Date: Thursday 17^th December 2009, 5.30pm

Attendees: Alex Eisenberg, David Berridge, Rachel Lois Clapham, Mary Paterson

Location:
Minute Taker: Alex Eisenberg

Dictaphone runs out of battery.

Dictaphone SD card (memory) is full.

No interviews.

It is -4c and it snowed heavily last night – stay inside, spend the day writing.

Visit only two bookshop cafés on a walking trip between the cities multiple bookshop café’s.

Miss seeing any convoys leave the Scandia Hotel.

Fall off bike into snow. Get snow in shoe.

Laugh at your own jokes.

Loose gloves (for the second time).

Feel guilty about doing this.

Feel guilty about not doing this.

No interviews.

Summit Date: 15 December 2009
Attending: Alex Eisenberg, David Berridge, Tord Andreassen, Rachel Lois Clapham, Neil Bennun, Mary Paterson
Location: Café Dyrehaven, Vestebro, Copenhagen
Minute Taker: Alex Eisenberg

2.1 Reflexive Interviewing

We [the interviewers] were interviewed [by us, the interviewers]. This took place at:

1. The Greenish Cafe, Central Copenhagen
2. On a wooden bench outside the People’s Climate Action building in Faelledvej 12, The Annex, 4th., DK-2200 Copenhagen N.

3.1 Obama Mania©

We think that it is coming.

We think that it pervades right down.

4.1 Oppositional Language

We think that there is a proliferation of oppositional language but not necessarily a productive place for this opposition to be reconciled.

4.2 Default Position

We have noticed a position.

We will be terming this ‘the DEFAULT POSITION’. This is a position at the very front of dialogue, which happens almost automatically and generally without the need for thought. This is the first stage of things. [and we all do it]

5.1 Perceived Hierarchy

Here is what I perceive the hierarchy to be here, for now [there is no truth in this]:

United Nations

COP15 [pink badge] delegates

Some huge gap,

then groups like:

5.1 Perceived Hierarchy [contd.]

NGO’s

Charaties

Activist organisations

Artists

Other Activists

Violent Activists

6.1 Generalisation

It’s so boring to generalise.

7.1 The Event

We walked past the district where there are the big hotels [SAS, Scandica, The Imperial etc.]. (Copenhagen appears to be deeply influenced by its historic relationship with Lego. I walked past a Lego shop and there were people in there staring at the boxes, not buying, just staring – a slight glaze over their eyes. The effect of this history of Lego might account for the city feeling, at times, like a model town – kind of perfect. It’s the sort of place where the erection of concrete barriers outside certain key buildings is therefore noticeably unusual). There are now concrete barriers blocking the roads off. Police and army officers stand on corners. And if you try to enter they say “STOP”.

“What’s all of this for?”

“What do you think?”

“COP 15?”

“Yes!”

“So is anyone special staying here?”

“What do you think?”

“Yes, any presidents?”

“Yes lots of VIP’s, that’s why the security is tight”.

We will keep asking:

WHERE IS THE EVENT?

8.1 Pushing Through [it can be rewarding]

We will start.

We will try not to judge how things are going.

We will try to stay in the process of what we are doing.

We will keep going.

We will PUSH THROUGH and emerge out the other side [of an interview].

And things, then, will have changed.

9.1 Yurt Conversation

We will enter a yurt.

We will appreciate that a yurt is warm, circular and low lit.

We will sit around the edge of a yurt.

We will begin conversation.

We will exit a yurt.

We will consider how our space affects what we are doing.

9.2 Christiania[1]

We interviewed in Christiania.

We wonder how interviewing in Christiania is different to not interviewing in Christiania?

10.1 Assurance – Eye Contact

We will try to make eye contact.

We will not stare and instead we will try and LISTEN with our eyes.

(Lost my gloves so had to go and buy some new ones. Found a great army surplus shop which had just the ones I wanted – the fingerless ones but which also double as mitts – perfect for my activities here. Whilst we were in the shop three things happened:

1. I bought a new pair of gloves. (89kr)
2. A man came in and asked for a gas mask because he said “the police are using tear gas”. The gas masks the shop has in stock were too expensive so he opted for ‘German goggles’ instead. One of the panes of glass on the goggles was cracked. The man asked for a discount. (129kr)
3. I bought a number of clip on brooches in the shape and colour of a (white) human’s ear.) (15kr each)

We will wear our ear brooches – as a badge and emblem of all that we stand for, as a badge that says:

We will LISTEN to you WITH OUR EYES, give you space to say your bit. [Even if we think it's boring].

10.2 Assurance – ‘Everything you say is correct’

We might say to the interviewee – ‘Everything you say is correct’

10.3 Crib Card

(As our memories get better at remembering what the questions are) We might abandon the crib card (on which all the questions have been written down). And so, we might be able to engage better with our interviewee.

10.4 Follow Up

There has to be follow up.

OR

Make sure you give someone the card that explains the project – after you have interviewed them.

11.0 Some (potentially additional) Questions

What is the agenda?

What is the concern?

What is the atmosphere?

What are we doing to the earth?

What on earth are we doing?

12.1 Bike

We will learn how to back break on the bike.

We will bike.

13.1 Somalian Delegate

We spoke to a Somalia delegate who has been refused entry to COP15 despite travelling all the way here from Somalia and thinking that she was going to be a part of the conference.

14.1 The Recycling Panopticon

[The Recycling Panopticon is in the centre of the building, the courtyard, we are living in – i.e an observer can observe (-opticon) you doing your recycling from all (pan-) the other flats in the building without you being able to tell whether they are being watched.]

We will, from now, separate our waste.

Each day of COP15 Question Time hold daily summits somewhere in Copenhagen. After each summit a new statement of intent is issued. To see our statements please click here.

Monday 13th December - Demonstration, Central Copenhagen (Alex Eisenberg)

Saturday 12th December - Demonstration March to the Bella Centre, Copenhagen (Alex Eisenberg)

SOME BIG SHORT WORDS FROM THE COP15 MARCH, OFTEN GROUPED IN SETS OF THREE

AND AMIDST ALL THIS BIGNESS, SOME FOUND TEXT FROM THE FLOOR

Yesterday I went on the march to the location of the COP15 conference, the Bella Centre. 100,000 people walking together through the streets of Copenhagen. It felt important to say “hello” to the people around me. A small verbal gesture, creating and marking our (temporary) connection.

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

This guy was also good:

Summit Date: 10 December 2009
Attending: David Berridge, Rachel Lois Clapham, Alex Eisenberg, Neil Bennun, Christian Skovbjerg Jensen,
Location: Bang and Jensen Cafe
Minute Taker: Alex Eisenberg

We meet. (In a café and we buy coffee and I get a coffee and a water).

We sit round this table.

And [0.1] we talk.

We will ALWAYS make changes to the questions that we will ask people. (L said to me that what she likes about what we are doing is that it’s about the PROCESS)

We will attempt to explore what it means to be a STRANGER in this place. (Feeling comfortable taking the metro [M] and the train [S] around the city, despite almost getting fined for accidentally not buying a ticket. Feeling comfortable finding my way back to where we are staying – but still this feeling of being stranger or do you just call it being a tourist?)

We (who are strangers) will place ourselves in RELATION to other strangers.

AND [0.2]

We will find out what happens when two strangers meet.(FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/2; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/3; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/4; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/5; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/6; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/7; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/8; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/9; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/10; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/11; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/12; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/13)

We recognise that FEAR might be present.

IF [0.1]

We acknowledge that there is a PARTICULAR NORDIC SENSIBILITY. (Sitting on the train (S) and realise that we had accidentally not bought a ticket. Discuss the possibilities – there are quite a few. Notice the ticket inspectors coming down the carriage and decide to be honest. Tell the ticket inspector that you have been buying tickets for all your other journeys but that you had just run onto the train without one. Be told that you are going to be fined 750 Kroner (£90approx). Plead. Be asked if you are ‘with the conference’. Answer that YOU ARE. Leave the train without paying the fine.)

THEN [0.1]

We acknowledge that the Danes are HOSPITABLE. (This guy called Henrick has this empy flat in one of the smart districts of the city. We meet him there are 2pm. He shows us round in about 5 minutes. The flat is totally empty. We take the flat.)

AND [0.3]

We will move beyond the borders of hospitality through empowering VOICES. Through asking questions from the (in)side, attempting a way in(to).[Agenda item 5]
(FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/2; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/3; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/4; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/5; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/6; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/7; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/8; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/9; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/10; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/11; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/12; FCCC/KP/CMP/2009/13)

And someone asks:

What is the NEED?

What is the FUNCTION?

What is the ROLE?

OF ALL THIS…