Hella Solutions blog: "Document. Share. Inspire."

One last brief breakdown of my project…I’m about to fall over from exhaustion but I’ll try and crank this out…but please forgive me for my brevity (and possible mishaps in typing…)…my flight leaves at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow…

The Question:

How do localized organizations, in the face of globalization and neo-liberalism, move beyond insular and service model structures to effectively integrate regional and global organizing?

Translation:

I am doing an audio documentary on a small, progressive, nonprofit group based in Atlanta, Georgia who has been successful in establishing a sister office in another part of the world (South Africa). This is significant because many serious questions arise when taking one’s activism from a local community to a more global one. It is also very interesting in that in a world where global capital is crossing borders at ever-increasing rates, people are being bound to “their” borders in a comparably similar rate. This increase in financial flows is one characteristic of what many call “globalization.”

My question relates to how progressive, democratic forces counter this progression called economic globalization.

The group I am working with call themselves SisterLove and they are based in Atlanta, Georgia. The group works with women of color – more specifically, African-American and women of African descent – around issues of HIV and AIDS. The HIV/AIDS issue has largely been targeted with white, gay, men in mind and activists have found that the same methods that work in those communities don’t translate directly to other groups of people. It is groups like SisterLove that have stepped up and provided successful models to help some of those who have been neglected in this epidemic. While SisterLove does not fit a traditional model that might fit the “global justice” framework I see that they have some serious lessons to pass on to anyone interested in global justice issues – especially those who are concerned with the effects of neo-liberalism and corporate globalization. From SisterLoves second home base in Mitbank, South Africa, I will be recording their global work over the next couple of weeks.

Stay tuned for more! Peace and good night…constructive comments and discussions are always appreciated (simply use the “Comments” link directly following the post).