How it works
- At People & Planet, we run at least one ‘people’ (social justice) and one ‘planet’ (climate justice) campaign at all times.
- These campaigns are decided democratically by the students in our network.
- A decision by the network gives a mandate to run a campaign for six years.
- Our current ‘people’ campaign (Divest Borders) is now starting its fifth year!
- This means that over the course of this academic year, you will be able to propose ideas for a new ‘people’ campaign - or ideas for how we build on the current one!
Timeline
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Date
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Stage
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Details
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September 2025
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People Campaign Democracy Process Launch
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The launch of the people campaign democracy process is communicated to the student network. The form to express interest in developing a campaign proposal goes live. For more information on submitting an expression of interest, see the section below.
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January 2026
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Deadline for Expressions of Interest
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The form for submitting expressions of interest closes at 5pm on Friday 16th of January 2026.
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January - April 2026
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Development of Proposals
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For all submissions fulfilling the criteria, students are provided support to develop their ideas into more detailed proposals. If any groups/individuals have submitted similar ideas, they may be invited to collaborate on a shared proposal.
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May 2026
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Final Proposals Shared With Network
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Developed proposals are shared with the student network, alongside a proposal to continue working on Divest Borders. Comments and suggested improvements are gathered and collated.
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July 2026
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Decision-Making Process
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At Power Shift 2026 - our student activist weekender in July - the student network discusses and decides on a campaign to take forward for the next six years! Mechanisms are put in place to facilitate the participation of students who are unable to make it to Power Shift in person.
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August 2026
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Communication of Decision
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The result of the decision-making process on the future of the ‘people’ campaign is shared with the network.
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September 2026
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Implementation of Decision Begins
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If the network chooses Divest Borders to continue, work begins to implement any suggested changes or learnings and groups continue to run the campaign. If another campaign is chosen, groups continue to run Divest Borders for the 26/27 academic year whilst funding is secured and resources developed for the new campaign.
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Expressions of Interest
Any student at a UK university involved in People & Planet on their campus, or student group running our campaigns can submit a brief expression of interest via the form below. You don’t need to be part of an official People & Planet society on your campus. If you help run the Fossil Free, Fossil Free Careers or Divest Borders campaign on your campus (even if part of a different society) then you can submit an idea. The deadline for submissions is 5pm, 16th January 2026.
At this stage, all you need to do is answer two questions:
- What issue would you like the next People & Planet campaign to focus on?
- Do you have an idea for what the campaign could look like or what it might involve?
Please do give as much detail as you feel able to, but there’s no need to submit anything too complex at this stage - we’d prefer to hear a vague concept than not hear it at all! In the new year you will be provided with plenty of support to develop your initial idea into a more comprehensive proposal, so you don’t need to have all the answers now. We'll help take forward all submissions, but any ‘people’ campaign at People & Planet must fulfil a few criteria, so try to consider whether your idea has the potential to be:
Social Justice Focused - The campaign aims to challenge and dismantle structures of oppression creating systematic injustices in society, and acts in solidarity with those on the frontlines of that oppression.
Strategic - The campaign tangibly changes power relations towards social justice.
Replicable - The campaign can easily be carried out at a range of higher education institutions, including post-92 universities.
Comprehensible - The campaign can be explained in one sentence.
Niche - The campaign fills a space in the movement currently unoccupied.
Fundable - The campaign should be able to receive sufficient grant funding (P&P staff can advise on this).
Based in Collective Action - The campaign focuses on action students can take together towards structural change, rather than individual actions and behavioural change.
Accessible - The campaign structure employ a a wide range of roles facilitating diverse participation
Get in touch
If you’ve got any questions or would like any support with the process, drop us an email at divestborders@peopleandplanet.org
