The 2022-23 Southern Cross Brigade Information Booklet is now available!
We have listed the cost for this year's Brigade at approximately 1,500AUD, including a 250AUD deposit upon registration. Please note that this will be the first Brigade since the pandemic and therefore it has been difficult to pin down an exact price. We will update you as soon as we can, but expect that you may have to pay a few hundred dollars extra or that the itinerary may change to keep costs down.
We have listed the cost for this year's Brigade at approximately 1,500AUD, including a 250AUD deposit upon registration. Please note that this will be the first Brigade since the pandemic and therefore it has been difficult to pin down an exact price. We will update you as soon as we can, but expect that you may have to pay a few hundred dollars extra or that the itinerary may change to keep costs down.
The 38th edition of the Southern Cross Brigade will kick off on 29 December 2022. The Southern Cross Brigade offers Australian and New Zealand friends of Cuba the opportunity to learn more about the island nation's unique, yet often misunderstood, political history and to participate in Cuba’s rich cultural heritage. As Cuba, Australia and New Zealand reopen, there is no better time to join the brigade and to find out what life is like in socialist Cuba!
Highlights of this year's draft itinerary: a multi-day stay in the Korimakao youth art commune, exchange with Villa Clara LGBTIQ social projects and the Federation of Cuban Women, attendance at the National Ballet, visits to the Fidel Castro Centre and Che Guevara Mausoleum, visits to local environmental conservation projects and cooperatives, and discussion with healthcare workers involved in Cuba's COVID-19 response (including the production and distribution of Cuba's homegrown vaccines)!
The draft itinerary for this year's Brigade includes (in chronological order):
The cost for this year's Brigade will be approximately $1,500AUD, including a $250AUD deposit upon registration.
Please note that this will be the first Brigade since the pandemic and therefore it has been difficult to pin down an exact price. We will update you as soon as we can, but expect that you may have to pay a few hundred dollars extra or that the itinerary may change to keep costs down.
International flights, visas and health insurance are not included in the cost sought by the Southern Cross Brigade and will need to be arranged separately.
If you wish to learn more about joining us in December 2022, please do not hesitate to send us a message, email us at southerncrossbrigade@gmail.com or join the Facebook group.
Highlights of this year's draft itinerary: a multi-day stay in the Korimakao youth art commune, exchange with Villa Clara LGBTIQ social projects and the Federation of Cuban Women, attendance at the National Ballet, visits to the Fidel Castro Centre and Che Guevara Mausoleum, visits to local environmental conservation projects and cooperatives, and discussion with healthcare workers involved in Cuba's COVID-19 response (including the production and distribution of Cuba's homegrown vaccines)!
The draft itinerary for this year's Brigade includes (in chronological order):
- Greetings at the airport on the day of the Brigade's commencement (29 December 2022);
- Travel from Havana to our camp (CIJAM), followed by the inauguration and a presentation on the history of Cuba and the Brigade, as well as some recent information on the circumstances in the country;
- Sporting and cultural activities at CIJAM, including interchange with other brigadistas from around the world (likely the Nordic Brigade), as well as locals;
- Dinner and New Year's celebrations at CIJAM to welcome in 2023 and the 64th anniversary of the Triumph of the Revolution (1 January 1959);
- A tour of Havana, including attendance at the National Ballet of Cuba and visits to key historical sites;
- A visit to Playa Girón (the Bay of Pigs) via the village of Australia (the coordination hub for Fidel Castro and other senior members of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces during the Bay of Pigs invasion);
- A four-day stay at the Korimakao art commune, where we will interchange with young artists and workers and participate in volunteer work;
- A multi-day tour of Villa Clara, staying at Friendship House. Here we will will exchange with survivors of the Cuban Revolution and visit the Che Guevara Mausoleum. We will also exchange with a local LGBTIQ social project, where there will be a presentation on their work from the Director of the program, including an update on LGBTIQ rights and the new Family Code;
- Voluntary work with local workers and cultural activities with young people from student and political organisations;
- Presentations on the challenges of the Cuban economy and an update on changes to the economic model;
- Visit to a local university to interchange with students and staff. This will include international students studying in Cuba;
- Exchanges with healthcare workers to discuss the health system in Cuba and the challenges of the pandemic (including creating and distributing Cuba’s homegrown vaccines);
- Salsa classes in Havana;
- Visit to an environmental conservation project and cooperatives undertaking positive developmental work;
- Attend a conference on media and propaganda campaigns against Cuba.
The cost for this year's Brigade will be approximately $1,500AUD, including a $250AUD deposit upon registration.
Please note that this will be the first Brigade since the pandemic and therefore it has been difficult to pin down an exact price. We will update you as soon as we can, but expect that you may have to pay a few hundred dollars extra or that the itinerary may change to keep costs down.
International flights, visas and health insurance are not included in the cost sought by the Southern Cross Brigade and will need to be arranged separately.
If you wish to learn more about joining us in December 2022, please do not hesitate to send us a message, email us at southerncrossbrigade@gmail.com or join the Facebook group.
Information sessions
Perth: An in-person information session will be held on Sunday, 21 August at Trades Hall in Perth. Please contact our WA coordinator, Rhonda, on 0428055635 or bowgadabird1@hotmail.com to register your interest.
Online: An online session for all prospective brigadistas is being finalised for the end July. Join the Facebook group or contact us to register your interest.
Information sessions on the Brigade are run in many regional centres across Australia and New Zealand throughout the year. Please contact us to get in touch with your regional brigade coordinator, who can tell you more about the Brigade and let you know about any upcoming information sessions.
Online: An online session for all prospective brigadistas is being finalised for the end July. Join the Facebook group or contact us to register your interest.
Information sessions on the Brigade are run in many regional centres across Australia and New Zealand throughout the year. Please contact us to get in touch with your regional brigade coordinator, who can tell you more about the Brigade and let you know about any upcoming information sessions.
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