Friday 6 December at 20:00 hrs at de Balie in Amsterdam.

One year ago, a group of undocumented refugees came together in Amsterdam. What started as a small-scale tent camp with seven inhabitants, over the past couple of months has transformed itself into the political organization We Are Here, collectively fighting for both asylum and public attention. The name of the collective brings to mind the famous quote "I Am a Man" used by the African-American community during the 1968 Memphis demonstrations. "We are here" is not a proposition but a fact, and demands recognition for the equal, and actual, existence of 'illegal' human beings.
Despite extensive media coverage and the dedication of some politicians to find suitable accommodation for the now 200 members of We Are Here, this week around half of the group's members have been forced to move to a former prison on the outskirts of the city, while the other half is now left to fend for themselves on the streets of Amsterdam.
We Are Here joined forces with participants of NWA to counter the tragedy of the current asylum policies in the Netherlands with a plan that's both idealistic and pragmatic: We Are Here Cooperative, a housing project where artists and the We Are Here refugees live and work together for three years in a vacant building in Amsterdam. We Are Here Cooperative offers the city a possible solution for the surplus of vacant office space, the shortage of studio and living space for artists and students, as well as a more long-term solution for refugees who can neither rent nor return to their countries of origin.

The program in de Balie marks the beginning of a long-term campagne that sets out to achieve the financial and logistic support needed to make the We Are Here Cooperative possible. The keynote speech is delivered by We Are Here representative Yoonis Osman Nuur, followed by a presentation of the Cooperative by action center Here to Support coordinators Elke Uitentuis and Savannah Koolen and We Are Here representatives Tawfik Adhman, Thomas Philippe Guya, and Yoonis Osman Nuur. Following the presentation a debate moderated by poet and activist Quinsy Gario will take place, with among others Marieke van Doorninck (GroenLinks Amsterdam), Maartje Terpstra (asylum lawyer), and Maria Hlavajova (artistic director BAK, basis voor actuele kunst). Artist Jonas Staal, who co-established NWA together with BAK, will provide an introduction.

We Are Here Cooperative is developed by among others:
Tawfik Adhman; Patrick Bernier; Younes Bouadi; Charlie Dance; Asieh Dehghani; Coco Duivenvoorde; Emily Fahlén; Gerjanne van Gink; Robert Glas; Eleni Gogou; Fotini Gouseti; Thomas Philippe Guya; Ernst van den Hemel; Ran Hoogerwaard; Robert Kluijver; Savannah Koolen; Louis Liu; Olive Martin; Renée In der Maur; Jonathan Offereins; David Ortiz; Yoonis Osman Nuur; Marthe Prins; Kim Schonewille; Tommy Soro; Jonas Staal; Lara Staal; Elke Uitentuis; Janna Ullrich; Benedikt Weishaupt, and Chui Yong Jian. Special thanks to Martijn Stronks.

The presentation of We Are Here Cooperative is part of NWA Session II Collective Struggle of Refugees: Lost. In Between. Together., comprised of concentrated closed participant gatherings, a public forum and exhibition at BAK, and a publication.
Download the accompanying publication New World Academy Reader #2 for free here:
http://www.bak-utrecht.nl/files/NWA_Reader_2.pdf

NWA is established by artist Jonas Staal in collaboration with BAK, basis voor actuele kunst and aims at bringing together political organizations with artists and students in order to develop collaborative projects. As a department of Staal's artistic and political organization New World Summit, NWA is a long-term project and its future iterations take place in various cultural and political contexts throughout the world.

Tickets to the We Are Here Cooperative presentation can be purchased at the door or via www.debalie.nl

At the DAI this project is part of  the OUTSIDE ACADEMY- structure.