This weekend I will be participating in Left Forum 2009 in New York City, presenting on the situation in occupied Afghanistan — one of a number of panels examining the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Left Forum is an annual gathering of activists, artists, intellectuals and academics.

“Each spring Left Forum convenes the largest gathering in North America of the US and international Left. Continuing a tradition begun in the 1960s, we bring together intellectuals and organizers to share perspectives, strategies, experience and vision. Last March’s 2008 Left Forum, held at Cooper Union in New York City, included over 2,000 participants, over 125 panels, and 390 speakers from over 40 countries. For the US and the world, revitalizing an American Left has never been more urgent; Left Forum has a critical role to play in that undertaking.

Our work parallels and cross-fertilizes with the renewal of left strength elsewhere—from indigenous movements in Bolivia to the South Korean farmers to the electoral gains of European and Latin American left parties. Like many movements abroad, Left Forum seeks to link the critique of neo-liberalism to anti-capitalism, and to foster radical alternatives to the established order.”

Watch this blog for updates from the event. You can also check out the full program here.

Derrick O'Keefe

Derrick O'Keefe

Derrick O'Keefe is a writer in Vancouver, B.C. He served as rabble.ca's editor from 2012 to 2013 and from 2008 to 2009.