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Join participatory workshops at Shared Planet
Image © Chris Davy
There are dozens of different workshops for you to choose from at Shared Planet 2008.
Here’s the full line-up, divided into three workshop sessions, on which you can now book your place if you’ve already booked your Shared Planet ticket:
- Session 1 Saturday 14:00 - 15:30
- Session 2 Saturday 16:00 - 17:30
Session 3 Sunday 14:00 - 15:30
|A| denotes workshops where some previous knowledge of the issue would be an advantage.
- |CP| denotes workshops that link with the theme of our new campaign on Corporate Power.
Session 1 - Saturday 14.00 - 15.30
The last acceptable racism? Gypsy women’s lives and rights
Violet Tucker, YWCA and Lucy Russell, P&P Trustee
Gypsy/Roma and Traveller women in the UK have to combat both racism and gender stereotypes to get their voices heard. This workshop will explore the day-to-day realities of Gypsy and Traveller women’s lives and how gender, ethnicity and prejudice impact on their lives.
Deserving Dignity: how citizens are taking action to protect refugee rights… and winning!
Jonathan Cox, Independent Asylum Commission
You’ve read the tabloid headlines, but what is life really like for those who seek sanctuary in Britain? Find out the shocking truth from the Independent Asylum Commission, the first nationwide review of the asylum system. Then find out how ordinary citizens are using radical and innovative ways to right the wrongs of our asylum system. You will be inspired and equipped to join them!
www.independentasylumcommission.org.uk
Poverty and Walls: Life Under Occupation in Palestine
Ruth Tanner, Campaigns and Policy Director, War on Want
Dan Judelson, Jews for Justice for Palestinians
Film showing of Iron Wall, with discussion and Q+A. The documentary covers the history of the illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine; their locations, population and infrastructure including the road network and finally the construction of the wall. The powerful documentary features interviews with prominent Palestinian and Israeli peace activists and political analysts, including: Jeff Halper, Akiva Eldar, Hind Khoury and Ghassan Al-Khatib, as well as Israeli settlers, soldiers and Palestinian farmers.
War on Want Jews for Justice for Palestinians
Rights Vs Reality in the global AIDS response — What needs to happen to ensure the promise of universal access is delivered
Diarmaid McDonald, SPW — Student Stop AIDS Campaign
The aim of achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010 is grounded in the basic human right to health. That right is being denied to millions of people and the target is going to be missed by a mile thanks to trade laws, IMF policies, questionable donor efforts and more. This workshop will look back at the progress of the campaign and forward to our next steps in the fight for universal access.
Media Engagement for Campaigners (Intro)
Symon Hill, Campaign Against Arms Trade
Anyone can be a media campaigner! Media engagement is a vital part of campaigning and is far too important to leave to experts. This is a chance to develop skills and knowledge for promoting campaigns to the media. Whether you’re running a campaign yourself or want to get local media interested in a bigger issue, this workshop will help. We will look at choosing which media to target, making your campaign newsworthy and contacting journalists
Latin American Social Movements
Dr. Andy Higginbottom, Kingston University
Outline of the resurgence of Latin American social movements fighting neo-liberalism. Why are these movements interesting? The movements are typified by grass roots nature and horizontal methods, exciting tactics. Sub-groups will take a closer look at Zapatistas Mexico; MST Brazil; piqueteros Argentina; water movement Bolivia and indigenous movement Colombia. Compare and contrast movements - how do they relate to governments and the state? Connections with Britain. Materials and contacts for support and further research.
Co-op Living — what co-ops are like and how to get started
Finn Skillen, Radical Routes
A brief guide to housing co-ops, worker co-ops, social centres, consumer co-ops, food co-ops, community businesses, etc, followed by questions and answers. There will be a bit of skill-sharing as well, as some participants will have some experience
Stop the Oyal Bank of Scotland financing climate chaos: running the Ditch Dirty Development Campaign
Hannah Schling, People & Planet
At the root of oil, gas and coal projects across the globe, you’ll find cash supplied by RBS-NatWest. Leading the UK finance sector, RBS-NatWest help to bankroll climate chaos. The DDD campaign calls for a rapid transition to investment in renewable energy projects, threatening boycott if RBS-NatWest fail to ‘make it happen’. Follow the cash trail, debunk RBS-NatWest’s greenwash and find out how to build the boycott threat
peopleandplanet.org/ditchdirtydevelopment
The Green University Challenge
Richard Roaf, People & Planet
Universities should be leading the transition to a sustainable low carbon society, but many don’t bother to practice even basic environmental management. Fear not! This workshop will train you on how to run the Go Green campaign to most effectively transform your University into a shining beacon of sustainability
peopleandplanet.org/gogreen/unis
Be a Guerrilla Gardener!
Olly Zanetti and Emma Hughes
‘Guerrilla gardening’ is the adoption and transformation of abandoned public spaces by growing and tending plants in them. As we “guerrilla garden” in a site near the campus, we’ll chat about its history, and discuss tactics and techniques to use in your own guerrilla gardening exploits. No experience necessary, but please bring any seeds, plants or equipment (trowel, fork, gloves) if you can and wear comfortable shoes you’re happy to get muddy!
Introduction to Development Education
Rob Unwin, Development Education Centre South Yorkshire
If you’re planning to do work in schools or colleges on global issues then this session is essential. DECSY are at the cutting edge of development education practice, and you’ll come away with a whole range of tips and tricks to take back to your group or the classroom. A brief introduction to the background and philosophy of ‘Dev Ed’ will be followed by trying out some practical, interactive activities to run with young people.
Get your School or College to Go Green
James Blair, People & Planet
Schools and Colleges are creating huge amounts of carbon emissions each year and loads of headteachers and principals are doing nothing about it. Come along to this session to find out about how P&P’s Go Green campaign works in Schools, Sixth Forms and Colleges. We’ll be going through the skills and tactics you can use to spread the word around the corridors and give you everything you need to change your school or college forever
Putting your body where your mouth is: Blockades, Bobbies and Bike-locks |A|
Pete Speller and Iain Thom, Students for a Free Tibet
If you’ve got direct action experience but really want to hone your skills then come and perform a sit-in at this workshop. Focusing on blockades and cover scouting, police tactics, and arrest amongst other things. It is for people who are committed to the principles behind direct action and will thus not cover any of the theory.
From Students for a Free Tibet the group behind the recent protests in Beijing during the Olympics
Global Europe: The Great Trade Robbery
Vicky Cann, World Development Movemet
Trade has the potential to lift millions out of poverty however European trade rules benefit the rich and powerful at the expense of the world’s poorest people. The World Development Movement is campaigning to stop Europe’s unfair trade deals. Come along to this workshop to find out more and take action.
Rights, Crimes and Corporations: international standards and accountability 25 years after Bhopal |A| |CP|
Tim Edwards, International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal
A workshop on the interaction between transnational corporations and human rights: how and why should international rights standards apply, and what is the prospect for bringing accountability when corporations are held responsible for violations? Presentation followed by discussion. The facilitator brings a decade’s experience of in-depth work with survivors of the world’s largest corporate disaster.
Introduction to Redress Fashion Campaign
Becca Jones, Redress Fashion Working Group
Often the clothes that we buy are made in sweatshop conditions, by women or children earning a meagre wage and working up to 72 hours a week in forced overtime. The Redress Fashion campaign targets Topshop, whose slogan is “We Love Students”. We would Love Topshop too, if they showed they were serious about improving their effects on workers and the environment. Come along and learn more about this exciting and successful campaign!
peopleandplanet.org/redressfashion
Dismantling Corporate Power
Claire Fauset, Corporate Watch and Jess Worth, New Internationalist
Can we create a just and sustainable society when corporations hold so much power? If not, where do we start in dismantling corporate power? What tools and tactics do we have on our side? If you’re interested in stopping climate change, economic justice or stopping human rights abuses overseas, then come and explore how to start challenging the biggest obstacle standing in our way.
Corporate Watch New Internationalist
The Politics of Thinking Green
James Connelly, Professor of Politics, University of Hull
This workshop will consider the politics and ethics of being green, in particular the responsibilities of individuals in relation to climate change, resource use, food and transport and the political difficulties lying on the road to a sustainable future.
Learning from Obama: The power of grassroots funding
Louise Cobb and Kt Hartless, People & Planet
Obama’s campaign has received over 40% of its income through grassroots funding, enabling them to outspend the Republicans for the first time. If grassroots funding can change the face of the US political landscape, think what it could do for P&P? Come and find out how to raise vital cash for P&P campaigns, and your own groups. We’ll cover group events, RAG and sponsorship; giving you practical fundraising skills to power your campaigns.
Session 2 - Saturday 16:00-17:30
Workshops from session 1 repeated in session 2:
- The last acceptable racism? Gypsy women’s lives and rights
- Deserving Dignity: how citizens are taking action to protect refugee rights… and winning!
- Poverty and Walls: Life Under Occupation in Palestine
- Rights Vs Reality in the global AIDS response
- Latin American Social Movements
- Co-op Living — what co-ops are like and how to get started
Media Engagement for Campaigners |A|
Symon Hill, Campaign Against the Arms Trade
If you want to be more effective at promoting your campaigns to the media, this workshop is for you. It is a chance to learn important skills that will help you make the news. We will look at linking media work with other campaigning, choosing your target media, pitching stories to journalists and producing press releases that make the news, not the bin
CCTV, ID cards and the DNA database
The 2006 Identity Cards Act specifies fifty categories of information that the National Identity Register (NIR) can hold on each citizen. And with over 4 million CCTV cameras and DNA profiles of as many people (and counting), the UK has the second largest National DNA database and the greatest concentration of CCTV cameras in the world.
But are they necessary tools for efficiency and security purposes or is Britain on a slippery slope towards becoming a Big Brother State?
Come discuss and ask your questions to Phil Booth, National Co-ordiantor of the NO2ID campaign. NO2ID is a UK-wide, non-partisan organisation campaigning on the threat to liberty and privacy posed by the rapid growth of the database state, of which “ID cards” are the most visible part.
Introduction to Fairtrade Schools & Colleges
Jim Cranshaw, People & Planet
The rich and powerful are pursuing trade policies that put profits before the needs of people. Imagine: All of the schools and colleges in the country showing that they were serious about Fairtrade by getting Fairtrade Status. This would make a massive difference to the Fairtrade farmers and their communities, and would show government that it is time to put an end to unfair world trade. Come along and learn how.
peopleandplanet.org/tradejustice
Challenging Corporate power: Developing People & Planet’s New Campaign |CP|
Juliette Daigre, People & Planet
P&P’s new Corporate Power campaign launches in September 2009. And this December it’s decision-time: who or what do you want the campaign to target? The campaign could challenge the political influence of corporations by calling for: strengthened national and international regulations … OR stop corporations abusing workers’ rights … OR anything else you decide. This discussion workshop will discuss potential directions for the campaign, and give you the chance to develop and write your own proposals.
peopleandplanet.org/corporatepower
Funding the climate crunch: climate change, global economics and banking |CP|
Hannah Schling (P&P), Mel Evans (PLATFORM) and Colin Baines (Co-op)
Your money, as a bank account holder, and now as a taxpayer, is being used to finance climate hostile activities around the world. Addressing this is key in the fight against climate disaster. Using the examples of tar sands and new coal power, we will look at how banks can and should factor climate change into their investments, and how you as activists can assess banks’ performance and hold them to account.
The Changing Climate: How Small is Still Beautiful
Bronwen Thomas, People & Planet and Gregory Akall, Practical Action
This Practical Action workshop will be focussed on looking at the energy needs of the world’s poorest people. Kenyan speaker, Gregory Akall, will be talking from experience about how it is possible to lift people out of poverty using small scale renewables in our changing climate, and will also be highlighting issues around energy access in developing countries. An opportunity for you to learn more about an energy area that tends to be overlooked
Getting Ready for Go Green Week 2009
James Blair, People & Planet
The focal point of the Go Green campaign, Go Green Week 2009 (9th -13th February) promises to be the best yet. Come along to get all the latest details on what’s planned and inspiration for your own events.
peopleandplanet.org/gogreen/gogreenweek
Art for Activism
Stig
We’ll start with a short overview of ‘creative activism’ including visual examples from a variety of issues and techniques. Then, in three ‘hands-on’ groups, we’ll design, paint and construct three banners. Participants will learn all aspects of cheap and rapid DIY banner-making by doing it, with advice and assistance. The three banners should be use-able in three current P&P campaigns, and could be on display for the rest of the weekend.
Introduction to Non-Violent Direct Action
Pete Speller & Iain Thom, Students for a Free Tibet
From protest marches to banner hangs, activists use many different forms of protest to get their message across. This workshop introduces the idea of non-violent direct action; what is direct action and what does non-violent direct action mean?
From Students for a Free Tibet the group behind the recent protests in Beijing during the Olympics.
The Green New Deal: Investing in Energy Efficiency
Dr. Caroline Lucas, the Green Party
An introduction to the Green New Deal — why peak oil, climate change and the credit crunch require a radical new way of thinking about the economy.
Redressing Our Education Sector
Rhiannon Horsley and Matt McMullen, Redress Education Working Group
Students are angry about sweatshops supplying our beloved high street brands. All the while sweatshops also supply our universities with merchandise, and our schools and colleges with thousands of uniforms every year. If you’d rather your student hoodies and school uniforms were not made by child labour or through poverty wages then come and make a difference here.
peopleandplanet.org/redressfashion/campus
Session 3 - Sunday 14:00-15:30
During the guerrilla gardening workshop at Shared Planet 07
Image © Chris Davy
Workshops repeated from session 1 and 2:
- Stop the Oyal Bank of Scotland financing climate chaos: running the Ditch Dirty Development Campaign
- The Green University Challenge
- Be a Guerrilla Gardener!
- Introduction to Fairtrade Schools & Colleges
- Challenging Corporate power: Developing People & Planet’s New Campaign |CP|
Using the internet for activism
Chris Anderson, Turnfront, Web Activist
How to use web technologies to change the world. In particular social media such as Facebook, Twitter, google maps and blogs.
The Future of Go Green |A|
Richard Roaf, People & Planet
The Go Green campaign has been run with success at universities all over the country but what next after you’ve achieved the four Go Green demands? The possibilities are almost endless, from onsite renewables, to transport, food and energy.
At the 2009 Forum students will decide which direction the Go Green campaign should go so join the debate, share your ideas and learn from the experiences of other student campaigners
Save Yasuní: Keep the Oil Underground
Georgina Donati and Ginés Haro Pastor, Yasuní Green Gold
This workshop will explore from a grassroots perspective the issues and possibilities facing the Yasuní: A UNESCO designated Amazonian national park in Ecuador and home to groups of non-contact indigenous people which is currently under threat from a proposal to exploit the 5 days worth of oil underneath the park. The national government propose to save the Yasuní and with work the proposal could form an international model to solve similar situations in other countries.
Students and workers unite! - Resisting corporate power in the education sector |CP|
Dan Randall, Education Not for Sale
How can we resist the subordination of our universities, colleges and schools to the needs of big business employers, and fight for a democratic education sector run from below by students and workers? The workshop will discuss the roots of the corporate marketisation of the education sector and look at practical case-studies of anti-corporate campaigning in the student movement, as well as discussing how to build student-worker unity on our campuses.
Financing conflict: big business and the arms trade |CP|
Ruth Tanner, War on Want
High street brands are using customers’ money to finance the arms trade. The arms industry sells products designed to maim and kill human beings and destroy a country’s infrastructure, contributing to the suffering of millions. This workshop will discuss these issues and the brand new evidence which War on Want will have just published, and will highlight what action we can take to stop these companies making a killing from poverty and war
South Africa since the End of Apartheid: An African Renaissance Story?
Tony Dykes and Mark Beacon, Action for Southern Africa (ATCSA)
In less than 20 years South Africa has been transformed into a stable democracy and a major political and economic force within Africa. We will examine the successes and challenges of the new South Africa, looking at the legacy of apartheid, unemployment, crime and HIV/AIDS. Also at the progress made in meeting the Millennium Development Goals in the run up to its 4th democratic election in 2009 and the 2010 World Cup which South Africa hosts
Practical Solutions for Sustainable Living
Alice and Kim, Trapese Popular Education Collective
Based on the ideas from the chapter in our book, DIY, A Handbook for Changing our World. We will briefly discuss principles of permaculture and draw out some of the many energy, waste and water saving we know of. Sustainability is a broad subject, does it include campaigning against new coal fired power stations as well? How can we understand our current unsustainable systems and motivate ourselves and others to make changes in our lives?
1968-2008: War, Student Resistance and Non-violent Revolutions from Vietnam to Iraq
Milan Rai and Emily Johns, Peace News
An overview of social movements in the US and Britain from the 1960s to today — concentrating on the anti-war and student movements. Plus some discussion of Noam Chomsky’s “The Responsibility of Intellectuals”. (Milan Rai is the author of Chomsky’s Politics)
Fairtrade, Trade Justice and Labour Rights: What next? |A|
Jim Cranshaw, People & Planet
Fairtrade is an innovative way of combating poverty. This year we ask can Fairtrade be More Than a Label? Is buying Fairtrade products sufficient as a poverty reduction strategy, or do we need changes to the rules that govern global trade too? Should the Fairtrade label be given to massive companies like Nestle and distributed by giant supermarkets like Tescos? Finally what protection does Fairtrade offer factory workers and unions? Come join the conversation about Fairtrade’s future.
Death and Taxes — the true toll of tax dodging |CP|
Andy Wilson, Christian Aid, Campaigns Officer — Economic Justice
Why is Tax critical to development? How do large corporations avoid and evade paying tax? This introduction to tax will underline how tax has the potential to support development and highlights the current unethical behaviour of large corporations when it comes to paying tax. Come along to find out why this is now the most important issue in international development
What can we do to ensure a just and effective global deal on climate change in 2009?
Emily Cantrell, People & Planet
Contributions from Young Friends of the Earth Europe, UK Youth Climate Coalition, Campaign Against Climate Change
The UN climate change talks in Copenhagen in December 2009 are seen by many as a critical element of preventing the most catastrophic impacts of climate change in the years ahead. Come to this workshop to hear from a range of organisations about how to get involved with the campaign plans already afoot.
