NDS:Landtagswahl 2013/International Workshop
This is the wiki page for the international pirate election workshop that will be held on the weekend of the Lower Saxon Landtag (State Parliament) elections in January 2013.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
General Information
The workshop is being organized by Justus Römeth, with help of the Pirate Parties of Hanover and Lower Saxony, as well as the international coordination of the German Pirate Party. It will take place in Hanover, Germany, at various locations throughout the weekend of January 18-20.
Aims
The workshop is aimed at sharing knowledge and experience concerning the basics of an election campaign between the different Pirate Parties. While it is partly concerned with international coordination, the idea is to involve not only international coordinators in this process, but also other active members of the parties, with a hands-on approach. We therefore hope that some of those responsible for organizing election campaigns from the various national parties will be attending the workshop, without wanting to exclude anyone. We thought this best done while having real-life examples. The idea of knowledge transfer is supposed to go in all directions. Having guests from abroad will help us reflect on our own campaign and will give us new angles and ideas for the upcoming campaigns in Lower Saxony and Germany, too.
Disclaimer
The workshop is not an official PPI or PPEU event, even though it is aimed at the spreading of knowledge concerning the conducting of election campaigns internationally, especially in light of the upcoming preparations of the elections to the European Parliament in 2014. This means that the workshop is financially independent from PPI and PPEU and that there will be no votes regarding the structure or content of either entity. Possible results of the workshop, like preparations regarding collaboration on designs ideas for posters for example will be presented later as suggestions to the respective affected regional, national and supranational parties and organizations.
Why Hanover?
Hanover was chosen because it is the capital of Lower Saxony, most likely the only German state to hold an election before the federal elections later in mid-2013. The German Pirate Party has arguably had the most electoral successes in elections along side the Czech and Swedish Parties, and the huge number of elections in Germany as well as its federal structure mean that there is a bit more experience concerning elections in general as well as cooperation between neighboring territories in elections than elsewhere. It may be possible to create some models that we may be able to apply on an international scale, too, out of this experience.
What else will be happening in 2013 and 2014 regarding the topic of elections and international collaboration?
In the end the workshop is supposed to spark more conversations between the more or less neighboring European Pirate Parties, at the grassroots level, both online and offline. We hope that some parties will decide to internationalize some of their more specialized meetings, i.e. invite pirates from abroad and, language knowledge permitting, hold parts of their workshops in English when international guests are there. We also hope that we can fill the existing online infrastructure, especially the wikis, with more content on campaigning, for example on posters or information stands.
How to get to Hanover
Being centrally located within Northern Germany's rail and highway systems, and having an international airport, Hanover is easy to reach by car, train, or plane. Furthermore, Bremen, Hamburg, Berlin, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Paderborn, Münster-Osnabrück, and Leipzig also have airports that are within a convenient travel distance. If you need assistance getting from one of those airports to Hanover please let us know, we will try to organise car-sharing.
The airports Frankfurt-Hahn, Düsseldorf, Eindhoven, and Cologne-Bonn are generally considered too far away for spending a weekend in Hanover if you only have public transportation available. If the only affordable flights you can find are going there, and you have some time available we will do our best to organize you getting to Hanover by car-sharing as well, though.
Accommodation
Hanover has a number of reasonable priced hotels and hostels available. Furthermore, while we expect a number of pirates to come visit us for the closing campaign weekend our international guests of course have priority concerning couch surfing. Please contact us as soon as possible if you need assistance in this regard.
Registration
Attendants can either add their name to this list, or, if they do not want to be named publicly or do not want to create an account for the German Pirate wiki, write an eMail:
- Justus Römeth (host, PP-NDS)
- Fabián Plaza Miranda (PP-GAL)
- Andrew Reitemeyer (PP-NZ)
- Patrick Schiffer (PP-DE)
- Janita Top (PP-NL)
- Jan Lindgren (PP-SE)
- Julia Reda (PP-DE)
- Torben Friedrich (PP-DE)
- Martina P. (PP-DE)
- Bastian (PP-DE) Sunday only
- 6 PP-BE
- 3-4 PP-CZ
- 1 PP-NL
- 1 PP-RO
- 1 PP-SE
- Jens Stomber (PP-DE)
You?
We expect up to (and have space for about) 30 participants, if there is interest by a significant bigger number we may have to turn some pirates away, but we will communicate about this transparently.
Attendance is free of charge, though you will need some money for food and drinks, and a donation for the election party on Sunday night would be a nice gesture. Also, you will need to have a public transportation pass (4.70€ for a day pass, 9€ for a 5-person day pass). Even though doing everything by car would be possible, parking would not be very convenient, and quite expensive, and you would be limited concerning alcohol. We therefore would advise you to park your car where you sleep and use public transportation for the weekend.
Friday (January 18): Social Event
On Friday the workshop will not yet have started, but we will organize a meeting point in a pub called Destille to have dinner and the obligatory drinks together. For folks arriving early there may be some info stand or other election campaign related activities to take part in.
Where?
Destille, im Moore 3 (Map), Hanover-Nordstadt. Their menu is available at their website (also in English).
How to get there:
If you are coming from Central Station (Hauptbahnhof): Walk or take a metro to 'Kröpcke', there, change for Metro 6 Nordhafen or Metro 11 Haltenhoffstraße. Leave the metro at Christuskirche, and you are almost there.
When?
Starting at 18:00, kitchen is open until ~23:00 (so Southern Europeans will not have to change their habbits ;-) ).
Saturday (January 19): Practical part
On the next morning we will focus on the practical part and visit a few info stands in Hanover. As a small bonus we will also do some basic sight seeing at the same time, since some sights will be on the way.
What?
On Saturday we will do the practical part of the workshop. After an introduction to the workshop itself, as well as the concerning topics (Lower Saxony, Hanover, German politics, elections campaigns online and offline) participants will be asked to briefly talk about their experiences concerning elections and info stands. We will then walk to a number of info stands where we can talk to normal pirates and citizens alike. We will have lunch on the way to warm up, but then continue our visits. The day will end with a wrap-up, in which we will ask you to share your impressions from the day, focussing on ideas you could try for your next campaign, and what you think the pirates in Lower Saxony could do better.
Where & when?
We will meet at 10:00 at the Lower Saxon Pirate election HQ, Robertstr. 4, 30161 Hanover (Map). After one hour of introduction we will tour the city, with a yet to be determined location for lunch. We will come back to the HQ at around 17:00.
How to get there by Public Transport
Take the Metrotram lines 3, 7 or 9 to Lister Platz (5 min walking), Metrotram lines 1, 2 or 8 to Werderstraße (7 min walking), bus lines 100/200 or 128 to Voßstraße/Jakobistraße (2 min walking), or bus lines 121 or 134 to Moltkeplatz (6 min walking).
Lunch
Lunch is planned for 14:00 at 11A, Address: am Küchengarten 11A (Map).
Evening Program
We will probably visit one or a few pubs in Hanover-Linden, dinner will consist of Kebabs and other street food.
Sunday (January 20): Theoretical part
On the next day we will take a more theoretical approach, with the possibility to talk about how we can organize help better, and what kind of infrastructure could be used for international coordination in the near future. It will not be possible to visit any info stand that day, as campaigning has to be suspended on the day of the election in Germany.
What?
Talks will be held on a number of topics:
- How the German pirates living in different states help each other, and how this could be applied internationally (by Alios)
- How to finance a campaign
- What we can do to transfer more knowledge internationally
If you have an idea for another topic, feel free to suggest it.
Where & when?
We start with a brunch at 10:30 at the Lower Saxony election HQ, the same place as on Saturday. Here we will also conclude the workshop until the afternoon, (17:00 the latest), and will then make our way to the election party at Faust.
Evening Program: Election Party
Here you can watch the results of the elections. It will open at 16:00, but do not expect results to roll in before 18:00. Drinks and food will be available, even though not for free.
Address
Kulturzentrum Faust e.V., Zur Bettfedernfabrik 3 (Map), 30451 Hanover
Travel advice
We would advise you to arrive on Friday and leave on Monday. A big part of Saturday will be spend outside, and Hanover is not the warmest city in January (-5° to 10°), so consider the possibility of cold feet, rain, and snow when chosing the clothes you bring.
Getting Around
You can use the DB apps for train services in Germany, and the Öffi app (Android)/ Abfahrt app (iOS) for public transportation within Hanover, or browse to GVH or EFA. Try to buy day passes and group tickets concerning local public transportation, the airport is in zone 2 (Ticketzone Umland), everything else is in zone 1 (Ticketzone Hannover).
Prices
Hanover has moderate prices, a bit cheaper than Berlin, so expect a 0.3l beer to set you back around 2€, and a meal to be between 5 to 12€. We would expect a weekend with 4 visits to a restaurant, 3 proper nights out, and fast food (bakeries, kebabs, burgers) for the rest of the meals to cost you around 100€ (excl. transportation and hotels/hostels), though it could be done for much less if you cut back on drinking and chose cheap food (or more if you regularly buy rounds of alcohol for everyone). As mentioned above, attendance at the workshop is free of charge, though we will not be able to provide you with food and drinks over the weekend, and are always happy to receive donations.
