In 2014 the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) call has emerged as a focus of debate in the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU). The narrow defeat for BDS at the recent National Council of the NTEU indicates the potential for Palestine solidarity activists on campus to win the NTEU to a pro-BDS policy. Yet as our campaign widens among NTEU members, and gains varying degrees of institutional support, we will inevitably confront new challenges.

Sydney Staff for BDS invites all supporters of the BDS call to a meeting on November 6 to discuss the state of the BDS campaign on campus and in our union, and the next steps for 2015.

Goals: What should be the goals of the BDS campaign at Australia’s universities? What role can the NTEU play in realising these goals?

Organisation: What sort of cross-campus collaboration do we need? How can we best share resources and information? Is it time for a nation-wide pro-BDS network in the NTEU?

Strategy: What has been the experience of BDS activists within the NTEU so far? What approach should we take to campaign work in 2015, particularly in the lead-up to National Council 2015?

We welcome all NTEU members with an interest in promoting BDS on campus. Please circulate this announcement, and bring along any colleagues who may be interested in this event.

Date & time: November 6, 6-8pm

Location: University of Technology, Sydney: CB11.04.101. The room is on Level 4, room 101 in the new Engineering and IT building (Building 11, or ‘the cheesegrater’) on Broadway down from the tower.

Contact: David Brophy (david.brophy@sydney.edu.au; 0434 026 003)