November 2013 Bexhill and Hastings WDM during Dirty Month Energy
Think Global Act locally with the World Development Movement Contents
Letter from the activism team 3 Action checklist 4 Campaign update: climate justice 5 Campaign update: food sovereignty 7 Events 8 Groups 9 Partner updates 11 Current materials 12
Members of North and East London WDM and South West London WDM take action at an HSBC for Dirty Energy Month. News bites
Climate justice • WDM has released a report ‘Banking while Borneo burns’ - available from WDM’s website. • On 21 November the UN, governments, global financial institutions and corporations will meet in Edinburgh for the first ‘World Forum on Natural Capital’, to plan how to put a price on nature so that it can be bought and sold as a commodity.
Food sovereignty • No final decisions were taken at the October trialogue meeting, but food speculation regulation will be discussed again in November at a meeting in Brussels.
Inserts
• Template letters to BHP Billiton, Anglo American and the Colombian Ambassador • Jubilee debt campaign letter to George Osborne on Grenadan debt relief • Groups monthly planner 2 Letter from the activism team
Dear friends,
We are really pleased to welcome Katharine back to the WDM office after a year off. Katharine will be job- sharing the role of senior activism officer with James. Sarah will continue as groups officer and Ralph as events assistant.
Thanks to everyone who filled in our survey about WDM’s identity and name. The responses are really useful and will provide us with guidance throughout the process. We had a staff-council away day which focused on thinking about WDM and how we can raise our profile in the coming years. This resulted, among other things, in a decision to present a proposal for a change of name to the 2014 AGM. The group consultation responses were important in influencing the staff-council meeting. There will of course be further opportunities to feed in and there will be more detail on this in the next Think Global.
We are sorry to say goodbye to the Bolton WDM group who have decided to close after an impressive 38 years. It’s always sad when a group closes but I’m sure the group’s members will continue to be active in different ways.
The next issue of Think Global will be a joint December/January issue and will be posted later than usual. It should be posted by 18 December.
Finally, it’s been great to hear about all of the actions and events taking place across the country as part of Dirty Energy Month. Well done to everyone who took part!
Happy campaigning!
Sarah Reader Groups officer
Who’s who in the activism team For material requests and events enquiries Ralph Allen, events assistant: [email protected] or 020 7820 4900.
For group queries, advice and support • In Scotland: Jane Herbstritt, campaigns assistant (based in our Edinburgh office) [email protected] or 013 1243 2730. • In the north of England: Maya Williams, regional organiser for the north (based in Bradford) [email protected] or 079 5421 4325. • In the rest of the UK: Sarah Reader, groups officer [email protected] 020 7820 4900. Sarah can also help all groups with website queries.
James O’Nions and Katharine Talbot will be job-sharing the role of senior activism officer. They will manage the team as well as leading on major national events and strategy. 3 Action checklist
Groups Climate justice Collect signatures for the HSBC ‘pile on the pressure’ action card. Organise an action for Dirty Energy Month (ends 11 November). Edit and send the Cerrejon coal mine letters (see offline action of the month below)
Food sovereignty Organise a ‘Whose food? Our food?’ film night if you haven’t done so already Continue lobbying your MEPs on MiFID and collecting signatures on the Bankers Anonymous action cards.
At your next meeting Plan a Christmas social, it’s a chance to look back on 2013 and celebrate your group’s activities and successes.
Offline action of the month Adapt the draft letters (enclosed with this issue of Think Global) to Anglo American, BHP Billiton and to the Colombian Ambassador, calling on them to stop the expansion of the Cerrejon coal mine in Colombia.
Jane Thewlis from Bradford WDM joins Kirklees against Climate Change for a Dirty Energy Month action outside HSBC. The action was reported in the Huddersfield Examiner. 4 Campaign update: Climate and energy justice
• WDM groups, activists and staff have been setting up mining extraction sites outside HSBC branches across the country as part of Dirty Energy Month. • We have launched a new report on the financing of coal mines in Indonesia: Banking while Borneo Burns. We also made a film about this which is available on WDM’s Youtube channel. • Let us know if you would like to join in our HSBC action at Christmas to deliver the pile of coal.
Actions against HSBC’s investments Delivering coal to HSBC As part of Dirty Energy Month, WDM groups and As mentioned in last month’s Think Global, we are activists have been setting up extraction sites planning to deliver a huge sack of coal to HSBC outside branches of HSBC across the country to in December corresponding to the number of demand a stop to its coal investments. In the action cards and emails that have been sent in City of London, the appearance of WDM activists by activists. Please do get as many of these cards bearing tape and builders hats prompted the bank filled in as possible to ensure that HSBC gets the manager to shut the branch down. On the global Christmas present it truly deserves. We plan to day of action on coal, we also set up an extraction make a bit of noise around the delivery, which will site outside HSBC’s head office in Canary Wharf, be made by people dressed in Father Christmas and handed in a box of coal to represent what suits the week before Christmas. If you would like people’s money is used to fund. There have been to join us for the festive delivery, please contact some great actions around the country! Many Sam. thanks to all groups who have already held HSBC coal actions and don’t forget to send us your photos and reports so we can share the full picture Carbon Capital speaker tour of WDM activities with allies around the world at At the time of writing, we are very lucky to have the end of Dirty Energy Month. our two speaker tour guests with us – Hendrik (Beggy) Siregar from Indonesia and Jazmin If you would like to hold an action in front of your Romero Epiayu from Colombia. local HSBC, please order a ‘Bring the extraction back to the banks’ action kit by contacting Sam at In addition to some great events hosted by local [email protected] or by calling us at WDM groups across the country, Beggy and the office. Jazmin met with three MPs who are serving on an inquiry into the extractives industry and held a separate meeting with a group from several all-party parliamentary groups including Jeremy Corbyn MP. Both Jazmin and Beggy explained how UK investment in coal projects in Colombia and Indonesia are causing serious health problems for local people and destroying the culture of indigenous peoples.
Jazmin and Beggy also met with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and joined the London Mining Network at the AGM of the UK-listed global mining giant BHP Billiton, which is involved in coal mining in both Indonesia and Colombia.
Central Lancashire WDM take action for Dirty Energy Month
5 Take Action: they had done about fracking. They presented With this Think Global we have included two copies the research as a ‘web of power’ - similar to of letters about the Cerrejon coal mine, drafted our interactive fossil fuel web of power that we by Jazmin on the train on her way back from the published online at the start of the campaign. first speaker tour event! One of these is to the Colombian Embassy, and the other for the UK We were so impressed by the piece of work that companies that co-own the coal mine. Please send we had it designed and turned into an interactive these to make sure the concern felt by people in infographic. You can find the fracking web of the UK is made loud and clear. It would be great power on our website - please share with your for as many of these letters to be sent as possible, friends. so maybe send one from each person in your group. You could also use them on stalls alongside It was really great to be able to support an the coal action card to give another tangible initiative from local activists, so do let us know if example of the devastation caused by projects you come up with ideas that would be useful for financed via HSBC. the campaign.
Banking while Borneo Burns launch Nature is not for sale We have launched our new report exposing Forum on natural commons the billions of pounds UK banks like Barclays, When: Thursday 21 November, 6.30-9.30pm HSBC and Standard Chartered are pouring into Where: Augustine United Church, George IV Indonesia’s fossil fuel boom. UK banks are the Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EL biggest lenders for Indonesian coal in the world and the report reveals the devastation these On 21 November the UN, governments, global companies are wreaking on communities, many of financial institutions and corporations will meet whom who have been forced to leave their homes in Edinburgh for the first ‘World Forum on Natural and face the loss of their livelihoods. Capital’, to plan how to put a price on nature so that it can be bought and sold as a commodity. The report is available from WDM’s website, or So far this practice has utterly failed to stop the alternatively you may request a hard copy by destruction of forests, climate and biodiversity. contacting Sam. On the same day, an alliance of organisations Films about mining in Indonesia (including WDM) campaigning against this We have also released our campaign video, which financialisation of nature will be holding an follows the trail of money from the City of London alternative ‘Forum on Natural Commons’, to the Borneo rainforest and includes interviews because nature is not for sale. Our event will with local people affected by coal mining partly feature international speakers including Camilla financed by UK banks and investors. Moreno, of Friends of the Earth Brazil, as well as campaigners from the UK and Europe. The event is We sent a copy of the full video out in last month’s free, including dinner, but registration is required. Think Global, but do let us know if you need www.naturenotforsale.org/forum an additional copy. We also have more of the Indonesia leaflets available. All three versions We’re also planning a humorous stunt outside the of the video are also available online on WDM’s World Forum on Natural Capital to illustrate the Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/wdmuk great nature sell-off. If you’re interested in taking part, please email Liz in WDM’s Scottish office at [email protected] Fracking web of power A few weeks ago, a couple of members from South Lakeland WDM, together with South Lakes Action on Climate Change, sent us some great reaserch 6 Campaign update: Food sovereignty
• No final decisions were taken at the trialogue meeting on 9 October but food speculation regulation will be discussed again in early November • Groups can continue lobbying their MEPs or using Bankers Anonymous action cards • Consider if you want to organise a film screening this winter on food sovereignty and changing food prices and order your film pack now
European legislation update You can find the following resources on the local Negotiators from the European parliament, groups pages of the website: European Commission and Council of Ministers met again on 9 October to discuss how to regulate • ‘Talking points for meeting MEPs’ document – food speculation. We launched a twitterstorm just useful bullet points for face-to-face meetings a few days beforehand urging key decision makers • MEP briefing – can be emailed or sent to MEPs to take a firm stand on food speculation. Our allies • Template lobby letter if you want to still write in Brussels, reported to us that both the European to your MEP parliament and commission negotiators supported If you have specific questions about lobbying your a strong legislative text with many of the main MEP, please feel free to call or email the office to loopholes removed. However, no decisions were speak to a member of the food team. taken at the meeting as the council could not come to a common position on the loopholes. The If you prefer spreading the word locally, the UK government has been the main obstacle as ‘Bankers Anonymous’ action cards are still live, they continue to try and water down the proposed and can be used for local stalls or stunts. To order rules. more, contact Dan in the office at dan.iles@wdm. org.uk or on 020 7820 4900. We launched an urgent e-action at the end of October to keep up the pressure on the UK government. The next meeting where all three Alternatives to food speculation institutions will discuss food speculation will Nearly 25 WDM groups have ordered our ‘Whose be on 6 November. We will keep you updated on Food? Our Food!’ film pack. The film pack explores developments. some of the positive alternatives which are helping food producers and consumers tackle the issue of food price volatility. Current food speculation actions Food speculation will have limited time for If you would like a film pack, please contact ralph. discussion during the trialogue process however [email protected] or call 020 7820 4900 to order. keeping up pressure during the whole negotiation phase is still useful as any gains in strengthening the rules could be conceded later on as other New campaign development topics are discussed. Over the next few months, the food campaign team at WDM will continue to monitor If your group wants to continue lobbying MEPs, developments on MiFID during its final stages of by email or in person, this will still be helpful to negotiation but we will also be developing the let negotiators know that the public want strong new food campaign targeting agribusiness. We are regulation. We’ve heard they are feeling the currently working hard to research and develop pressure again! this exciting new campaign and hope to launch the new campaign in early 2014. We will keep you updated with our progress. 7 Events
Meet WDM’s new director WTO meeting in Bali Nick Dearden has been visiting WDM groups, giving The next WTO ministerial conference will him a chance to hear about where they think WDM take place in Bali from 3-6 December. More should be heading, and for him to share his views information about this will be emailed to groups on the international economic justice movement. soon.
The London WDM groups and Glasgow WDM have both hosted Nick. There are two more meetings planned, with one in Sheffield to be confirmed for Building a movement in Scotland the new year: Skillshare and networking day for local campaigns groups in Scotland. Oxford WDM When: Tuesday 12 November, 8pm When: Saturday 16 November, 12 noon – 4.30pm Where: Oxford Town Hall, St Aldgate’s, Oxford, Where: The Albany, 44 Ashley St, Glasgow, G3 6DM OX1 1BX This event will bring together activists involved Watford WDM in local groups campaigning on global issues such When: Thursday 14 November, 7.30pm as debt justice, poverty and food speculation; to Where: Bushey & Oxhey Methodist Church, 77 issues closer to home including the bedroom tax, Chalk Hill, London Road, Watford, WD19 4DA ‘No More Page 3’ and transition towns. If you live in Scotland or the north of England, and are active in a local group, or would like to become more Campaigner skillshare in Liverpool active – please come along! Merseyside WDM is excited to be hosting a skillshare in which we’ll take you on a crash course The day will include: in campaigning with a day of workshops on what you need to be an effective activist. • Workshops on social media, craftivism, and local media When: Saturday 16 November, 11am (refreshments • A chance to talk about what makes a successful from 10.30am) – 4:30pm campaign and how we can all become more Where: Liverpool Friends’ Meeting House, 22 successful campaigners School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BT • An open space session for participants to set their own agenda The day will include sessions on: • Free lunch, with plenty of time to chat, network and visit the campaign stalls. • Campaigning creatively • Using websites and social media effectively The event is co-organised by WDM, Jubilee • WDM’s Carbon Capital campaign Scotland, Friends of the Earth Scotland, Oxfam • WDM’s new director Nick Dearden on and SCIAF. To book your free place go to: campaigning for global justice in a post- www.scottish-skillshare.eventbrite.co.uk or phone financial crisis world Jane on 0131 243 2730. • Free lunch - a chance to talk and eat with other activists If travel costs are a barrier to you coming along, • A Carbon Capital action in Liverpool we can cover your travel. Please bring your receipts on the day. This free event is open to all. If you are hoping to come please email [email protected] so we can cater for the right number of people. 8 Groups
Dirty Energy Month WDM groups have been really busy during Dirty Energy Month with local actions targeting HSBC and nine groups hosting speaker tour events.
Actions against HSBC (so far) • Manchester WDM had a giant grim reaper at their action, meeting and greeting staff as they arrived at the bank. • The Central Lancashire WDM group had their Carbon Capital protest published on a local Preston blog. • London WDM groups set up a mine with a detonator outside a bank in the City. They also tried to had in a giant cheque for £0.07 as Portsmouth WDM with their stall at the Green Fair compensation for the bank’s ‘land’ they were occupying. Week. Nick Dearden, WDM’s director, spoke at a • WDM staff and volunteers paid a visit to HSBC’s food event attended by 50 people who were served headquarters in Canary Wharf. Nick Dearden, locally sourced food. WDM’s director, tried to deposit a box of coal in money bags. Miriam Ross, WDM’s media officer, did a talk at the • Bexhill and Hastings WDM braved windy Cherry Tree Nursery in Bournemouth, which was conditions and held a great action. organised with members of the former East Dorset • Cambridge WDM held a stall two weekends in WDM group. a row outside HSBC. • Bradford WDM joined Kirklees against Climate Gloucestershire WDM organised a joint event Change in an action which was reported in the with the county branch of the United Nations Huddersfield Examiner. Association with a talk by Martin Horwood MP. Brighton and Hove WDM, South Lakeland WDM, Leicester WDM, Cambridge WDM and Glasgow Members of East Cleveland WDM supported a local WDM all have HSBC actions planned. anti-fracking event.
Carbon Capital speaker tour. Watford WDM held a meeting with Diana Vogtel, The Carbon Capital speaker tour got off to Oxfam’s activism support officer, and a public great start with the event in St Albans. About meeting about Venezuela with Dr Mike Barnes. 25 people attended and there was some lively discussion and calls to action. The Nottingham Leeds WDM held a Carbon Capital film night. They event also went well, despite problems with are running a food event at the university on 23 trains. About 80 people came to the event in November. London and Reading’s event, which was part of the Reading International Festival, was also well Reading WDM held a Carbon Capital stall and attended. Unfortunately the Glasgow event had got 50 action cards signed. A member of the to be cancelled following a strong storm which group from Bolivia also led a discussion at a disrupted rail travel. screening of the film ‘Even the Rain’ set during the Cochabamba water wars. For Portsmouth WDM, their speaker tour was just one event among a busy week for One World Jackie from Reading WDM spoke at a film 9 Researching dodgy deals Report back by Suzanne Freegard from Shropshire WDM
In the spirit of resource-sharing, WDM opened up its London office to a Saturday workshop on “researching dodgy deals” in October. Organised by Jubilee Debt Campaign (JDC) and friends, the workshop revealed methods of investigating corporations’ activities, from scouring accounts and ownership data from Companies House, to Manchester WDM welcome HSBC staff with their grim reaper submitting freedom of information requests, to interviewing employees. screening of Crude as part of Reading International Festival. Jackie also went to a Campaigners have used such methods to probe Greenpeace film screening of ‘Blood of the corporate tax avoidance, alleged mining abuses, Amazon’ and spoke about our Carbon Capital arms trading, dictators’ assets and more. The campaign. workshop participants attempted their own desk-based investigations, including into energy St Albans and District WDM spent a day at the companies and agribusiness, and learned to Oxfam Herts Hike. As well as supporting the hike consider, “who’s watching you while you’re with marshelling services and refreshments for watching them?!” the walkers, it was a great opportunity to do some campaigning on the Carbon Capital campaign. The aim of the workshop was to encourage collaborative research and there is the potential The Bradford WDM group have been helping to replicate it in other towns and cities. An to organise the Bradford event of Jubilee Debt email list is also being set up. People who Campaign’s speaker tour about debt in Pakistan. are interested should contact JDC for more information [email protected] Members of the Central Lancashire WDM group met with Brian Simpson MEP to lobby him about MiFID. in September. They had a great response from people who attended the event. The group is Brighton and Hove WDM held a Carbon Capital holding an event about water in association with stunt and are doing another for Dirty Energy Christians Aware and will have a Carbon Capital Month. stall at this event. They are also organising a dirty Leicester WDM held a stall at a CND garden party energy stall at an Autumn Fayre and are planning an action at HSBC on 4 November. Contact St Albans [email protected] to find out how to get WDM at involved with these events. the Oxfam Herts Hike. Portsmouth WDM held a Carbon Capital held a stall at the City’s Green Fair late September and collected 30 signed cards to Vince Cable.
Members of Shropshire WDM, Brighton and Hove WDM and Leeds WDM took part in a research training day organised by JDC and others.
Last month’s cover photo of Think Global was Worthing WDM’s Carbon Capital stall. 10 Partner updates
Solidarity with Bandile Mdlalose Some of you may remember Bandile Mdlalose, the general secretary of the South African shack-dwellers movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo, who spoke at WDM’s speaker tour ‘Africa demands climate justice’. Bandile was arrested in October following an anti-eviction protest at the Cato Crest settlement, near Durban when police shot a 17 year old girl, Nqobile Nzuz.
Nqobile is the third person to be shot dead in Cato Crest this year. The two previous victims, Nkululeko Gwala and Thembinkosi Qumelo, were both active members of the shack-dwellers’ movement Abahlali baseMjondolo. Bandile was arrested when she arrived at the scene of the crime to offer condolences to Nqobile’s family.
WDM joined War on Want and Abahlali baseMjondolo Solidarity UK at a solidarity protest in London outside the South African Embassy. Nick Deardan, WDM’s director also sent an open letter to South African president Jacob Zuma, calling for the immediate release of Bandile Mdlalose and for all charges to be dropped, an investigation into the killings that have taken place, and an immediate end to the evictions and violence in Cato Crest.
Bandile has since appeared in court with three other activists from Cato Crest. Her bail conditions have been relaxed and she is due to appear in court again on 14 November. WDM joins War on Want at the solidarity demo
Partner updates: Grenada’s debt relief Oliver Joseph, Grenada’s Minister of Economic Development, published a letter in the Guardian calling for debt relief from all its creditors. This is a very brave and unusual move - governments do not normally call so publicly for debt relief. The government have proposed an independent assessment (i.e. not by the IMF) of their debt sustainability and a conference of all creditors in Grenada to agree debt reductions.
Jubilee Debt Campaign has launched an action in the UK for people to write to George Osborne calling on him to:
• Publicly say the UK government will take part in a debt conference in Grenada; • Support an assessment, independent of all creditors including the IMF, of what is a sustainable level of debt for Grenada which will allow basic needs and human rights to be met; • Cancel the UK’s share of the debt to make it sustainable, and advocate for the IMF and World Bank to do the same. You can find a template email letter on Jubilee Debt Campaign’s website. We have included a paper copy with this issue of Think Global.
If Grenada is successful, it will be the first time such a comprehensive debt relief process has been followed since 1953, and so help set a precedent for the future. 11 Current materials
Food • BRIEFING: Collective solutions to changing food prices. • LEAFLET: Bankers Anonymous • ACTION CARD: Bankers Anonymous • A2 POSTER: This is how banks see our food • CAMPAIGN BOOKLET: Betting on hunger (8 pages, A5) • REPORT: The great hunger lottery • REPORT: Broken Markets • BRIEFING: Food sovereignty • BRIEFING: Food sovereignty tricky questions Brighton and Hove WDM hold a Carbon Capital action • FILM PACK: Whose food? Our food! Includes discussion guide. • DVD: Growing Change plus promotional leaflet • DVD: Seeds of Freedom • DVD: Best Before
Carbon Capital • REPORT: Banking while Borneo Burns • CAMPAIGN BOOKLET: Carbon Capital • LEAFLET: Injustice in Indonesia • LEAFLET: Mapping dirty finance • ACTION CARD: Pile on the pressure (targeting HSBC) • FILM PACK: Carbon Capital film pack, includes WDM’s film about mining in Indonesia • ACTION PACK: Bringing the extraction back to the banks
General materials • DVD: Making Another World Possible: Talking alternatives at the World Social Forum (made by WDM) • LEAFLET: Join a local group leaflet (can be overprinted with groups’ contact details) • BOOKLET: Fighting the cuts, lessons from around the world • POSTER: Austerity Machine poster
Dates for your diary
• 12 November: Meet Nick Dearden, WDM’s new director, Oxford. • 14 November: Meet Nick Dearden, WDM’s new director, Watford. • 16 November: Building a movement in Scotland, skillshare and networking day, Glasgow. • 16 November: Campaigner skillshare in Liverpool, regional day of skillshares and workshops, Liverpool. • 21 November: Nature is not for sale: Forum on natural commons, Edinburgh. • 3-6 December: WTO talks in Bali, more information will be sent by email soon.