Movement 116

campargns
c etrr)petigrtJ
Faith and social justice cannot be separated.
shared planet 2OOg
It's the autumn term again, and once
more we are presented with Conference
Overload Season. On successive
weekends we have had the Free Tibet
conference in London, MedSlN in
Nottingham, Amnesty lnternational in
Brighton and Student Action for
Refugees (STAR) in Nottingham.
However if you can only spare the time
for one, the biggest and best of them all
is Shared Planet, the annual gathering
of the People and Planet network. Over
600 students from around the country
descended on Liverpool University on 1
and 2 November 2003 for a weekend of
campaigning, workshops and partying.
There was an impressive line-up of
speakers, headlined by the comedian and
activist Robert Newman and Green MEP
Caroline Lucas, and main sessions with
invited speakers on each of the main People
and Planet campaigns - Trade Justice,
Climate Change and the newly launched
HIV/AIDS campaign. However the most
impressive aspect of the conference was
again the astonishingly wide range of
workshops to choose from on relevant issues
(from war on lraq to ethical careers via
deforestation and Tibetan exploitation), and
the skills-based sessions (covering things
such as publicity, meeting facilitation and
nonviolent direct action). There was a vibrant
fringe programme with group discussions on
subjects ranging from George W Bush to
capitalism, and a host of related organisations
(including SCM) were represented with
stalls throughout the weekend.
The Saturday night party provided an
eclectic mix of superb entertainment - performance
poetry, DJs, African drummers and a
fantastic set from Robert Newman. On
Sunday afternoon, the Question Time Panel
Debate brought the weekend to a close. Star
of the show here was the eloquent and
passionate Adam Taylor, from the American
student group Global Justice which coordinates
the Student Global AIDS campaisn,
whereas the pantomime villain Richard North
(well, they've got to have a token right-winger)
outraged most with his controversial views
and apparent lack of respect for the audience
and his fellow panelists. lt all ended on a high
however, with Caroline Lucas' rousing call to
action, and hundreds of students went away
full of enthusiasm, ideas and inspiration for
another year's environmental and social
justice campaigning. I Matthew Gardner
Member of movement odltorlal glroup
For more information on the People and
Planet network and more details on Shared
Planet 2003, visit www.peopleandplanet.org
p&p
Hundreds of
students went
away full of
enthusiasm,
ideas and
inspiration for
another yearts
campaigning.
SCM campaisn updates
SGM is affiliated to a number of campaigning bodies, including
Stop the War and the Trade Justice Movement. Recent
developments relevant to these campaigns include:
Trade justice
Oxfam has produced an online guide to fair
trade for students. Based on wodt by members
of a People and Planet group at Oxford Brookes
University, the guide includes a wealth of
background information on the issues around
fair trade, tips on how to buy ethically as an
individual, and advice on campaigning to make your university a Fair
Trade university. There are downloadable resources and information,
and guidelines and proposals for how to approach the authorities at
your college or university, as well as links to other organisations. All in
all, an invaluable resource for campaigning groups, and relevant to
many chaplaincies and Christian groups too. The guide is at
www.oxfam.org.uld\,vhat_we_dolfairtrade/uniguide
The war on terror
The Stop the War Coalition organised a week of
protest agaanst George W Bush's visit to London,
and claimed it was a resounding success. On 20
November, a quarter of a million protestors brought
central London to a halt in one of the biggest workday
demonstrations ever, which the police described as 'a very goodtempered
march'.
Other activities included the delivery of a petition to Tony Blair sigined by
tens of thousands, an Altemative State Procession and an indoor rally.
Local protests also took place across Britain. www.stopwar.org.uk
movementlT