THINK GLOBALAct locally with Global Justice Now

March 2015

2

Contents

Action checklistLetter from the activism teamCouncil and Scotland updatesCampaign update: food sovereigntyPhotos from Take Back Our WorldCampaign update: climate and energy Campaign update: trade justiceEventsGroups updatesCurrent materials

2345689101112

Action checklist Food sovereignty Participate in a seed swap and/or a seed sovereignty stunt.

Use the new activism briefing to prepare action for the spring: stall, stunt, seed swap or all of the above!

Trade justiceOrganise a stall or hustings on TTIP around the time of the day of action on 18 April.

Climate and energy justiceOrganise a stall or talk to promote energy justice.

Organise a group to attend the climate march on 7 March. Join us on the energy justice bloc!

GeneralDiscuss the strategy summary and nominate a member to feed back your group’s views to staff.

3

Letter from the activism team

Dear friend,

These are exciting times for global justice activism in the UK. Just a few days ago we marked the relaunch of Global Justice Now with our event, Take Back Our World, which saw a diverse crowd of around 800 people attend a packed series of talks, workshops, film screenings and even a samba lesson. Thanks to all those who promoted the event and helped to make it a success.

Meanwhile, across the country groups have been organising lively, well-attended events to relaunch – or launch, in the case of new groups – their local groups. Not only that, but we’re developing connections with groups at universities around TTIP, and at the centre of new No TTIP groups being set up across Scotland. From what I’ve seen at events and meetings, heard about from talking to activists and learnt from seeing the flow of information through email, I get the clear impression of an activist network that is busy and vibrant.

There are lots of opportunities for action coming up, as outlined in this Think Global. There’s another day of action around trade, a national demonstration on climate change, and opportunities to build the movement for food sovereignty and energy justice through stunts, talks and stalls. I’m hopeful that many groups are in an excellent position to build on the momentum generated by the relaunch. As ever, do contact me for support and to discuss ideas.

Lastly, an additional piece of work we have done to mark our relaunch is a new report and set of infographics, The Poor Are Getting Richer, and other dangerous delusions. This report lays out a comprehensive critique of the myths which justify the structures and policies at the heart of the global economy today. A copy of the report is included in this mailing.

Happy campaigning!

Ed Lewis Local groups officer

Inserts • The Poor Are Getting Richer, and other

dangerous delusions – report • From the Roots Up: how agroecology can

feed Africa – report • On Solid Ground – booklet • Summary of our draft organisational strategy

(groups only)

4

General election additional mailing We are coming up to the once in five year opportunity that is the UK general election on 7 June. Please use this to mention Global Justice Now and our campaigns at every opportunity you can during the election campaign. We are currently producing a

general election briefing and a ‘question time’ postcard which will be ready to distribute the week beginning 16 March. In order to give groups the maximum time to work with these materials we will organise an additional mailing in that week.

Scotland against TTIP

Nominations closed on 23 February for elections for council and area reps. For the nine directly elected places on council there were nine valid nominations, which means there will not be an election. There were several people who put their names forward but did not end up with the requisite number of proposers and seconders. Maggie Pankhurst, the returning officer, will let members know who has been elected in due course.

There were also no contests for area reps, so all validly nominated area reps will take up

their posts (or continue with them) from June. In the meantime, the activism team will be looking for people to fill those area rep posts which remain empty.

The Annual General Meeting will take place in Glasgow on Saturday 13 June as part of a wider event for Global Justice Now activists. The exact time and venue and a draft agenda will be available in the next Think Global and will be communicated to all members around the same time.

Council and area reps elections

Public engagement with our campaign in Scotland to stop TTIP remains high, and we continue to get out and about across Scotland giving talks and helping set up local Stop TTIP groups. During February, staff gave talks in Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and East Kilbride and members of the Glasgow group who gave a talk to fifty women from Women for Independence. In March we will visit Aberdeen, Falkirk, Inverness and Fife.

Our Stop TTIP Edinburgh group continues to meet and plan action locally, and Global Justice Glasgow had a very successful event in the city centre with forty people turning

out to support the anti-TTIP action and a host of new signatures for the EU-wide petition.

In the run-up to the general election a key focus will be the SNP, encouraging the party to speak out strongly against the trade deal. As part of this, we’ll be holding a fringe event at the SNP party conference at the end of March with Nick Dearden, Stephen Boyd (STUC), Cat Boyd (Radical Independence Campaign) and Eilidh Whiteford MP invited to speak.

5

Food sovereignty From the roots upThis month we are launching our new report, From the Roots Up, which presents the evidence that sustainable, small-scale agriculture can effectively feed local communities in Africa as well as address issues such as climate change, deliver sustainable livelihoods and enable food producers to keep control over the resources needed to grow food. The report demonstrates the case that small-scale food producers need to be supported and challenges the dominant narrative that corporate controlled agriculture is the only way forward. It sets out what we are calling for in the agribusiness campaign.

We have enclosed an advance copy of the report in this mailing, please feel free to order more if you need them.

Ian Fitzpatrick, the author of the report, will be available in March to visit groups to discuss the content of the report. We have also produced a powerpoint presentation with a talk transcript for any groups who

want to hold their own public meeting or do their own presentation on the report. This is available on the Global Justice Now website.

As the report is very detailed, we have also produced a very short, accessible booklet, On Solid Ground which summarises the main arguments for use on stalls. We have enclosed 10 copies but again please contact the office if you require more.

Spring stuntsLast month we sent out a booklet with ideas for working with local food groups this spring to help build the movement in the UK. The agribusiness campaign needs a growing movement of people calling for food sovereignty if we are to challenge the power of agribusiness in the food system. The booklet includes lots of ideas and tips to organise something with local food related groups in your area. Please let us know if you are organising anything or if you have any feedback on the pack.

6

The final plenary

Bicycle parking full to capacity

Joseph from Focus on the Global South

Ed faciltates a workshop

TAKE BACK OUR WORLD21 February 2015 Rich Mix, London

Artists from Lapiztola Stencil, Mexico

7

Take Back Our W

orld closing session with

Samir N

krumah

Jyoti Fernandes of the Landworkers Alliance

TAKE BACK OUR WORLD21 February 2015 Rich Mix, London

All photos by Sheila Menon

Paul Mason

8

Hopefully many of you will have received the first in our series of ‘Monopoly’ themed emails which aim to get as many people as possible taking action on our energy privatisation campaign. Please do share them with anyone in your group or on your contact list who might not have got them directly. The last action, being sent out in the second week of March, will encourage people to link up with their local group to take further action on this issue – so look out for enquiries from potential new members as a result of this.

If you’d like to take the campaign issues further with your prospective parliamentary candidates in the run-up to the election, there will be sample questions included on our general election postcard, which will be sent out with details of the AGM later this month,

Also, just a reminder that extra copies of the Monopoly-themed energy privatisation action card and ’10 reasons privatisation fails’ briefing are available for stalls and events. You can order them by emailing sam.lund-harket@globaljustice.org.uk or calling 020 7820 4900.

In time for the summer stall season, we plan to produce some additional eye-catching materials to use alongside the action card and briefing as a way of engaging people at local events. We are currently thinking about stand-up cards with case studies of privatisation failures around the world, and a privatisation-themed Monopoly game board. To help us make these as useful as possible and gauge how many copies to produce, it would be great if you could let us know whether you would find these kinds of materials helpful, and also if you have any other ideas of props or materials that would help you hold attention-grabbing stalls or stunts

Climate and energy justice Building a movementAfter the success of an energy justice day we organised for key groups working on energy and climate change issues in July, we held a second event in January. The idea was to further explore ideas about energy justice and democracy with a number of grassroots organisations and campaigners such as South East London Community Energy, Reclaim the Power and Trade Unions for Energy Democracy. We wanted to explore what we are aiming for long term and to see if we can work together on these issues. The event was a success and we are hoping to work more with groups like this in the future. We also held a successful energy justice assembly at the Take Back Our World conference.

We have produced an energy justice quiz and talk with a script and PowerPoint slides which can be downloaded from the website and used for talks for groups and events locally,

If you’d like to organise your own energy justice event as a way to link up with other local groups working on issues like climate change, renewable energy and fuel poverty, we are always happy to provide a speaker and also have a list of relevant films available on the website.

Time to Act climate march Global Justice Now will be hosting a ‘energy and trade justice: no TTIP’ bloc at the ‘Time to act’ climate change march in London on Saturday 7 March. We plan to meet at the north-east corner of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, on the pavement outside the square by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (at 29 Lincoln’s Inn Fields WC2A 3EE) at 12.30pm. This is about 5 minutes walk from either Holborn or Chancery Lane tube stations. Please contact Ed if anyone from your group plans to attend. Full details at timetoact2015.org.

9

Trade justice In the TTIP campaign we get a real sense that we’re winning arguments – but are likely to fall short when it comes to winning votes in Westminster or Brussels. There is a vital vote about the European parliament’s position on TTIP in May, which although not binding, will be a great boost to our campaign if it is critical of the deal. Various committees of MEPs are discussing what this should look like. Our latest e-action was aimed at getting people to contact their MEPs over this vote and ask them to include criticisms of TTIP. We need to be encouraging more people to take this action all the way up to May. See it on our website at globaljustice.org.uk/campaigns/trade.

International day of actionOn Saturday 18 April there will be a global day of action against all free trade agreements. This is excellent news because it broadens out the perspective from being simply a US/EU issue. It does present a problem, though, as it comes just two and a half weeks before the UK’s general election. We are therefore planning two things:

• A showpiece hustings in London (in conjunction with War on Want, 38 Degrees and Friends of the Earth). Watch this space for details as they emerge.

• Elsewhere, we encourage Global Justice Now members to team up with other groups to make a splash in the election campaign over TTIP. This could be a local hustings (probably these would work best in larger cities with multiple constituencies) or organising a significant presence on high streets where candidates are likely to be in the day time – a big stall and a megaphone, ready to ask some pointed questions of them.

• For those who might want to be a tad more ‘active’ we’re planning a visit to the offices of TheCityUK near Moorgate in London on the Friday preceding the

day of action (there’s no point going at the weekend). TheCityUK is a finance industry lobbying group and one of the biggest cheerleaders for TTIP. It has just had former trade minister and disgraced peer Lord Green of HSBC relieved from his role as head of their advisory board. Not that they’ll miss him though – there are 52 other bankers and financiers on the advisory board (but only three women). Details will be announced as soon as they have been agreed by participating organisations.

Students Against TTIPSince the huge success of the Brussels trip, a number of student activists have been busy creating a network of students and groups in universities across the country active in their opposition to TTIP. We are working in support of them and have been helping to establish student TTIP groups in Warwick, Leeds, Manchester and London.

If you are studying or know anti-TTIP people who are, please put them in touch with Ed Lewis (ed.lewis@globaljustice.org.uk) who will connect them with others in the network. See also the Facebook group ‘Students Against TTIP UK’.

Local authoritiesApologies for taking so long to produce the motion and briefing on Local Authorities opposition to TTIP, the campaign keeps on taking new twists and turns almost weekly! The first drafts of the texts are done and we’re on track to get something out in the next Think Global.

Looking aheadThere is a busy time ahead, the following might help you plan talks, actions or other events as they provide good ‘hooks’ and targets for us.

10

20-24 Apr 9th round of TTIP negotiations, Washington DC5 May European parliament meeting on TTIP, Brussels (tbc) 6-7 May INTA (EU’s trade committee) vote on TTIP, Brussels7 May EU Foreign Affairs Council on trade, Brussels18-21 May European parliament plenary vote on TTIP, Strasbourg6 Oct Self-organised ECI on TTIP and CETA completes its year30 Nov-11 Dec COP21, Paris

Is agribusiness the only way to feed the world?Where: St Mary-le-Bow Church, Cheapside, London, EC2V 6AU When: 6.30pm, 4 March

Join Global Justice Now, Justshare and the Fairtrade Foundation to discussing our new report ‘From the Roots Up: How agroecology can feed Africa’ and the perils of a one size fits all model of corporate-led agriculture.

Speakers:• Ian Fitzpatrick, Food sovereignty

researcher at Global Justice Now and author of the report “From the roots up: How agroecology can feed Africa”

• Tim Aldred, Head of Policy and Research at the Fairtrade Foundation

Chaired by Polly Jones, head of policy and campaigns at Global Justice Now and chair of the Trade Justice Movement.

Relaunch celebrationWhere: Attlee Suite, Portcullis House, London When: 24 March

Join us in Westminster to get an update on our relaunch, meet our campaigners and hear our plans for the future of Global Justice Now. Lisa Nandy MP, shadow minister for civil society will be hosting the event and we hope to also hear from Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green Party.

Drinks and refreshments will be provided. As space is limited, if you would like to attend please let Matt know: matthew.bramall@globaljustice.org.uk

Events

11

A good number of group members came to the Brussels lobby trip, which was very successful in promoting understanding of TTIP and for making links with other activists and organisations. Roger Manser of Global Justice London South East has produced a detailed write-up of the event – email ed.lewis@globaljustice.org.uk if you would like to be sent a copy.

Here is a selection of some recent group activity:

Global Justice Sheffield organised a meeting on TTIP which drew in people connected to 38 Degrees and the Open Rights group. They’re following up from this with a workshop on lobbying skills.

Global Justice Glasgow took to the streets for a day of action against TTIP at the end of January, gathering 140 signatures for the EU-wide petition against TTIP, and again at the end of February, focusing on the NHS. Group members have also been giving talks about TTIP.

Global Justice Bexhill and Hastings have teamed up with the local Fairtrade group for their relaunch event – a film showing and talk bringing together food sovereignty and trade justice, with our policy officer Alex Scrivener.

Global Justice Brixton had a successful launch event at the Global Justice Now offices. Nick Dearden spoke alongside Luciana Ghiotto from Attac Argentina.

Global Justice Cardiff had a well-attended relaunch event with over 40 people coming to discuss trade justice, again with Nick Dearden and Luciana Ghiotto.

Global Justice Milton Keynes organised a relaunch event in mid-February, discussing films on TTIP and carbon capital.

GroupsStrategy consultationAlongside relaunching the organisation, staff have been developing a three-year strategy to ensure we are effective in our new identity and that our structures and activity fully complement the conception of ‘who we are’ which was developed during the relaunch process.

All group contacts should have received an email from James O’Nions in mid-February with details of the consultation. Groups are encouraged to respond in some way, even if only to indicate that they are happy with its general direction (if you’re unhappy we obviously need to know why!).

We’re also very happy to recieve feedback from individuals who are either group members or involved in our activist network in some way.

A four-page version of the draft strategy is included for groups only with this mailing, but anyone can see it online, where you can also submit responses to a set of questions. Go to: globaljustice.org.uk/strategy-2015

Please note that the deadline for this is Sunday 22 March. This is to enable us to present a finalised strategy which the council are also happy with to the AGM in June.

Groups’ surveyAt the end of last year you should have receieved a groups’ survey. If you haven’t yet filled returned it to us, please do so by 15 March. You can find the survey online at: tinyurl.com/l5z4t49

Exploring alternatives booklets• Another Economy is Possible - economic democracy• Seeds of Change - food sovereignty• Rays of Hope - energy justice

Food campaign materials• BRIEFING: A new wave of colonialism• BOOKLET: Stop the corporate takeover of African food• BRIEFING: Questions and Answers• ACTION CARD: Stop corporations from slicing up Africa• BRIEFING: MP talking points • POSTER: Colonial infographic poster • BRIEFING: Problems with corporate controlled seeds• *New* BOOKLET: On Solid Ground • *New* REPORT: From The Roots Up

Food sovereignty• BRIEFING: Collective solutions to changing food prices.• BRIEFING: Food sovereignty• BRIEFING: Food sovereignty tricky questions

Energy justice• CARBON CAPITAL: Materials still available• BRIEFING: Towards a justice energy system (campaign overview)• LEAFLET: Energy justice ‘campaign in a nutshell’ (individual and group versions) • SIGN-ON STATEMENT: Energy Bill of Rights (Fuel Poverty Action) • ACTION CARD: Energy justice in Nigeria • BRIEFING: 10 reasons why energy privatisation fails • FILM GUIDE: List of films relating to the campaign• Trade• BRIEFING: The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)• BRIEFING: Profiting from people and the planet: How new trade deals threaten

democracy, development, public services and the environment• NEWSPAPER: The #NoTTIP Times, second edition • FLYER: Stop the corporate power grab: A6 card promoting the European Citizens Initiative

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)

Current materials