If you have dreamed about an European summer tour this year might be the best possible moment for a pirate to discover Berlin and its attractions. Starting from summer, the annual meeting of Pirate Parties International will take place in Berlin, on 23rd and 24th July. Right after the conference, Berliners will have another exciting event stay tuned for: Pirates are running for the local elections. On top of that, German Pirates will be celebrating ten years of pirate movement, again – in Berlin.

On September 18th, the election of the House of Representatives in Berlin will be held. Surveys show the Pirates (with their top candidate Bruno Kramm) currently polling at about 3%, despite the good work that the elected pirates haved done over the past years in the Berlin “Abgeordnetenhaus” (City Parliament of Berlin). Current predictions are far from the Pirate Party’s electoral success in 2011, when they reached 8.9% of the vote. The Berlin success in 2011 initiated a huge hype and brought a national German double-digit party poll result in 2012.

The hype vanished just as quickly as it appeared. Repeating it and successfully moving into the Berlin parliament, now requires a good deal of hard work, persuasiveness and solidarity from international pirates. If it’s possible in Berlin to prove to the public that the pirates can get reelected on the European continent, this sign will not miss its effects in terms of a second chance of the Pirate movement on the continent and inspire our whole work as well as a possible success in the national elections in Iceland.

The choice in Berlin is not only for the local pirates of considerable importance, but for all of us. Reason enough for us, the international pirate community, to head to Berlin this summer.

What can you do:

• Come to the General Assembly of Pirate Parties International: 22th to 24th July 2016 in Berlin, Franz-Mehring-Platz, 10243 Berlin. Event website: http://ga2016.pp-international.net
• For socializing between other Pirates, PPI offers a barbecue event and silent cinema with 2-channel-headphones in the evening of saturday, 23rd of July. Every pirate is called to bring some material to present like flags, merchandising, gimmicks, electoral video clips, interviews, short movies and presentations to show your political work to the other international Pirates in the evening.
• Networking & Knowhow: good choice to get known a lot of Pirates worldwide. Besides delegates, guests are welcome to participate
• It’s the beginning of the election campaign in Berlin. Some international pirates are going to use the week after the general assembly for an “adventure trip” to help Berlin Pirates in the beginning of their campaigns.
• Come and celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Pirate Party Germany on the 10th September 2016 in Berlin. Local pirates own a small motorboat for campaigning, which is going to be used for a trip through Berlin. Wave and smile for electoral campaigning while you have a nice view of the parliamentary district and the city center from the water.

For questions or accommodation please get in touch with Jessica Zinn: jessica.zinn@berlin.piratenpartei.de

Featured image: Modified screenshot from event site. 

About Patrick Schiffer

I am living in Duesseldorf, Germany and I am a Member of the Pirate Party since March 2012. I’ve studied Arts & Visual Communication at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. I speak german, english, french and dutch fluently. I am interested in developing & spreading the ideas coming out of and getting into the Pirate movement worldwide. For that, I think this international newsletter is a great thing. And I’d love to work & communicate with pirates from different countries all over the world so that I would like to help and contribute by spreading news, commenting, making graphics, writing & lectorating for Pirate Times. I am active in several working groups in Germany and in co-coordinating the founding of the PP EU.

 

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If you have dreamed about an European summer tour this year might be the best possible moment for a pirate to discover Berlin and its attractions. Starting from summer, the annual…