It’s official: the organisation known for 45 years as WDM (World Development Movement) will from today officially be known as Global Justice Now. This means that our group, known since 1970 as Oxford WDM, will now be called Global Justice Oxford. As the whole concept of “development” became mixed up with big business, our old name carried a lot of unhelpful baggage. The new name is a better reflection of what we do: fight for a fairer world.

We often have a stall at friendly events like the Green Fair, the Cowley Road Carnival and the One World Fair. And at these stalls, we often ask people to write a postcard to their MP to lobby them about an important issue. For the most recent event I’ve made a note of  the number of postcards per MP. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

As you might expect for an event taking place in the city centre, the two Oxford MPs Andrew Smith (Oxford East) and Nicola Blackwood (Oxford West & Abingdon) are in the lead. The other Oxfordshire MPs trail behind: David Cameron, Ed Vaizey, John Howell and Tony Baldry.

Possibly more surprising: the six postcards signed by people who don’t live in Oxfordshire at all. This particular sample included people from Swindon and Shropshire. Of course this isn’t a statistically valid sample, just a snapshot from one event. But it’s interesting, all the same!

A few months ago, hardly anybody had heard of TTIP. Now? A million people have signed a petition opposing it. This new wave of opposition is thanks to the combined efforts of various organisations, including 38 Degrees and of course WDM. If you haven’t signed the petition already, please do sign it and share it far and wide. To be in with a chance of stopping TTIP, we need to keep this momentum going!

Petition against TTIP

Our Christmas meal, originally scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday 9th December) has been cancelled. Apologies for the short notice. We will try to organise something in the New Year.

Kit Jones of Zero Carbon Britain is speaking in conversation with COIN (Climate Outreach and Information Network).

Background: Zero Carbon Britain 2030 was a report commissioned by The New Economics Foundation and prepared at CAT, the brilliant Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales, by a fleet of top consultants. It gives a precisely audited route-plan for Britain to go carbon neutral by 2030. After this no-one can ever again say it’s impossible!

The book is very long and has since been supplemented by other studies – but this talk will give you the gist without doing all that reading! Come to the Turl Street Kitchen at 7pm on Tuesday 2nd December to hear it. This event is not organised by WDM.

Find the event on Facebook

Can you spare an hour or two to help on the Oxford WDM stall at this year’s Oxford Green Fair? Some extra help would be much appreciated! Contact griffinkate@gmail.com if you’re able to help out, even if it’s just for half an hour.

TTIP: Take Back the Power is  a free public event organised by the Trade Justice Movement. 7:30pm, Tuesday 11th December. Speakers include John Hilary of War on Want and Liz May of Traidcraft. The nearest tube station is Aldgate East.

For the first time the whole conference will be held under one roof (at Oxford Town Hall), with key debates on the dairy industry, flooding, soil fertility and TTIP. Speakers at this year’s conference include Robert Craig (Farmers’ Weekly Dairy Farmer of the Year and Nuffield Scholar), Dr. Elaine Ingham, (internationally acclaimed authority on the life of the soil), Neil Darwent (BBC Farmer of the Year), Prof. Mark Eisler (Chair of Global Animal Health, Bristol University), Carrie Balkcom (Exec Sec of the American Grassfed Association) and Daniela Howell (CEO of the Savory Institute) among many others.

This year’s practical stream, Farming Outside the Box, has been organized by John Turner (farmer and co-founder of the Pasture-Fed Livestock Association) and Dr. John Meadley (agricultural scientist and chair of the Pasture-Fed Livestock Association). The focus of these sessions is on farmers taking greater control over their suppliers and markets, making better use of their farm’s natural resources and addressing the resistance to chemicals that nature is developing.

See programme and book tickets

This event is not organised by WDM. We’re mentioning on our website because it promises to have something for everyone interested in farming, growing and food. Organisations such as the Land Workers Alliance and the Soil Association will have a presence at this event.

WDM will hold a special national conference in London on Saturday 21st February 2015 to mark the relaunch of WDM as Global Justice Now. The theme will be Take Back Our World and it will be held at Rich Mix in London.

Our current energy system is stupid. People die because they can’t afford to heat their homes. Other people die because of climate change caused by fossil fuels. Energy companies make huge profits from natural resources while bullying people who can’t pay their bills. The group Fuel Poverty Action believes that another system is possible. They’ve created the Energy Bill of Rights. It’s a list of basic human rights relating to energy – such as the right to have enough energy to meet your basic needs.