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<TITLE>"The Future of Occupy" is published!</TITLE>
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<FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Trebuchet MS"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12pt'>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<BR>
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For several months, during the unfolding events of the Occupy movement, supporters, media and world observers have been wondering, where is this movement heading?'<BR>
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To help provide both a signpost and a compass for that question, The Future of Occupy collective, an international initiative supporting the movement’s self-reflection, is announcing the opening of its website. It is a virtual library of actionable movement documents, blogposts, and a platform for conversations that matter. It provides the media, activists, academics, and an engaged public with one-stop access to information and insights about the future of the movement, as it emerges.<BR>
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The Future of Occupy Collective is an open and expanding group of individuals from different parts of the world, inspired to bring their talents to serve the global Occupy movement by curating an online platform that mirrors its best thinking and most innovative practices. It brings into focus the news and views related to the movement’s identity, future, and strategy, scattered in various print and electronic media, including bloggers and websites sympathizing with Occupy.<BR>
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On January 3rd, 2012, The Future of Occupy Collective has announced the publication of the first issue of its newsletter, dedicated to the Future of Assemblies. As we enter the new year and the movement enters a new phase of its development, many sites are evicted or facing eviction. Continuing to hold General Assemblies, in one way or another, seems more important than ever, since they are one of the movement’s potent life-giving forces. That’s why we focus the first issue of the newsletter on them. You can find it here:<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><<a href="http://">http://</a>thefutureofoccupy.org/thematic-issues/20121-the-future-of-assemblies/><BR>
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The FoO Collective recognized the movement’s need to learn fast from its experience in order to remain a vibrant, living laboratory for overcoming the democracy deficiency of present social systems. There’s a section of the website focused on Movement Sense-Making, which says “Collaborative sensing and thinking is a crucial part of the movement and essential for boosting capabilities to the scale of transformation it seeks... Our aim is not to produce a uniform perspective on the future of the movement, but to present the diversity of existing views.”<BR>
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The originator of the FoO site is the School of Commoning, an international group of commons educators, partnering with the<BR>
University of Notre Dame in the US, and other organizations. The FoO Collective is now an autonomous project and has members with no connection to the School of Commoning.<BR>
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CONTACT in the <B>US: Mary Beth Steisslinger</B>, Contributing Editor<BR>
�1-412-916-8716 marybeth.steisslinger(at)gmail.com �������������� <BR>
skype: marybeth.steisslinger<BR>
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CONTACT in the <B>UK: George Pór</B>, Founding Editor<BR>
+44 7780 181 865 team(at)thefutureofoccupy.org���������������� <BR>
skype: georgepor<BR>
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Notes to the Editor: <BR>
1. George Pór can be available for an interview by phone, skype or email, if need be.<BR>
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<FONT COLOR="#0000FF">2. </FONT>To subscribe to<FONT COLOR="#0000FF"> </FONT>the monthly The Future Occupy newsletter, click on the “Get Our Newsletter” button on the right margin of the FoO homepage:<FONT COLOR="#0000FF"> <<a href="http://">http://</a>thefutureofoccupy.org/> <BR>
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3. To follow new blog posts on the FoO site as they appear, click on the “Follow Blog Via Email” link on the right margin of the FoO homepage: <FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><<a href="http://">http://</a>thefutureofoccupy.org/> </FONT><BR>
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