Abbreviation IAF/IFA Region served Worldwide | Formation 1968 Website i-f-a.org | |
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Purpose Agitation, propaganda and international cooperation Official language Spanish, English, Portuguese, German, French, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Italian, Czech, Slovak, Esperanto | ||
The International of Anarchist Federations (IAF/IFA) (French: Internationale des Fédérations Anarchistes, IFA) was founded during an international anarchist conference in Carrara in 1968 by the three existing European federations of France, Italy and Spain as well as the Bulgarian federation in French exile. Other groups were also present in the formation of the IAF, such as the now defunct London Federation of Anarchists who took part in the preparation for the conference in 1968. According to Time magazine, before the first IAF conference in Carrara could begin, firemen were called to check the venue for bombs. The Carrara congress was a response to a congress held in London from June to August 1958 which "recreated a certain dynamism and wish towards the organisational aspiration of international anarchism".
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The IAF has since aimed to build and improve strong and active international anarchist structures. The federations associated with IAF believe that such an organisation is necessary to co-ordinate their international work and efficiently co-operate towards their mutual aims.
In order to further improve the quality of exchange and co-operation, IAF also keeps close contact with other anarchist organisations, such as the International Workers Association (IWA), an international association of anarcho-syndicalist organisations and unions. The IAF contains a large number of anarchist-communist federations and individuals.
Principles
The principles of work within IFA are that of federalism, free arrangement and Mutual Aid, and as states in their preamble of their principles, the IAF fights for:
- the abolition of all forms of authority whether economic, political, social, religious, cultural or sexual.
- the construction of a free society, without classes or States or frontiers, founded on anarchist federalism and mutual aid.
The IAF is committed to Direct Action, struggle from below, anti-parliamentarism, and opposition to reformism, on both a theoretical and a practical level.
To improve co-ordination and communication within IAF, as well as to provide an open contact address for the public and other anarchist groups and organisations, an International Secretariat (the Commission of Relations of the International of Anarchist Federations - referred to commonly as C.R.I.F.A.) was set up. The CRIFA irregularly rotates among the IAF federations. It is currently based with the Fédération Anarchiste (France). Often, the different member federations will work with one another on certain agreed issues and campaigns, in order to be able to mount a joint worldwide effort to raise awareness and assist the struggle around certain issues.
The different member federations also produce their own publications, such as Le Monde libertaire in France and Belgium, and El Libertario in Argentina. However, there was also an IAF magazine, Anarkiista Debato which, due, however, to a lack of funds, was unable to continue.
A number of reports have been written for the IAF, particularly on issues such as the struggle between the village of Rossport, the Corrib gas field and Shell in 2007. Members of the IAF often congregate at meetings of world leaders, such as Gleneagles in 2005.
Member organisations
Note: Please keep in mind that the member federations do not correspond to countries, as the first publication of Anarkiista Debato (the IAF's magazine) explains:
a.^ Although the FAI is technically an Iberian organisation (in that it encompasses all the regions in the Iberian peninsula), it does not have members in Portugal or Andorra.There are currently organisations in Venezuela, as well as other groups (both formal and informal), and individuals, around the world that the IAF is in contact, or with which it is holding discussions.