Green Left Weekly asked these Resistance activists what they hope to get out of the national conference in Sydney later this month.
Malak S.,
I am going to come to the Resistance conference because those in control don't see the reality that we see in the streets. They don't know what it's like to be poor and to struggle for the most basic conditions of life. They don't care about us — the workers, the students and the poor.
I am a Palestinian, and all of my life I lived under these governments. I came to the conclusion that change can only come from us, the people. The Resistance conference will give me a chance to meet people with many different backgrounds who feel the same way and struggle for the same things.
Andrew Rice, Brisbane
I am coming to the Resistance conference because the world needs an alternative to the exploitative and wasteful capitalist system. I believe this alternative is socialism. As a Resistance member I, along with my Resistance comrades, am playing an integral role in the creation of a society that places human need over profit.
The urgency of the climate crisis and the need for system change places the impetus on us all to do whatever we can to help make this alternative a reality. The Resistance 2008 conference is a great way to start!
Chris Peterson, Sydney
The Resistance conference is a great opportunity to meet with activists from around Australia and help co-ordinate our different struggles. Alone we can change a lightbulb, but together we can change the world. Get active!
Lauren Carroll Harris, Sydney
Last year, the conservative Liberal/National Coalition, headed by John Howard, was voted out following the mass rejection of Work Choices. This year, Kevin Rudd's Labor government has promised open government, apologised to the Stolen Generations, signed the Kyoto Agreement and withdrawn combat troops from Iraq. But what has really changed?
At this year's Resistance conference we will be looking at what it means to be an activist in the current political situation, and map out Resistance's plans for the coming period. How can the progressive social movements — for same-sex marriage rights, for an end to the racist Northern Territory intervention, for genuine action against global warming, for free education and for the rights of refugees — be grown and won?