WTO protesters share stories of Battle of Seattle February 5th
February 2000

From November 30 - December 4, 1999 thousands of union members, students, environmentalists, workers and activists made history by shutting down the World Trade Organization's (WTO) meeting in Seattle. The demonstrators came from across the United States and around the world to protest the WTO's anti-worker, anti-democratic policies and its relentless pursuit of globalization on behalf of multinational corporations.

Among the people who helped shut down the WTO were a half dozen from Gainesville, Florida.

The Alachua County Labor Party and the Civic Media Center are sponsoring "From Gainesville to the Battle in Seattle", a panel discussion of local participants on Saturday, February 5th at 6 p.m. at the Civic Media Center. The program will feature first hand accounts by local activists who were part of the worldwide effort to stop the WTO from meeting. A one-hour video on the anti-WTO events, produced by the Independent Media Center in Seattle, will follow the panel discussion. This event is free and open to the public.

The people who made the journey to Seattle will share songs, newspapers, stories, and photos of the massive demonstrations. They are students, union members, musicians, and working people. Come and hear their stories of why they went, what they learned, and what really happened in Seattle.

"From Gainesville to the Battle in Seattle" will be preceded by a full day of WTO-related programming and background information on Free Radio Gainesville (94.7 FM) starting at 10 a.m. The range of the Free Radio Gainesville signal is limited to a 2-3 mile radius from the UF Campus.

For more information on the evening program, call the Civic Media Center at 373-0010 or the Alachua County Labor Party at 373-4841. The Civic Media Center is located at 1021 W. University Ave.