Tuesday 13 May, 6.30pm till 9pm
Rich Mix, 35 – 47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA
Featuring films and speakers spanning over 30 years history of struggle by Britain’s black communities. The stories of resistance and rebellion will cover the iconic self-defence campaigns of the Newham 7 in the 1980s, the Stephen Lawrence family campaign, the brutal deaths in custody, those criminalised and imprisoned in miscarriages of justice right through to those facing today’s war on terror.
Learn about the victories achieved by militant community campaigns and the uprisings that rocked the country as the UK’s black communities fought to establish and strengthen their place within British society – in the face not only of individual prejudice but trenchant state racism, not least by institutions like the police and the courts.
]]>“We Can Win: Stories from 50 years of struggle”
Tuesday 14 January at 6.30pm
Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA
These ten moving and often funny short films document a proud 50 year history of campaigning, strikes, occupations, work ins and solidarity in the name of fair pay, decent jobs, and economic justice. The films are made up of interviews with key organisers, speaking about the tactics they used, what was successful, what wasn’t, and where they see the struggle for economic justice going today.
The film night will also feature a discussion with the film maker, and organisers from key current economic justice movements in London for a chance to talk about how social justice activists today can learn from the lessons of other movements past and present. With speakers from the 3cosas campaign, student strike solidarity and South London Anti-Fascists.
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Films featuring:
- St Pancras Rent Strike 1960
- Dagenham Equal Pay Strikes 1968 & 1984
- Upper Clyde Shipworkers work in 1971 – 1972
- Grunwick Strike 1976 – 1978
- The Miners’ Strike 1984 – 1985
- The Poll Tax Rebellion 1989 – 1993
- Liverpool Dockers’ Strike 1995 – 1998
- The Living Wage 2002 – 2007 (and ongoing)
- Occupy (London) 2011 – now
- Disabled People Against Cuts & UK Uncut: now
Watch the trailer
The films form part of the Economic Justice Project which aims to provide opportunities for people to learn about the basics of economics and the financial crisis, vital tools for social and economic justice activists. It also brings people together who have similar aims, but don’t usually work together. From global justice campaigners, to anti-cuts activists, there has never been a better time to recognise what we share and how we can strengthen each other’s work.
See more detailed information on the films here: http://economicjustice.jubileedebt.org.uk/2012/12/film-blurbs/
Films produced by Jubilee Debt Campaign for the Economic Justice Project.
]]>When: Wed 30 January 6.30pm till 9pm
Where: Rich Mix, 35 – 47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA
The Egyptian revolution was heralded by some as a social media-instigated uprising. Yet there was far more to the revolution than tweeting people onto the streets. As we reach the second anniversary of the overthrow of Mubarak, 6 Billion Ways will be looking at the revolt behind the headlines, including the strikes in factories like Mahallah which helped bring the regime to its knees.
Every revolt uses the latest technology available to it. And while it was less lauded than Twitter, video collectives such as Mosireen and Kazeboon were able to make use of cheap video editing to show the reality of the regime’s violence to a wider audience. Kazeboon in particular actually organised screenings in communities around the country, bringing the revolution even to those unable to read.
With the dynamic of revolt far from dissipated, protests growing against the new Muslim Brotherhood government and an unprecedented wave of industrial strikes, join us to celebrate the struggle for freedom and social justice, and learn from the tactics employed by Egyptian activists. The evening will include:
- The film Tweets from Tahrir, plus discussion with filmmakers Adib Nessim and Damian Clarke
- Excerpts from The Factory: revolution through Arab eyes
- Shorts from Mosireen video collective
- More speakers to be announced
Free entry, bar and food available
]]>We’ll be putting a write-up on the website soon, but in the meantime, here are links to all the films and campaigning resources to put on your own Power Hungry film night anywhere in the country (or world!)
Opening trailers:
- Green Peace spoof of fox striking oil in the Arctic
- Green Peace spoof of Shell’s readiness for a spill
- Greedy Lying Bastards (trailer)
First half:
Our corporate controlled energy system and industry attempts to keep it that way
- Worse than Bad (campaign against Shell’s activities in Nigeria)
- Short interview with Wole Solyinka (from 27 minutes in)
- Tar Sands: To the Ends of the Earth – not out yet, sorry!
- Fracking Hell: The Untold Story
Second half:
Resisting the system and building a new one
- Friends of the Earth International Chair, Nnimmo Bassey, talking about recognising Ecocide
- Green Peace activists closing down Shell forecourts
- IBEKA’s community-owned micro-hydro electricity projects in Indonesia
- Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) wind turbine workshops
Information on speakers and shout-outs:
- Arts and activism organisation, Platform, who are looking at the social, environmental and economic impacts of the oil industry
- The Oil Road, which was referenced by speaker Emma Hughes
- Greenpeace’s Save the Arctic campaign
- UK Tar Sands Network
- Frack Off!
- Friends of the Earth International; ERA Nigeria
- Eradicating Ecocide
- Ashden Awards (who support projects like IBEKA’s)
- Friends of the Earth’s Clean British Energy campaign
- Community Energy Warwickshire (and Co-operatives UK’s guide to community energy co-ops and what it takes)
- Fuel Poverty Action
- Brixton Energy Cooperative
- Alliance for Jobs and Climate
- Friends of the Earth Hackney and Tower Hamlets local group
- Occupy LSX
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As promised, here are all the links to the films and clips we showed at our London Olympics film night on Tuesday 8 May.
Now you can do your own local film showing! Contact the organisations listed for leaflets, materials and possible speakers.
If you need any advice or more info please contact Nadia at War on Want at [email protected]
London 2012 trailers + adverts
London 2o12 Mascots Film 1 ‘Out of a Rainbow’
Adidas presents Take the Stage: all 2012
Sweatshops and supply chains
War on Want sweatshops film – not available yet – sorry!
Olympic boroughs, sport and schools
Game’s Over – please email Neil Garret [email protected] to let them know film will be screened and they will promote your event
Hackney school sports championships 2011
Corporate exploitation + right to protest
2010 Vancouver Olympics: The Movie (first 20min shown)
Benjamin Zephaniah – put the number in your phone!
Current resources, campaigns, activism and alternatives:
]]>Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA
Will the legacy of the London Olympics be exploited garment workers and the marginalisation of local people? Are corporate sponsors wrapping themselves in the Olympic flag and reaping profits at the expense of communities around the world? Or have the Games brought benefits and resources to London with them? Can we still stop the Olympic dream becoming a nightmare?
Join 6 Billion Ways for an evening of short films, speakers, campaigns and discussion (film and speaker details to follow shortly).
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While a billion people go hungry, hundreds of thousands suffer obesity and food producers in rich and poor countries alike struggle to make a living. The global food system is dysfunctional – but there are solutions. Our evening will explore the idea of food sovereignty, a way of putting both people and the planet first, and challenging the corporate dominance that makes our food system so unsustainable.
We’ll have a series of short films, interspersed with expert speakers and discussion. Then Asian Dub Foundation’s John Pandit will kick up some tunes while you dance, chat or find out more about food justice campaigning.
Tuesday 20 September, from 6.30pm
Ground floor bar, Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, E1 (googlemap)
Free event, paid bar available
Films
The Real News report from Honduras – A report from Honduras documenting the evictions faced by small farmers and the growing movement of farmers seeking constitutional reform to guarantee a more equal land distribution.
Not a very green revolution – A short film highlighting the problems with India’s ‘Green Revolution’ where unsustainable agriculture has caused environmental problems and driven farmers into debt.
I eat therefore I am – Critically analyses the workings of the modern global food system and powerfully advocates the necessity of food sovereignty as a solution.
Detroit: Rising from the Ashes – The story of Detroit residents attempting to rebuild and revive their derelict communities through growing their own food in 1,300 urban gardens.
Natabar the seed farmer – The story of farmers like Natabar, who reject dependence on industrial hybrid seeds in favour of saving indigenous rice seeds.
Upendra has worms – A very short film which documents a growing shift back from the use of chemicals to traditional agricultural methods, such as the use of worm-culture in sustainable organic farming.
Speakers
Kirtana Chandrasekaran A food campaigner for Friends of the Earth International, who will talk about the growing global movement for food sovereignty in the context of corporate dominance of the food chain.
Dan Iles Local food campaigner in Bristol, involved in setting up a grocery co-op, and a UK delegate to the European Food Sovereignty Forum in Austria this August, which he will be reporting back from.
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They will be joined by:
Campaign Against Arms Trade works to end international arms trading and promote peace, justice and democratic values, using non violent campaigns and action.
Camp for Climate Action is a grassroots direct action movement for climate justice.
Compass is a centre-left pressure group with over 40,000 members and supporters. They work towards a ‘good society’ which is radically more democratic, equal and sustainable.
Corporate Watch is a workers’ co-operative conducting corporate-critical research for action. They produce regular news updates on their website, newsletters and in-depth reports.
Local anti-cuts campaigns from east and north London are running a stall to help you get involved in defending public services.
New Internationalist is a not-for-profit media co-operative that exists to report on issues of global justice; to debate and campaign for the radical changes necessary to meet the basic needs of all.
Pambazuka News disseminates analysis and debate on the struggle for freedom and justice through the voices of the peoples of Africa and the global south.
Platform campaigns on issues of social and ecological justice, combining the power of art with the tangible goals of campaigning. The current focus is on climate justice and moving society away from fossil fuels.
Pluto Press is one of the world’s leading radical publishers, specialising in critical perspectives on politics and social sciences. Authors include Noam Chomsky and Vandana Shiva.
Rising Tide UK is a network of groups and individuals dedicated to taking local action and building a movement against climate change.
Unison is Britain’s biggest public sector trade union, with more than 1.3 million members in the NHS, local government and other public services.
Verso is the largest independent radical publisher in the English-speaking world. Founded in 1970, it has published many of the major figures on the left, including Tariq Ali, Eric Hobsbawm and John Pilger.
Zaytoun is a UK co-operative which imports artisan Palestinian produce, including olive oil, to help ensure a decent livelihood for Palestinian farmers.
Zed Books are a radical, independent, progressive publisher of critical social science titles, focusing on contemporary international issues with an emphasis on the global south.
]]>Around ten years ago I began a new web site, My London Diary, mainly to provide a record of things I saw happening in London that never made the news. Among these were protests, some about local issues, some national and others global in their scope. I’d been photographing protest for years, but saw this as a new way to make my work available to others, create a historical record and gain publicity for the causes.
There are now over 50,000 pictures on My London Diary, as well as my comments about most of the events. Many have been used by activist groups in newsletters and flyers (usually without charge for unfunded organisations) and some published in newspapers, books and magazines in the UK and abroad. Some are also available though picture libraries.
From its earliest days the site shows the international nature of protest in London, with the handful of pictures from 1999 including a Westminster protest calling for NATO to get out of the Balkans, Jubilee 2000 calling on the UK government to “cancel the debt”, solidarity with East Timor and members of London’s Kurdish community calling for the release of Abdullah Öcalan.
So far in 2011 as well as local marches against the cuts in Islington and Hackney, UK Uncut actions, students protesting the loss of EMA, protests against unfair testing for disabled benefits, against privatisation of Royal Mail, calling for the release of Shaker Aamer from Guantanamo, I’ve also covered protests calling for freedom for Kashmir and Khalistan, opposing cuts in the BBC World Service, solidarity with the Libyan, Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions and more – including a pillow fight against unsuitable high-rise development in Walthamstow.
A small selection from the site will be projected at Rich Mix during 6 Billion Ways – but the whole growing collection can be seen on-line at http://mylondondiary.co.uk
Peter Marshall
Images in this post are © Peter Marshall
]]>So, you’ve spent the day with hundreds of others committed to making another world possible. What are you going to do next? This afternoon event will be a space to reflect on the conversations you’ve had at 6 Billion Ways, and consider ways to build a stronger movement for global justice. There’ll be space for organising together with other participants, as well as for discussing ways that the groups, organisations and networks you’re part of can strengthen and co-ordinate their efforts.
We will use ‘open space’ facilitation – meaning the agenda will be made up of what people who attend want to talk about, but in a structured way. So come along, get involved, and help shape the movement.