Global Justice Leicester and Leicestershire

Event

Speaker meeting in Leicester on Tue 1st July

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Resisting the new Scramble for Africa: working collaboratively with farmers in Nigeria.

on Tuesday 1st July

at Christchurch, Clarendon Park Rd, Leicester, LE2 3AH

from 7-9pm

Speakers

Dr Ola Ogunyemi

(Principal Lecturer in Journalism, University of Lincoln, President of Shepherd Food Ministeries)

and

Christine Haigh

(Food Policy officer, World Development Movement)

Please come along and join the discussion about supporting small farmers in Africa.

This meeting has been arranged by Leicester WDM and Christians Aware

WDM Stall at Riverside Festival

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Visitors to the Riverside Festival who braved the wet weather enthusiastically discussed the new WDM campaign – carving up Africa.

Visitor to WDM Stall

It was a successful afternoon, accompanied by music from local bands who were playing to an enthusiastic crowd. People signed cards to Justine Greening asking the UK Government to withdraw from the New Alliance. You can sign on-line and join the resistance to the corporate take over of Africa’s food.

Find out more about Resistance to the Corporate Takeover of Africa’s Food

East Midland Groups Gather To Discuss Agribusiness Campaign

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WDM members from Derby, Nottingham, Northampton and Leicester met at the Friend’s Meeting House in Leicester to share ideas and also meet Nick Dearden the new WDM Director. It was an informative and enjoyable day. We had the opportunity to discuss the recent successful campaign to regulate betting on food prices in financial markets.

 

People talking at Teach In

 

In the afternoon there was a presentation on the new Agribusiness Campaign, which aims to Stop the Corporate Takeover of Africa’s food. Launched in 2012, the New Alliance provides aid money and facilitates big business to invest in the African agricultural sector.

Around 100 farmers groups in Africa have described schemes like the New Alliance as a ‘new wave of colonialism’  – a twenty-first century bid to take control of Africa’s land and resources, sponsored by the world’s richest governments.

Join the call for the UK Government to withdraw from the New Alliance.

 

East Midlands Teach-in

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When: Saturday 24th May, 10.30am – 3pm

Where: Friends Meeting House, 16 Queens Rd, Leicester, LE2 1WP

Monsanto, Unilever, Nestle ... names on a hat

The day will include:

  • A workshop on WDM’s new campaign to stop the corporate takeover of African food
  • The chance to meet WDM’s new director, Nick Dearden
  • News on WDM’s relaunch
  • Skillsharing and action planning

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

This event is open to non-WDM members in the afternoon, please join us from 1pm to chat to WDM’s director over lunch and hear about our new food campaign.

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

Life Before Debt Conference – uniting against unjust debt

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DICTATOR DEBTS… PAYDAY LOANS… THIRD WORLD DEBT… AUSTERITY CUTS… THE EUROZONE CRISIS… STUDENT DEBT… VULTURE FUNDS…

Six years on from the financial crash, the ranks of those imprisoned by debt are swelling in the UK and across the world.

This free day-long conference heard from global movements on the front-line of debt resistance, investigating the pervasive role of debt in our lives today. We shared stories, heard from experts in finance … and discussed collective action we could take to break the chains of debt in years to come.

Panel Discussion at Life Before Debt

Why not get involved? ….

  • Sign the petition to the World Bank asking for Life after Debt for the Philippines – Since Typhoon Haiyan, the Philipines has been sending $22,000,000 in debt repayments every day. It’s more than 20% of the government’s income. Join our call for international lenders to drop the debt.
  • Read about the UK Governments decision to give more aid as loans to countries in crisis.
  • Support the establishment of a new group called Debt Resistance UK. It is holding a meeting at SOAS on Saturday 26 April to discuss ways to organise in support of debt resistance in the UK. If you’d like more details email debtresistuk@gmail.com.

 

Fairtrade Bananas in Tropical Leicester

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Leicester WDM and the Knighton Justice Group held a joint stall in Queen’s Rd on Saturday 1st April.

Fairtrade Stall Queens Rd

Thank-you to everyone who came along to chat to us, sign a petition, sample banana cakes … and try a tasty Fairtrade Banana. We are very grateful to Sainsbury’s on Queen’s Rd who donate the bananas. In two hours we gave away 200 bananas to passers by … and 165 people signed a petition to Vince Cable.

In this petition we call on the Secretary of State for Business to urgently investigate the grave impact of unsustainable supermarket pricing practices. Action is needed to protect the millions of poor farmers and workers who grow the UK’s favourite fruit.

You can also sign the petition online