Blog

Saturday 31st January 2015, 10am – 4pm

The Hope for the Future campaign is running a training day for anyone interested in learning how to help their church and local community engage politically with the issues surrounding climate change. We are limiting places in order to provide personalised training and quality time with our speakers Steven Croft, the Bishop of Sheffield, and Paul Blomfield MP.

The day will include:

• A talk from the Bishop of Sheffield, Steven Croft, about how faith aids us in tackling climate change.
• Paul Blomfield MP will be talking to us about the most effective way of lobbying our MPs.
• Climate change from the perspective of the overseas church.
• Examining the barriers to effective action on climate change and how we can overcome them.
• Practical action we can take.

Further information on the Hope for the Future website. Places are limited- please register your interest by emailing hopeftf@gmail.com.

The day is free but we are asking for a donation of £10 per person to help cover the running costs.

Venue: St Mark’s Church, Broomhill, Sheffield

 

The Hope for the Future campaign has been initiated by the churches and has the support of Christian Aid, Tearfund, Rowan Williams and many more. The campaign is asking individuals and groups in key constituencies to write to their MPs about climate change and to ask that their manifestos demonstrate what they are going to do about it.

WDM is asking for local groups and supporters to also take part and write to their MPs. Do you live in the constituencies of Sheffield Hallam or Sheffield Central? If so, please take action.

A template letter is below, and you can also find out more about the Hope for the Future campaign on their website.

Hope for the Future Letter to MP Nov14

 

Join us for the launch event of Global Justice Now, the new name for WDM in 2015. Featuring international speakers, films, workshops, music and an exhibition of Mexican street art.

Speakers include:

Shalmali Guttal, Focus on the Global South (India)
Luciana Ghiotto, Attac Argentina
Nick Dearden, Global Justice Now
Maria Kanellopoulou, Save Greek Water, Athens
Jeremy Corbyn, MP for Islington North
Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green Party
Paul Mason, author and Channel 4 News economics editor

Plus more to be announced

Join us to discuss: Food sovereignty • Latin America’s alternative • Energy justice • Fighting TTIP and corporate power • Reversing privatisation • Resisting dirty energy • Movement building

In addition to workshops, debates and documentaries, you’ll be able to see our specially commissioned exhibition by artists from Mexico, Democracia Real Ya, and finish the event with music and performance in the evening.

Venue: Rich Mix, Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA

More information and to reserve your place

 

Ghana is being pressured by rich governments and big corporations to pass a new law that will restrict small-scale farmers and food producers from freely saving, exchanging and selling seeds. This will side-line traditional varieties and push farmers towards buying seeds from big business like Monsanto year after year. And small-scale farmers could even face criminalisation for saving seeds that corporations lay claim to.

So far, over 7,000 people have written to their MPs. And as a result of this, an early day motion (which is like a parliamentary petition) has been tabled.

Email your MP to sign the early day motion The more MPs we can get behind it, the stronger message it will send!

More info

Download the EU-wide petition (save as, to your computer): WDM EU TTIP petition Ocober 2014

You can also add your voice to challenge the corporate trade agenda, by emailing your MP today and ask her/him to demand full transparency on the TTIP negotiations and to protect democracy, public services and the environment by opposing this aggressive new trade deal.

A new wave of corporate trade deals threaten to increase global inequality, undermine democracy and hand public service provision to multinational companies. One such deal is the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the USA and the EU, which is a dangerous blueprint that must be stopped before it is rolled out around the world.

For the first time on a grand scale, corporations would be able to sue governments and take away their sovereignty to make decisions for the benefit of their own people. WDM is campaigning against this threat to democracy, public services and the environment.

Take action to stop corporate takeover of democracy and public services. Email your MP now.

WDM briefing

Tuesday 21st October, 7pm-9pm
Martin Empson, author, long-standing socialist and environmental activist will be introducing the One Million Climate Jobs booklet. Sam Browse, Chair of the Sheffield People’s Assembly, will link climate jobs to the fight against austerity. Oliver Coppard, Labour prospective parliamentary candidate and Dearne Eco-Vision Champion on how to make climate jobs a reality.

At: Quaker Meeting House, St. James’ Street, Sheffield, S1 2EW. After Sheffield Climate Alliance 6.15-7pm AGM.