Originating with the city’s counterculture and free spaces, Amsterdam Alternative stands for collective action and radical political debate for the sake of a desirable future for the many, not the few. Different perspectives, ideas and backgrounds exist side by side, without the need to mold them into one homogeneous party line. We are not looking for a clear cut definition of ‘the alternative,’ b
ut fight for a future urban culture that is in line with the open, emancipative aspects of Amsterdam’s heritage as a free city. We are a platform for political movements and activists looking for effective tools against the city’s perpetual devastation by the rich and powerful. Part of what made Amsterdam a proud, flourishing city throughout the centuries was its openness for subcultures (including etnical and gender subcultures), the prolific squatter scene, alternative lifestyles and the arts. Its open, liberal character is something that the inhabitants are rightly proud of. However, Amsterdam is rapidly changing into a colourless shadow of a city that cares more about business than it does about its residents and their well-being. Amsterdam is becoming an expensive corporate city, exclusively for the rich. The rough edges and alternative places of the city are disappearing, due to exploding rents and property prices, as well as the lack of political will to reverse this development. Instead, a conformist infrastructure is proliferating in which vacuous, commercialised forms of “creativity” serve as cheap excuses for complicity in a brutal system of exploitation. Our response is defiance: there is an alternative, there is even a multitude of alternatives, and AA is a platform committed to make them visible and efficacious. Today, the necessity of a strong and timely alternative scene is greater than ever. Objectives:
• Promoting and representing the interests of Amsterdam’s alternative scene.
• Realizing and maintaining an independent platform for small-scale and non-profit initiatives outside the mainstream; acquisition and management of properties for this purpose, and ensuring that acquired properties do not return to the private market.
• Publishing articles, background information and programming schedules of participating organizations/projects.
• Connecting and supporting the participating initiatives by means of sharing information and experience.
• Organizing events.
• Organizing and setting up educational programmes.
• Supporting groups and movements committed to climate justice, equality and anti-racism, as well as promoting a variety of cultures and fighting monoculture.
The underlying principle is: not for profit.
