Occupy Edinburgh

November 5th, 2011 · · 5 comments

Welcome to Occupy Edinburgh

 

On the 15th October the people of Edinburgh responded to the call for solidarity with the Occupy protests in Wall Street and across the world. Since then we have grown in size and ambition tackling a number of local issues and spreading our peaceful anti-austerity, anti-corruption message across the country. For some of the great events we have organised and supported, as well as upcoming events, please see the event archive below.

Want to know more about the crisis, the lead-up and commentary? Then visit our information resources.

Like to get involved? Visit our working groups page and email a group list to get involved. There is also links to flyers we need printed here.

Want to be kept updated? Find us on social media or sign-up to our mailing list

 

Talk to us! You can come down to the Meadows and speak to us in person, or you can get involved in the conversation through our forum.

We always need a few odds and end to keep the camp running and our wishlist can be found here. If you would rather prefer to donate money we accept donations in person but currently our online donation application is not working.

Thanks for visiting and we hope to see you soon!

Peace.

Upcoming events

Saturday 4th February @ The meadows camp!

We openly invite you to join us at the meadows occupy camp for a day of open discussion, workshops, music and fun. We would also like to hear your opinions of the movement and how we could work together! So please come and join us!

+Workshops & Events+
-RBS & the tar sands – 2PM.
-Occupy Art (come down and do some art : ) )

+Speakers Corner – 3PM

+Open Forum – 4PM – 5PM

+Music and discussions 5PM +

+ 6PM GENERAL ASSEMBLY
- AGENDA – What day should the GA be on?

+Camp for occupy?

Interested in camping? Email occupyedinburghmedia@gmail.com. Do not arrive at the camp without first alerting us.
Thanks.

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Sunday the 5th of February
This Sunday (5th Feb) we are hosting a full-day workshop at the Abbey Mount Community Center looking at the message, strategy and actions Occupy Edinburgh could take.

It will build upon various other meetings held with Occupy, third-siders, and in small groups around the city.

The schedule for the day will be as follows:

- 10am – 12am – Non-violent communication workshop. This workshop will introduce a systematic way of communicating peacefully and constructively in large groups.

There is an opportunity to sign-up to an extended NVC training course at a later date and all contributions toward paying for this training would be welcome.

- 12.15pm – 1.15pm – Systems thinking. This will be a brief workshop looking at how we can discuss the needs and concerns of individuals while keeping the whole picture in mind.

- 1.15pm – 2pm – Lunch. A workshop on munching of tasty food.

- 2pm onward – A freethinking session. Looking at message, policy, strategy and actions the Occupy Movement in Edinburgh could host or get involved in. There are a few resources we can build on from other meetings, however the agenda will remain loose so we can be as flexible on the day as possible.

- Evening – Pub. The Regent is just across the road and will help facilitate social interaction and further conversation largely through the medium of beer. Of course beer is not essential, just a smile and a chat. But remember: there are very few cash points in the area, so bring cash.

If you would like more information on this event then please email occedoutreach@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing as many of you there on Sunday as possible.

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Event archive

Meeting on Working Groups – Thursday 12th January, 12noon – 5pm

The Melting Pot has been secured for the meeting, today. Meet in the Square at 12 then over to Rose Street. We will most likely be there all afternoon, so please feel free to attend at any point before 17:00. Love & light

Christmas Day @ Occupy Edinburgh

Serving christmas dinner at the square! Feel free to drop down.

New years eve @ Occupy Edinburgh

- Various events to be planned throughout the day.
- Currently looking for bands to perform on the night if you are interested get in touch occupyedinburghmedia@gmail.com

 

National Occupy Conference – 16th – 18th December

Occupy Edinburgh in conjunction with the People’s Cafe will be hosting this months National Occupy Conference. There will be representatives from across the UK joining us for the weekend to share ideas, knowledge and experiences so as to build a stronger and more cohesive movement.

Events will be taking place throughout the weekend and a timetable will be publicised soon. You can view the timetable of events as they are planned by taking a trip down to the People’s Cafe in the meantime.

Since this conference will be running over 3 days this weekend there will be no General Assemblies this weekend.

Saturday 10th

Protest in Harmony Singing Workshop 2.30

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmarment Workshop 3.30

Open Forum 4.30 instead inside Marquee.

 

Tuesday 6th December, 7.30pm Free Talk @ St. John’s Church

David Malone, blogger and author of “The Debt Generation”, has been writing about this for several years.

David will give a talk, hosted by Edinburgh Green Party and open to all, and will give a perspective you don’t hear in the mainstream media.

 

December 1st: Communications workshop from Core Solutions

Interested in creating a honest and productive dialogue…even in these tough times? We are.


That is why John from Scotland’s leading business mediation service, Core Solutions, has kindly offered to run, with two colleagues, a 90 minute workshop specifically looking at managing difficult situations.

This interactive workshop will help us to manage our own issues better and also help to move the dialogue to other individuals, companies and politicians. The task of mediating our message in a non-confrontational and honest way is key to dealing with the issues that are affecting us all.

If you are interested in attending then please join us in the main marquee on Thursday 1st at 5.30pm

 

November 30: N30 Public Sector strikes

MARCH & RALLY – 30th November

11:15am – Assemble St Andrew Square,  march to Johnston Terrace

Noon: Join main march at Johnston Terrace and march down High Street to Scottish Parliament

12.45-14.00: Rally at Scottish Parliament 

Occupy Edinburgh as part of the global Occupy movement strongly supports strike action on Nov 30, 2011 against cuts to public-service pensions. We will be joining the strikers to lend our support and solidarity, to hand out fliers and to bring vital tea supplies! To get involved contact either occupyedinburgh_events@lists.riseup.net or occupyedinburgh_outreach@lists.riseup.net, come down to the square on Wednesday morning or find out how to help out beforehand through our Facebook Page

Background

Many of the UK’s largest unions balloted public service workers for strike action on Nov 30, 2011.

An overwhelming majority backed the action.

Teachers, health workers and all other public sector workers will retire later and contribute more yet receive less from their pensions.

The ‘overhaul’ is part of David Cameron’s £80 billion cuts programme. Part of the “bailout/austerity” symptom of an outdated economy.

Public service workers are saying, “Enough is enough”.

Why Occupy supports the strike:

People working in essential public services, are easy targets. They are being forced to pay for the bailout, whilst profits soar for the reckless financial sector

‘Austerity’ measures reduce the number of jobs, make education unaffordable and increase our debt – all to pay-off a reckless and profitable financial sector

Bank bailout money has reached the staggering sum of £456 billion

The true cost to society will not be known for years to come. The bailout fund will be borrowed from even more, even bigger, banks. This endless pit of debt will be used to manipulate our economy, our government and our lives for years to come.

Royal Bank of Scotland Fat Cats demand £1.5 billion in bonuses for 2011, and threaten our Government to get it.

Occupy fundamentally opposes workers paying for the losses of a greedy, reckless banking system.

 

Saturday, 26 November

 

Buy Nothing Day and the What’s Next for Occupy Edinburgh

Following the commercial sector’s big sale day named ‘Black Friday’ in the USA, the Occupy Movement invites you to Buy Nothing Day. On the 26th we will be encouraging people to buy nothing in the effort to make people and politicians realise that the consumerist culture cannot be relied upon and that it is we, the people, who hold the power – not the government, not the banks.

Join us at St. Andrew Square where we will be having our usual mix of exciting and entertaining events as well as special Buy Nothing Day games and workshops to stop and make you think.

Still not sure what it’s all about? Pop down and have a wee chat with us and we’ll be happy to explain all…

We will be meeting at the camp on St Andrew Square to discuss a series of new happenings related to the Edinburgh Occupy Movement:

13:00 – 14:00 – Open discussion on the favourable Edinburgh Council Motion – “What does it mean & where do we go from her?”
14:00 – 15:00 – How to get involved in Occupy Edinburgh – Volunteering and Working groups
15:00 – 16:30 – Discussion on holding the UK Occupy National Assembly in Scotland: advantages, challenges and resources required

16:30 – 18:30 – Open Mic, Music and Chill time

Please feel free to pop over and invite friends who you think might be interested..

November 19th

Workshops and Events

“Tent Talk” with Dr. Tom

The seeds of our “Folk University” concept at Occupy Edinburgh are germinating with two new, exciting workshops this Saturday, November 19th!

11:30 am - Human Rights Workshop with Hilary Patrick

Exploring the myths about human rights with Hilary Patrick, Honorary Fellow at Edinburgh Law School.

‘And I am not making this up, he had a pet cat’ - Theresa May, Home Secretary.

1pm - Democracy: what is it and can we have one please?

“Tent talk” with Dr. Tom Webster-Lecturer in British History, School of History, Classics & Archaeology at University of Edinburgh.

A lecture built upon the under-addressed questions of what we mean by a democratic system, along with a measurement of how far the system we are in matches up to such definitions, with attention paid to the deliberately unspoken limitations to a “fully functioning” democracy.

Part 2 of a 3 part series of talks. Part 1 was: “The natives are restless and how change can be achieved”.

3pm - Interactive performance of Not For Profit

Performance by Active Inquiry… and you

“Developed through workshops with members of the Leith community, the performance uses theatre, music and rhythm to tell the story of Mary and her fight to achieve her dreams in the current economic climate.”

More information here

3:30pm - Public Forum

(cancelled due to Not For Profit performance… next Public Forum will take place 6pm Tuesday, 22 Nov)

Every Saturday, we have an open forum in the afternoon, where we encourage members of the public to come, ask questions and participate in our discussions! As always, our regular General Assemblies are open to the public, but often deal with internal matters of camp life and planned actions. Saturdays are more open for general discussion of relevant topics.

Edinburgh-based radical singing group Protest in Harmony,

Every Saturday and Sunday are Days of Action. We host workshops, introductions and some live music in the evening.

Saturday (12.11.11) Workshops

1 pm – An Introduction to Occupy Edinburgh
First time to the camp? Want to get involved? Come along for:

  • Site tour
  • Find out how you can get involved
  • Info about our working groups
  • Details on how you support the cause from home

2pm – The Native are Restless and How Change Can be Achieved – Part 1 of 3
By Tom Webster, History lecturer at Edinburgh University
3:30pm – 5:30pm – Public open forum
The most important event of the day, this is where we encourage everyone to voice their solutions. The public forum follows the rules of the general assembly, for those new it will be explained how this is done.
All Day Kids Workshop
Run by Ems and Suzie.

  • Free face painting
  • Board games and more

Sunday (13.11.11) Workshops

An inclusive, autonomous, radical space means …
By Rose

This workshop is about talking and thinking about how Occupy Edinburgh can avoid reproducing exclusion and marginalisation. In the wider world we live in, lots of kinds of people and groups are less valued. Through assumptions, language or practices which are very common, they’re made to feel marginalised.

The workshop will involve a facilitated listening exercise in small groups where everyone will be able to articulate their thoughts on space and inclusion. We’ll then move to a facilitated conversation about which methods to employ in order to move towards an inclusive movement, in which all people can feel as safe, comfortable, and valued as possible.

More details by clicking the link above

Event: Intro to consensus-forming communication

When: Monday, 7th November, 7pm – 9pm

Where: Tollcross Community Centre, 117 Fountainbridge, EH3 9QG

RSVP and more details at the Facebook event page

A free space is being made to come together to practise and learn consensus-forming communication, which is how decisions at Occupy sites are made worldwide.

Consensus-forming communication, next to knowledge acquisition and practical action, is the first and foremost need of our time where there is so much and so little knowledge about regards what is amiss with our so-called ‘economy’.

What the free workshop is about:

  • How do we listen best to each other?
  • How do we help each other and ourselves to express what wants and what needs to be said?
  • How do learn to discern and trust?
  • How do we create the enabling conditions, in a room/space and via a format?

Come along along to search, to find and to refine.

Resource referred to, apart from your own precious kenning it already, will be:
http://www.peerspirit.com/gifts/PeerSpirit-Circle-Guidelines.pdf

Weekend events recap – 5th-6th November

Edinburgh-based radical singing group Protest in Harmony performs at Occupy Edinburgh

It was a third consecutive busy weekend at Occupy Edinburgh on St Andrews Square. There were feminism and theatre workshops, a performance by Protest in Harmony, some yarn bombing, our regular 3pm public forum on Saturday and two nights of pedal-powered movies.

Setting up the film screen on Saturday

Film night at Occupy Edinburgh

Film night at Occupy Edinburgh

If you were at St Andrews Square this weekend and attended any of the events, post a comment about what you enjoyed most … and what else you’d like to take part in/contribute to next weekend.

Saturday, 5 November

Workshop: Creative Demonstrations

Check out more of Ross Gasson’s photos at www.photography-scotland.com/2011/10/occupy-edinburgh-protest/

2-5pm Saturday, 5 November, St Andrews Square

In these foolish theatrical workshops we will explore the forces that govern us, that drive us:

  • to occupy ourselves well, to waste our precious lives on earth.
  • to come together with open hearts
  • to play and to play all the parts

No theatrical or political experience necessary.

Suitable for anyone over 18 not under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs ed- which are not allowed on site anyway ;-)

Only a fool would dare to get involved in something they don’t fully understand. Dare to step into the unknown, improvise, come alive, dance in the direction of your dreams and live more fully in the present.

Danny Mullins – Theatre of Now
Nomadic Academy of Fools
Events Working Group

 

This weekend the cheery folks at Occupy Edinburgh are proud to present three game-changing documentaries, free of charge, and all powered with the energy we got from lunch.

Through the glowing eye of our bicycle-powered projector we will be bringing you:

Saturday, 5 November @ 8pm

THE AGE OF STUPID – A look back on climate change from our future. Starring the brilliant, and sadly late, Pete Postlethwaite. (92mins)

Sunday, 6 November @ 6pm

RECIPES FOR DISASTER – The award-winning documentary following the lives of an ordinary family as they try living oil-free for a year. (85mins)

Sunday, 6 November @ 9pm

JUST DO IT – An astonishing journey behind the scenes of a community of people who refuse to sit back and allow the destruction of their world. (88mins)

So bring your friends, bring your blankets, bring your minds and join in on this once in a lifetime outdoor eco-film fiesta!

Tea and coffee will be available, however in the spirit of keeping it a family-friendly event we ask you to avoid consuming alcohol or drugs on site.

 

Thanks for taking part in today’s (Saturday, 29 Oct) Robin Hood Tax march and festival!

More photos can be found on our Facebook page or at Ross Gasson’s photo page.

The occupation continues! Please stop by the daily General Assemblies (6pm, St Andrews Sq) or visit our support and working group pages to find out how you can support our contribution to the worldwide Occupy movement.

Check out more of Ross Gasson’s photos at www.photography-scotland.com/2011/10/occupy-edinburgh-protest/

Occupy Edinburgh makes it way to the Royal Mile in support of the Robin Hood Tax

This Saturday October 29th, Occupy Edinburgh will host a Robin Hood-themed March and festival at St Andrew Square Sq.

What’s going on?

Occupy Edinburgh wants you to march in solidarity with the brilliant Robin Hood Tax campaign. The event is part of GLOBAL marches taking place on the same day. The march and will begin at 12 noon on St Andrews Square, will take a circuit of Central Edinburgh and return back to the Square. The Festival/Gathering will begin at 1pm and will also take place on St Andrews Square.

During the Festival/Gathering we will have workshops, arts, speeches and live music throughout the day as well as free food and drink.

How to take part

We will be planning our workshops and events in the coming week, if you’d like to hold a workshop, come down to the General Assembly at 6pm this week and offer up your idea.

If you can’t make a General Assembly this week, but have offers of help, etc which will help us to inclusively reach out to the 99% during the march or festival gathering that will follow, please get in touch via the Facebook Group.

For more information

 

Visit http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/occupy+edinburgh

The @OccupyEdinburgh General Assembly takes place every day at 6pm at St Andrew Square.

The General Assembly is the decision-making body which works towards consensus for the occupation.

Everyone is welcome, and you don’t have to stay overnight to take part, so come down to St Andrew Square introduce yourself and get involved.

You don’t need any prior knowledge to join an assembly. The process is explained at the start of every meeting, but more information can be found here .