 3TU Office: 01509 228193 Mob: 07984 813681