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Chris Philo (who is, among many, many other things, editor of the Newsletter of the Social and Cultural Geography Research Group) asked me to provide an update on the Critical Geography Forum for the next newsletter. I'm reproducing below the text which I have sent to Chris and which I hope is a fairly straightforward and uncontroversial account of the forum aimed at those who haven't been subscribers to this e-mail network. If anyone has strong objections to anything I've said please let me know by return, so that I can suggest changes before Chris goes to press. Cheers Joe THE CRITICAL GEOGRAPHY FORUM Many members of the Social and Cultural Geography Research Group and have been involved with (and others will know of) an embryonic network of critical and radical geographers currently known as the Critical Geography Forum. The network emerged in a very informal way during the debate over the merger between the RGS and the IBG, bringing together a wide range of geographers who were unhappy with the idea of the merger an d who wanted to explore alternatives to it. Since then the network has grown and has provided a forum not only for discussion of the merger and its consequences, but also for the communication of id eas on a whole range of subjects related to critical and radical geography. To date, activities have focussed on three areas: 1 INTERNET DISCUSSION GROUP An electronic discussion group has been set up, open (and free) to anyone who has access to electronic mail. The group uses the Mailbase System at the University of Newcastle, which operates as an e -mail mailing list. Once you have subscribed you can contribute to the discussion by sending e-mail to the list. All mail sent to the list is automatically forwarded to all subscribers, and in turn you receive copies of all the messages sent by other subscribers. The system allows almost instantaneous communication between all the subscribers wherever they may be in the world. At the time of writing the group has 215 subscribers throughout the UK and beyond. Topics of discussion are up to the subscribers, but have so far included (among many others) the merger between the RGS and the I BG, corporate sponsorship of the RGS/IBG and the role of Shell in Nigeria, the nature of critical geography, announcements of conferences and calls for papers, and requests for help with teaching and research. If you have access to electronic mail and you wish to join the discussion group send this command message JOIN crit-geog-forum first_name(s) last_name (substituting your own first and last names as appropriate) as the only text of an e-mail message to: [log in to unmask] For example: From: [log in to unmask] To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Message: JOIN crit-geog-forum Jim Bloggs You will automatically receive a message in return which will provide full details of how the system works. If you have any problems please contact: [log in to unmask] 2 FACILITATING ACTION WITHIN THE RGS/IBG Following the execution of the writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and other environmental activists in Nigeria, there was considerable debate about the Shell oil company's twin roles as an oil producer in Nigeria and as a corporate patron of the RGS/IBG. Much of this debate took place on the Critical Geography Forum e-mail discussion group and many participants in that group argued that the RGS/IBG should end the patronage arrangement in the light of concern about Shell's activities in Nigeria. At the RGS/IBG annual conference in January this year a motion to that effect was proposed by David Gilbert ( Royal Holloway) and passed overwhelmingly. At each of the last two Annual Conferences of the RGS/IBG, informal open meetings have taken place under the 'Critical Geography Forum' label to discuss issues of interest to critical and radical geographers, to debate the implications of the merger and its consequences, and to consider possible future activities. 3 PROPOSALS FOR A MORE FORMAL ORGANIZATION Among those attending the Critical Geography Forum meeting at the last RGS/IBG conference there was widespread agreement that it would be good to establish the network in a somewhat more formal fashion. To that end nine of the people attending volunteered to form a working group to consider the mechanics of such a development. In addition, after the conference, there was considerable debate on the subject in the e-mail discussion group. The following draft statement of aims and draft constitution for the network were then circulated for consideration by participants in the discussion group. Draft Statement of Aims The Critical Geography Forum is an international network of geographers and others which seeks to promote: a) the development and dissemination of critical and radical perspectives in geography; b) critical and radical research, publication and educational activities undertaken by geographers; c) links between academic geographers and radical political activists and activities; d) equality of opportunity; by, among other things, i) enabling communication and debate between geographers in all kinds of educational and research institutions, between geographers and others in related disciplines, and between academics and the wider community; ii) supporting the work of marginalised and under-represented groups in geography; iii) campaigning for reform in educational and academic institutions; iv) emphasising work which improves understanding of, and seeks to combat, unequal and oppressive power relations; v) highlighting ethical and political issues in the practice of geographical research and education. Draft Constitution The aim of the constitution is to provide the most skeletal framework possible to run a membership organisation, using the model of an international network. Self-governing local, regional or nation al groups would provide the basic, decentralised structure, but we would all get together at an international meeting (say) every two years. Since the decentralised groups would undertake most of the activities (seminars, meetings, campaigns etc) they would be most likely to need money, and should therefore be responsible for collecting it (in the appropriate currencies) and spending it. This a lso avoids the problems of a) transaction charges and b) US or UK subscriptions being set beyond the pocket of those in non-'first-world' countries. Some local, regional or national groups might want to set subscriptions at zero, at least at first. If more detailed rules were found to be necessary about the conduct of meetings, elections and so on, these could be spelled out in a set of 'standing orders' which would be separate from the constitution. [Eventually the phrasing may need to be more formal, but the content is main thing at present] 1 The name of the association shall be 'The Critical Geography Forum'. 2 The association shall have the following aims ... [see above - they will be incorporated in the final version] 3 Membership shall be open to all those who support the aims of the association and who pay a subscription at the relevant rate [this could be set at zero to begin with, but it may be useful to inclu de the possibility of a subscription from the start]. 4 Members shall form such local, regional and national groups as they may decide. These groups shall be responsible for the conduct of their own affairs, including the setting and collecting of subscriptions, if any. 5 The association and the groups shall undertake such activities as the members shall from time to time decide in order to further the aims. 6 There shall be an international committee, elected by, and accountable to, the members of the association. The committee shall consist of a Chair [responsible for the conduct of meetings], a Secre tary [responsible for routine admin] and a Treasurer [responsible for the money - if any], and such other members as the membership shall elect. 7 The committee shall be responsible for organising the association's activities. The committee shall have the power to co-opt additional members to assist in its tasks. 8 The local, regional and national groups shall be responsible for organising local, regional and national activities as appropriate. THE FUTURE At the time of writing the above drafts are being discussed by participants in the e-mail discussion group with a view to producing final versions shortly. As will be clear, the network, even in its proposed more formal guise, is very much a 'bottom up' affair. There are very few preconceptions about what it, we, might do - the aim is enable communication and other activities which might other wise not take place, but not to determine their character. My personal view is that this means that the network is not really in competition with more formal professional organisations such as the RGS/IBG. I imagine many people would want to belong to both. However, by establishing the Forum as a separate organisation we provide a 'home' for those who, for whatever reason, don't or can't belong to other groups. Those who wish to get involved in the network can do so easily by joining the e-mail discussion group as described earlier. If you do not have access to e-mail, but would be interested in joining the proposed new organisation, please contact me by post. Joe Painter Department of Geography University of Durham Durham DH1 3LE [log in to unmask] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%