Thanks to all who attended the first Philly+ Occupy Regional Gathering!  Over 200 occupiers attended this gathering from all over Philadelphia and places as diverse as Minneapolis, San Francisco, Memphis, New York, Delaware, Baltimore, and New Jersey. It was held Saturday December 10th at the Friends Center (15th & Cherry).  The event began at 9:00am with welcomes and ended at 4:30pm with a direct action march to the Dow Corporation.  A lot of great things happened in between and a lot of great connections were forged!

The bus carrying many New York occupiers rolled in at 10:00am, just in time to catch the Theatre of the Oppressed icebreaker games that so many enjoyed. Then small groups formed around participant-generated topics and learned to communicate using the "Think and Listen" process in which attendees could share their views with full attention from their group and build on the knowledge and ideas of those who spoke before them.  Then there were report-backs to the large group from the ten small groups so all could learn ways to move forward as a movement.  Some of the topics were, Big Vision/Occupy the World, New Education Models, Farming and Co-ops, National Coordination and Strategies, and Humanize the Financial System.  Lunch time was also an opportunity to make new friends and have conversations about how to move forward.

A lot was accomplished during this regional gathering designed by Elana Stanger, organized by the Occupy Together Working Group including Jacob Russell, Iden Rosenthal, Seth Horwitz, Katonya Mosely, Peter Lehu, Sabina von Wrede, Wayne Ritz, David Birtwell, Taikesha Washington, Iwanka Kultschycky, and Phyllis Gilbert.  Extra shout out to the Theater of the Oppressed Philly people Jim Cummings, Samantha and James who led the games. Another shout out to the Food WG who served an awesomely tasty and nutritious lunch on short notice to hundreds of people.

A longer regional event will be planned for Spring in order for us to continue building the movement through a strategic planning process.  We invite you to contact us with your feedback and let us know if you would like to be part of planning the next gathering using the occupynortheast at gmail address.  We want to emphasize our gratitude to the Religious Society of Friends for allowing us to use the space!

More information and links to videos of topic group report-backs at OccupyNortheast.Org