Event

G8 fuelling hunger actions

Saturday 8 June, London and across the UK

Actions to stop the corporate takeover of the world food system.

Where: London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol
When: 8 June
Meeting place in London: Central london, exact point to be announced (email info@foodsovereigntynow.org.uk to find out more or check facebook event)
Theme: Create a pop up community garden in central London (and other cities across the UK)

Things to bring for London: Wheelbarrows, tools, plants to plant, seeds, soil, banners, and anything else to make a community garden flourish.

On 8 June, in the lead up to the G8, David Cameron is hosting a hunger summit in London. This summit is a meeting where some of the biggest corporations (including Monsanto, Cargill, Vodafone and Unilever) in the world are going to pledge millions to “stop” world hunger.

This is part of what is called the New Alliance for food security and nutrition (called at the G8 last year...

East Midlands campaign teach in

When: Saturday 1 June, 11am – 3pm (tea and coffee from 10.30 am)
Where: Christchurch, 105a Clarendon Park Rd, Leicester, LE2 3AH

Meet other WDM group members, share experiences, and come up with ideas and solutions for effective local campaigning.

The day will include:
• A Carbon Capital workshop on WDM’s new
campaign
• Update on WDM’s other campaigns
• Film screening of ‘Seeds of Freedom’
• Skillsharing and action planning

This is a free event. We can also offer travel subsidies. Bring your own lunch – drinks provided.

Please contact Mary Steiner on mary.steiner@btopenworld.com or 0115 922 6702 to let us know you’re coming.

The event is organised by WDM groups in the East Midlands.

Find out your nearest one: www.wdm.org.uk/local-groups

Not the G8: A real agenda for global justice

Saturday 15 June, 11am-6.30pm
Leeds University Student Union, Lifton Place, Leeds LS2 9JZ

With speakers including:

Raj Patel, bestselling author of Stuffed and Starved: the hidden battle for the world food system
Dorothy-Grace Guerrero, climate justice programme co-ordinator, Focus on the Global South, Thailand
Luís Bernardo, campaigner with Attac Portugal
Deborah Doane, director of the World Development Movement
Ray Bush, professor of African studies and development politics, University of Leeds

This June, the G8 countries are meeting in the UK for the first time since 2005. David Cameron wants to present himself as a leader on social justice, but the policies he is actually pushing represent the usual G8 consensus, where corporate interests come first.

Yet all over the world, social...

The People versus the Banks: Programme

12.30pm REGISTRATION OPENS

Stalls including Housmans bookshop with a wide selection of titles. Plus pick up WDM reports, briefings and campaigns material, and find out how to join a local group and get involved.

Even if you pre-registered online, please ensure you arrive by 1pm so we can get everyone in and start on time.

1.30pm-2.45pm OPENING KEYNOTE

Bankocracy: How Britain is run for the banks, by the banks
Aditya Chakrabortty on how and why the financial services industry has so much power, and how their interests have dominated responses to the European financial crisis at the expense of the needs of European populations.
Respondent: Yiorgos Vassalos of Corporate Europe Observatory

2.45pm-4pm WORKSHOPS

Stop the sell off
From land grabs to carbon trading, investment banks, hedge funds and pension funds are increasingly seeking to make a profit from the basic resources of life. This process has been called ‘financialisation’. Why is it happening, and what can we do about it?
With Hannah Griffiths, WDM’s head of campaigns and policy, and Nicholas Hildyard of The Cornerhouse

...

The People versus the Banks: practical information

How to find the venue

Or follow this link to find ULU on googlemaps.

Travelling to ULU by bike: there are many bike racks on Malet Street.

Travelling to ULU by tube:

Northern Line to Euston, Warren Street and Goodge Street stations.
Piccadilly Line to Russell Square station.
Victoria Line to Euston and Warren Street stations.
Circle, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City Lines to Euston Square station.

Travelling to ULU by bus:

Gower Street: 10, 24, 29, 73, 134, 390
Euston Road: 18, 30, 91, 205, 253, 476
Woburn Place/Southampton Row: 59, 68, 91, 168, 188

Lunch and refreshments

We will be providing tea and coffee during the break in the conference from 4pm to 4.30pm.
Lunch is not provided. There...

An economy for the 99%: Ideas, stories and tactics from around the world

What would an economy that really worked in the interests of people look like? This event, organised jointly by WDM and Jubilee Debt Campaign and held on 17 March at Manchester Metropolitan University, addressed that question.

Below are some sound recordings and video from the day. You can find photos of the event on WDM's flickr photostream.

Opening plenary: An economy for the 99%

Hilary Wainwright (Transnational Institute), Almudena Serpis (Spain’s ‘indignados’ movement) and Nessa Ní Chasaide (Debt Justice Action, Ireland), speak about the economy of the 1% and the movements emerging to challenge it.

Download recording (Right click and choose 'save as' to download)

Building a solidarity economy: Co-operatives and economic justice

Do co-operatives and other organisations based on mutual help have the potential to create an economy for the 99%? This session examined the idea of a solidarity economy, and considered the...

An economy for the 99%: practical information

Lunch

There will be several options for lunch at the event:

A Manchester-based ethical caterer will be supplying lunches at the venue for £5 each. They will be made from locally-sourced, mainly organic ingredients. We will be selling lunch tickets at the registration desk as you come in, as there will be a maximum capacity of 100 lunches.
The Eighth Day vegetarian café is just next door to the venue, and is a workers’ co-operative committed to ethical food.
There are no restrictions on eating your own packed lunch in the bar area of the venue (the bar will not be open, but we will be providing tea and coffee).
There are also some other food outlets in the local area.

Getting there

The nearest station is Manchester Oxford Road. Catching a train to here is easier than trying to get a bus from the bigger Manchester Piccadilly station.

If you are coming by bike there is bike parking on Oxford Road right outside the venue.

...

An economy for the 99%: programme

Download a pdf version of the full programme

OPENING PLENARY: An economy for the 99% (10.30- 11.30)

Hilary Wainwright (Transnational Institute), Almudena Serpis (Spain’s ‘indignados’ movement) and Nessa Ní Chasaide (Debt Justice Action, Ireland), will speak about the economy of the 1% and the movements emerging to challenge it

THEORIES AND IDEAS workshops (11.30-1)

Building a solidarity economy: Co-operatives and economic justice
Do co-operatives and other organisations based on mutual help have the potential to create an economy for the 99%? This session will examine the idea of a solidarity economy, and consider the relationships between co-operatives and social movements in the fight for economic justice.
With Hilary Wainwright, Transnational Institute, and Jenny Carlyle, Suma Wholefoods workers' co-operative.

A tour through the financial crisis
No question is too big or too small for this workshop which explains the financial crisis from the credit crunch to the eurozone crisis and looks at what might happen next.
With Adam Leaver, Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural...

Event

G8 fuelling hunger actions

East Midlands campaign teach in

Not the G8: A real agenda for global justice