Camped Lisbon brand concentration facing Web Summit

A Camped in Lisbon by the right to housing will return to activity on Thursday, with a concentration followed by debates and popular assembly in Parque das Nações, near the site that hosts the technological summit Web Summit.

Imitating the design of Web Summit, the Lisbon Camp created Camp Summit, with a tent as a symbol (https://www.campsummit.pt/).

“ While on the other side Lisbon is sold as a luxury window by the sea planted, those who live on their salary cannot pay the rent. That is why we have set up our own summit”, justifies the organisation, on a page created for this purpose and on existing social networks.

“The future begins here. Not there [not there]”, counters, in response to the web Summit (“the future starts here”), which will also resume its programming on Thursday, suspended due to storm Charles.

Unlike the event that brought about 70,000 people to Lisbon, for CampSummit there is no need for a ticket, because it is an event “without sponsorship or barriers to participation”, in which even “who has the credentials of the summit next” can enter.

“ No waiting list, unlike the municipal housing ", distinguishes the organization, highlighting that just reserve place on the floor, to listen to several people on behalf of a single speaker: the people who live in Portugal.

“ Clear entry. The income, unfortunately, remains expensive ", says.

The concentration of CampSummit is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., in the Alameda dos Oceanos, in front of the Vasco da Gama Shopping Centre, next to the entrance to WebSummit.

Then, at 7:00 p.m., the Camp will collect to the East Station for debates on the right to the city and digital technologies to serve democracy and, at 9:00 p.m., the usual popular assembly will take place.

“The Lisbon House wants to sell 10 public land for EUR 60 million,” protesters argue, denouncing that this value is similar to what the mayor Carlos Coins has already dismissed for WebSummit.

The Lisbon Camp suspended the activities planned for Tuesday and Wednesday, in the face of bad weather forecasts for the entire national territory.

“ The security conditions necessary for the implementation of the programming in these two days are not met,” he explained, saying that he would take advantage of “recovering energy, strengthening (...) bonds, organizing affinity and working groups and continuing to think and conspiring new ways to build a world” where “house is not a commodity, but a right”.

At the popular assembly on Monday, the Lisbon Camp decided to remove the tents from Rossio Square and decentralize its struggle.

“The right to the demonstration is much greater than Rossio”, justified one of the spokespersons of the Camp, in statements to Lusa.

On Friday, the mayor of Lisbon determined, in order, the departure of the Lisbon Camp of Rossio.

Carlos Coins indicated that the camp should go to Largo S. Domingos, Martim Moniz Square or the Restauradores, after PSP issued an opinion that gave green light to the installation of the Christmas market in Rossio and considered “that both initiatives [camped and market] are irreconcilable in the same place”.

The current protests against the housing crisis began in Porto on October 10, and expanded to Lisbon, and has also motivated concentrations in other cities.

The PSP's work to disperse the camp and remove the tents in Praça D. Pedro IV (Rossio) and in Praça D. João I, in Porto, resulted in dozens of arrests and dozens of wounded, motivating criticism from various quadrants.

The protesters demand, among other things, the reversal of the new rental law, a stop to housing purchase by real estate funds and “truely accessible” roofs to income.

The Camp will join the demonstration by the right to housing called for next Saturday, day 14, promoted by the Platform House to Live.