Anarchist Bookfair in Riga, Latvia

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Open Letter

We are a group of students and activists from Riga, Latvia who are united under anarcho-syndicalist flag and vision. Our country is becoming more and more conservative each year, with the leftist discourse being almost absent. You would not find any radical literature or leftist places in our cities, and only a few bars tolerate leftist discussions. Our youth is generally critical to the system, yet our cities lack any organisational or educational platforms, which we aim to change.

We already had some examples of local success, like organising a Palestinian solidarity march after multiple bans from the state. Before 17th Feb 24 Latvia was the only EU country together with Hungary to not allow Palestinian solidarity protests. Many new comrades joined us on this unprecedented protest for Latvia and now we want to use this momentum to move further.

This is a historical moment for us, as we see a good creative opportunity to fill the vacuum. It's up to us to act now, create a mutual aid platform and plant the seeds of resistance. We figured the best way to do it is via building international solidarity networks with the comrades from the EU and inviting them to share the experience.

We are organising the very first anarchist bookfair of our country and this is an open call for lecturers, radical book sellers, writers, directors, artists and activists to come to Riga in May 2024 and participate in the fair, tell the fair visitors about their work / organisations and help with the spread of critical political theory and direct action in Latvia.

On a second page we listed some more general information about Riga and the bookfair. In short, we booked three places in Riga for three days to organise lectures, book stands, merch stands, open mics , workshops / q&a and live music. We have already invited local hardcore and folk punk bands to participate, as well as the local leftist leaning artists.

We would appreciate any help or information as well as contacts of other organisations, leftist books distributors around the EU and beyond who could be interested in participating or helping us with advice.

Also we would appreciate help with the research / materials on the following topics :

Gentrification analysis and resistance

Palestinian resistance (in particular we look for films about pink washing and lgbt+ in
Palestine)

Grassroot organisations and direct action

Mutual education and setting up and infoshop

Bottom-up democracy and Mutual Aid

We announce the 1st Anarchist Bookfair in Riga 24-26 May 2024

We are going to continue the tradition of Anarchist bookfairs which have been held in Tallinn, Stockholm and London. We invite all the Anarchist/Libertarian Socialist publishers to present and sell their books, magazines, newspapers, cartoons, etc and everybody interested to spend the weekend with us, take part in discussions and seminars. The event is open to everybody and no prior registration is required. The details of the programme will come later.

If you want to sell/present your printed matter, please, write to the following e.mail We have a limited number of tables/stalls, order them in advance. The deadline for booking is May 1 2024.

We are going to hold a special round table discussion for Anarchist publishers, bloggers, writers, artists and translators. Let us know if you want to take part.

If you want to make a presentation/lecture/workshop/concert you are most welcome.

Please write to rigabooks@riseup.net

The deadline is 23.04.2024

When
24-26 May 2024

Where
Riga, Latvia

Riga, the capital city of Latvia, is situated at the Baltic sea and it is an ideal meeting place for all those interested from the East and the West.
Latvia has a glorious anarchist history dating from the 19th century and of anarchist and libertarian socialist print in various languages, including Latvian, Russian, Yeddish.
Latvia has beautiful nature and May is the best time to come, when there are not so many tourists and it is already warm. Latvia has a very rich history of breweries and one of the best beers in Europe.
Once part of the Hansa union (together with Hamburg and Novgorod) Riga became a major industrial centre in the XIX century with militant class struggle and outbreaks of revolutions. Also Riga is the home city of humanist and proto-anarchist philosopher Johan Gotfrid Herder.

How to get here

By bus from Germany, France, Poland, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia,Czech Republic
By boat from Germany, Sweden, Denmark
By plane. Our airport has flights by Ryanair, Wizzair and Transavia.
Also, there are good hitch-hiking opportunities.

If you need a visa

Latvia is part of Shengen, and citizens of Great Britain, USA, Canada, Australia, Israel and some other countries do not need visas either.
If you need a visa we can send you a visa invitation. It costs 10 euro and takes about two weeks to obtain, so please let us know well in advance.

Food

There are many inexpensive cafes in Riga near the venue. On Saturday and Sunday we are also offering everybody lunch with a vegan option (for donation).

Accommodation

We can help you to find inexpensive accommodation in Riga. We also have limited possibilities to put up some of the participants at our homes. Let us know if you need help.

Organisers

Bolderaja bookstore and art bar: https://www.facebook.com/bolderaja27
Aleponija bar https://www.facebook.com/aleponija
Zapatista coffee shop https://www.facebook.com/zapatistabaltics

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