Oostende, Belgium We took a train to something that our colleagues described to us as an annual political festival. Once we were at the train station, it only took about 75 minutes to get to Oostende from Brussels. We had left in sunny weather, but once past Burges, not far away, we could see the driving rain and the temperature was dropping at this city abutting the North Sea.
Once off the free tram, we were at Mani25, which seems to be short for Manifeista 2025, but that’s somewhat of a guess. There were large and small tents spread out everywhere it seemed and 4×8 wood-like materials and planks traversing the area as assembled walkways in the rain. There were food stands and trucks. Inside some of the tents, there were busy food and beer bars humming along with panel members dutifully speaking on various subjects as people wandered and muddled around. There were displays and tables for pro-Palestinian groups, feminists, and many other groups.
Our stated objected was to put up a table in the Brussels tent to bring attention to ACORN’s affiliate, WUUNE, and recruit members and allies. It took a bit of time and hustle to finally find a table in the back corner of the huge tent. Our banners, flags, and flyers went up. We had a good team of members who had weathered the storm to help on this weekend long affair. Despite the miserable weather, our team was well-kitted and in good spirits.
I had originally heard about these annual political events from colleagues and friends in the Netherlands, but this was the first time I had stumbled into one. These annual festivals have been going on for several years. The organizing force for this gathering of the various progressive tribes of the left is the Workers Party of Belgium, which polls a respectable 20% in national elections. A look at Wikipedia offers that,
The Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA) is a Marxist and socialist political party in Belgium. It is the only Belgian party represented in parliament that is a fully national party, representing both Flanders and Wallonia.
Our friends in the Netherlands had told me about them because they use some community organizing methods for membership recruitment.
The attendance at this festival was projected at 25,000. There was virtually no branding for the party at the event, which gave it a big tent, everyone welcome kind of reputation, but organizers told me that party members are given turnout goals to bring other members and prospective recruits to the event. The whole affair, plus and minus, most resembled the several times I have attended World Social Forums, either globally or in India and Nepal. They are a mixture of networking on steroids, showcases for groups, and constant chaos.
For WUUNE/ACORN, it was a coming out party of sorts. We met for a bit with one of the party parliamentarians from Brussels about our campaign on rent reduction and the challenges of working with the commission that mediates the disputes and makes the consensual determination. She was well informed, sympathetic, and very interested in the results of cases we have generated so far and in the future.
In cold, constant rain, it was a slough, even as people soldiered on, mostly ignoring the weather. Though we are still in late summer, early fall, this event would be something to see in sunshine, but we were glad for the experience nonetheless, and for WUUNE/ACORN, it was worth the climb.
