Join, or deepen your involvement in the global grassroots and direct action movement for Climate Justice!
Switch Off Hazelwood, Switch On Renewables presents two day long activist direct action skill-shares.
We are asking that people planning to attend the Hazelwood community event attend one of these two skill-shares. These trainings are invaluable tools that have been used in virtually every social movement to ensure the safety and effectiveness of activists, and they will provide you with a clearer understanding of what to expect at the action and some more tools to add to your activist toolbox.
When:
* Saturday 18 Septmeber from 10 – 4pm
* Saturday 2 October from 10 – 4pm
If you can’t make these dates but are totally excited about getting a group together for a skillshare on some alternative dates please contact us.
RSVP to juliadehm@yahoo.com
Who should come?
We need a diversity of people from all backgrounds to convince Government's to take necessary action on climate change. We need you. If direct action is something you wouldn't usually consider appropriate for you, then you're especially the type we need!
If you're already involved it's still a good thing to come to a workshop to deepen your understanding and preparedness and to share your experiences and thoughts.
What will happen at the workshop?
Through facilitated discussion, small group work and games, roleplays and activities we'll together learn more about how and why to take direct action.
- introduction to civil disobedience and direct action
- historical success of direct action in the climate movement and other movements for social change
- Why peaceful mass civil disobedience /nonviolence is a useful tactic for Hazelwood?
- an overview of the up-coming ‘Switch Off Hazelwood, Switch on Renewables’ convergence and 'affinity group' organising
- your legal rights and responsibilities
- quick decision making
- do's and don'ts
- getting ready to take direct action – what do you need, identifying and overcoming your fear
- next steps - how can we build the movement?
Why get involved in climate direct action?
The message from scientists about the seriousness and urgency of the climate crisis could not be more clear and unequivocal. It's terrifying. Yet State and Federal Government's approve more coal mines, power stations and export facilities, as well as oil and gas extraction projects, freeways and forest destruction. Powerful vested interests continue to exert much more influence over Government decisions than community pressure or the urgency of the scientific reality.
Time to turn the climate crisis around is slipping through our fingers. It's obvious that petitions, rallies and even the most logical arguments are not enough to change the Government's position when it comes to short term profit versus medium and long term social, ecological and economic sustainability.
All around the world recent years have seen a burgeoning and fast growing movement of non-violent direct action on climate change. These actions have been sharpening the debate and bringing the urgency of the situation to light. They demonstrate a response that is somehow commensurate to the crisis. 'So perhaps this is really serious?' punters may think when watching the 6 0'clock news. Business as usual is interrupted, commentators speculate that civil unrest is brewing, and politicians are forced to take notice.
This movement needs to grow on an unprecedented scale. We need you to be one more helping that to happen.