Global Justice Leicester and Leicestershire

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Speaker meeting – The new scramble for Africa

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

Farmer on tractor in Nigeria

Tuesday 1st July

at Christchurch, Clarendon Park Road, Leicester, LE2 3AH – 7-9pm

Speakers

Dr Ola Ogunyemi

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

and

Christine Haigh

(Food Policy Officer, World Development Movement)

Please join us to learn more about the important role that small farmers play in feeding Africa.

This meeting has been arranged by Leicester WDM and Christians Aware.

 

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

Leicester WDM Supports Fairtrade Fortnight

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Leicester WDM is supporting the campaign to ‘Abolish the Unfair Banana’ – we will have a stall on Queens Road, Clarendon Park on Saturday 1st March from 10am – Noon.

Fairtrade Fortnight is from 24th February – 9th March. 

At the moment, all the supermarkes are caught up in competition over how cheaply they can sell their bananas. While the farmer or worker who grew a Fairtrade banana is getting a better deal, it’s clear that Fairtrade alone is not enough to end the price wars.

  • Cheap bananas are threatening farmers’ futures
  • Every year we eat more than 5 billion bananas and spend over £550 Million
  • Britain’s supermarket price wars are trapping tens of thousands of banana farmers and workers in an unrelenting cycle of poverty.

Why not come along for a chat on Saturday 1st March or sign the petition online to Make Bananas Fair

Campaigning works!

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Leicester WDM is thrilled to learn that EU negotiators have agreed to regulate food speculation. We asked MEPs to stop bankers betting on hunger … and they listened. 

There is no doubt that campaigning by WDM and our allies across Europe has enabled this to happen. Thank-you to everyone locally who has come to talk to us at a Leicester WDM stall and signed a card of petition. This shows that we can make a difference when we work together …

You can find out more about the WDM Food Speculation campaign on the main WDM website