Newsletter 05/2026 – english version

Dear AMS Community,
First of all, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who got in touch after our April newsletter and decided to jump on board. We are absolutely thrilled!
A lot has happened here over the last few weeks – unfortunately, not all of it positive.
When it comes to putting on this year’s AMS, local authorities have put some major obstacles in our way. While this won’t break us, it did cause us to stumble a bit. It led to many internal discussions and extraordinary plenaries to figure out how to handle the situation. Right now, we are still in the middle of dealing with various government offices. Because there is no final resolution yet, we unfortunately cannot say more at this time. But one thing is for sure: these obstacles have really set things in motion for us…
On the one hand, it was difficult to keep planning during a moment of such uncertainty. On the other hand, this disruption made it very clear that our historically grown structures and internal dynamics within the organizing system are partly catching up with us and creating issues. This also affects overloaded individuals and AMS departments. We were forced to hit the brakes and ask ourselves: What do we want to do? And above all – what can we do?
We could just say: Let’s take this year to think things through properly. Following the motto: „Do nothing and think a lot.“
And now for the good news:
That is exactly what we do not want to do! We want to stay in touch, we want to try new things, we want to take action! We don’t just want to deal with structures and obstacles in theory. We want to keep doing things while taking our boundaries (more) seriously and looking after ourselves and everyone who is part of AMS. We want to deal with our situation creatively and see it as an opportunity: an opportunity to rethink processes, explore new possibilities, and simply do things differently for once. It is also a chance to bring back things we’ve lost along the way – like our good old friend, the DIY spirit.
So, even though we haven’t cleared all the stones out of the path yet, we have made a conscious choice to do something ANYWAY.
One thing is certain: an obstacle is an obstacle, and AMS is AMS.
But wait: this year, AMS might not be quite the same AMS after all.
What does that mean? Well, we don’t really know for sure yet either. In a way, we are starting from scratch again and want to surprise ourselves a little – through DIY, through you, and through us 🙂
Of course, we aren’t completely reinventing ourselves. We are still organizing an anti-national, anti-capitalist camp that critiques gender relations in the Stöcklewald. Once again, this August, there will be workshops, discussions, a cultural program, and a wonderful space for collective dreaming and political life.
It’s just that not everything will be exactly as you remember it from recent years. Some things will be smaller, others will be stripped down. As we said, our goal is to work less, not more. Therefore, we should all expect a few compromises when it comes to comfort, and we probably won’t be able to host everyone who would like to come. In these tough times, we simply have to pull closer together and focus on the essentials – on what truly defines us and the AMS. It will be cozier, maybe even „back to the roots“ – we will see.
Despite everything, we are looking forward to seeing many of you in the Black Forest at the end of August!
There will be a (limited) registration process again; more details on this will follow soon.
Let’s experience the surprises of AMS 2026 together!
In solidarity,
Your Orga Team