A conversation with leaders from the US left about upcoming elections, Bernie Sanders, and the need for a new progressive internationalism.

Venue:    

Salle “L’Aurore” de l’Association Culturelle Joseph Jacquemotte

162 Rue du Midi 

1000 Bruxelles / Belgique 

Our Guests:

Matt Duss, Foreign Policy Advisor to Senator Bernie Sanders.

Bernie Sanders has served as US Senator from Vermont since 2007. Running as an independent democratic socialist in the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primary, he received more than 13 million votes and won 23 states. Senator Sanders is considered one of the lead candidates for the Democratic Party nomination ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Matt Duss has served as Senator Sanders’ foreign policy advisor since February 2017. He was called “one of the most significant figures reshaping progressive foreign policy in the Trump era” in a recent profile in The Nation magazine.

Maria Svart, National Director of Democratic Socialists of America.

Democratic Socialists of America is the largest socialist organization in the United States in over a century, currently boasting more than 55,000 members in nearly 200 chapters across the country. In November 2018, DSA members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib were elected to the US House of Representatives, while eleven other members were elected to state legislatures. Maria Svart has served as DSA’s national director since 2011, overseeing the organization’s growth from around 5,000 members to its current size.

David Duhalde, Political Director of Our Revolution.

Our Revolution is a political action organization spun out of Senator Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign to continue its work. OR’s mission is to get people involved in the election process, and to organize and elect progressive candidates. It has supported US Representatives including Pramila Jayapal, Tulsi Gabbard, Jamie Raskin, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. David Duhalde joined OR in 2018 after more than two years serving as deputy director of DSA. As political director, he is responsible for working with OR’s national network to identify progressive candidates for endorsement.

Alan Minsky, Executive Director of Progressive Democrats of America.

Progressive Democrats of America is a political organization and grassroots political action committee operating both inside and outside the Democratic Party. Since 2004, PDA has sought to transform the Democratic Party with the intent to build a government controlled by citizens and not corporate elites that makes policies for the broad public and not just private interests. Alan Minsky has been working for PDA since 2014. He is a lifelong activist and previously spent two decades working as a progressive journalist.

Additional to this public event there will be on 4th April 2018 a Seminar in the European Parliament organized by representatives of GUE-NGL in co-operation with the EL. If you want to take part in the GUE-NGL seminar, that is held in the premises of the European Parliament, you must register at the GUE site as soon as the seminar is announced in order to get a pass for entering the parliament.