LabourStart (www.labourstart.org) is the news and campaigning website of the international trade union movement. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in London, LabourStart has held Global Solidarity Conferences in London (2008), Washington (2009), Hamilton, Ontario (2010), Istanbul (2011) and Sydney (2012).

In May 2014, the next Global Solidarity Conference will be held in Berlin.

The goal of this conference, as for previous ones, is to provide a forum where trade union activists from different countries can meet and discuss the most important issues facing the international labour movement.

Unlike the more formal congresses of trade unions, a LabourStart Global Solidarity Conference is able to discuss a very wide range of subjects and nothing is off the table. This means that trade unionists can honestly discuss not only what unites us, but also what we disagree on. We will discuss recent and ongoing disputes around the world, but also look at more long-term trends in organising and campaigning in order to better equip us for the challenges of the coming years.

Any trade unionist is welcome to attend a LabourStart Global Solidarity Conference. Participation in the conference is free of charge, including the special events on Friday and Saturday evenings and lunches during the conference days.

Representatives of the global union federations always participate in our conferences, as do leaders and activists from the trade unions in the host country. As this conference is being held in the wake of the ITUC congress, we anticipate that many delegates will stay an extra couple of days in Berlin to participate. This is a rare chance for unmediated, face-to-face discussions between German trade unionists and their comrades from around the world.

We are looking for organisations and individuals to cooperate with in preparation of the conference. If you’re interested in supporting and helping to prepare the conference, please contact us.