This is it. We’re approaching rebellion, after a while away. You might feel excited, anxious, fearful, hopeful, or a combination of many things. Whatever happens, whether we can attend in person or not, we will be there for each other.
Feeling unsure about what’s going on, or looking to meet some people to go with? Our last pre-Rebellion gathering is TONIGHT. A bit bamboozled by all the separate documents and action plans floating around? Two wonderful curators of info have also put together this fantastic guide: XR Oxford goes to the Rebellion. It should be your one-stop shop for all local Rebellion info.
XR Oxford’s Inclusion and Hardship Fund, aimed at enabling people from under-represented groups to participate in XR events and activities, by providing financial support. In Oxford XR this includes people on a low income, people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, young people (16-18), people with disabilities, those from the LGBTQ community and other people covered by the Equality Act.
If money is an important factor hindering your full participation in the September Rebellion in London, or the August Bank Holiday local actions in Oxford, you can use this form to request financial assistance from the fund. This offer is only for rebels living in Oxford (or nearby villages) or for people who have been active in XR Oxford. Details of sums that can be claimed are below.
Questions about this scheme should be directed to: XrOxfordInclusion@gmail.com
Check out the application form to learn more about who’s eligible, what sums are available and how toapply. Applications received before 19th Aug will be processed in time for the end of August. The fund will remain open after this date until the money runs out.
XR Oxford joins the Unity March
Saturday 22nd August, 2pm
XR Oxford has been invited to support a Unity March on the 22nd of August at 2pm, with a broad coalition of Oxford groups marching under the banner of supporting black lives and jobs, worker and migrant solidarity, and recognising the climate emergency; the march recognises that especially during the pandemic, “those working…who have taken risks and have died in numbers are in the most insecure, lowest paid jobs with the worst housing and are frequently victims of racism.”
What can we do now?
Save the date
Share the Facebook event when it comes out
Encourage fellow rebels to join
Bring your banners and placards, ideally not just about the climate emergency but how it links to the wider themes of the march
Anyone who can help with stewarding or other support please join this Telegram group
Our full catalogue of mailing lists – please do take a browse and join any that take your fancy. You can always adjust your subscription settings for email groups by selecting ‘All Email/Digest/Abridged’.
2020 so far has been a year of crises – the fires in Australia, Amazon and the Arctic followed by the COVID pandemic. A year of historic events and protests – in Hong Kong and for Black Lives Matter. A year of tipping points.
Despite the pandemic, rebels have stayed together, mastered Zoom, taken action during lockdown, and supported their communities. We’ve come a long way, but the Government is still failing to do what’s necessary to keep us safe. They’re not on target to meet Paris Agreement commitments and are ignoring warnings from their own Committee on Climate Change, that we may be heading for up to 4˚C of warming by the end of the century. Unless we act, we are likely to face many millions of deaths, most affecting the Global South and marginalised communities, but ultimately impacting every person and lifeform on the planet, either directly, or through disrupted food supply, health issues, or political unrest. NOW is the time to act, as we emerge from the pandemic and when plans can still be diverted from ‘Business as Usual’.
This is an emergency. We need to act now. Join us in Rebellion from 28 August in cities in the South East, and then in London from 1 September. We Want to Live!
Contents
Upcoming Events
Best on catch up
Rebellion Plans
Things to do now to make the Rebellion a success
Actions Meeting – planning Oxford’s part in the Rebellion
The New Rebel Pathway – a three-week series for new rebels on Thursday 6th, 13th and 20th August, 7-8.30pm, to help go deeper into XR and meet other new rebels.
‘Getting More Involved’ sessions – one-off conversational sessions to help you get more involved, great for those with less time! Sunday 9th or Sunday 23rd August (held online)
‘Could you be a Buddy to a new rebel?’ – we’re looking for rebels to buddy with new rebels on our New Rebel Pathway. Join the Telegram group and come along to the briefing on Thursday 30th July, 7-8pm (details to be sent out via Telegram).
Local actions in Oxford, Oxfordshire, and across the South East
These actions will build momentum to the Rebellion around set themes – put them in your diary and keep an eye out for further local details soon! Our Oxford involvement will also be planned in the Actions meeting on Wednesday – come along!
28th August – Fossil Fuels & mass banner drop
29th August – Airports and aviation
30th August – Gather your community
31st August – Banks & finance
National Actions
1st September – the rebellion moves to the Houses of Parliament, London (XR will also be rebelling in other major cities). There will also be a digital rebellion for those who can’t make it to London.
Things to do now to make the Rebellion a success
Go to Facebook and invite people to the event and share.
Help us plan the rebellion! At this meeting we will share information about plans for regional actions over the bank holiday weekend and in London from 1st September, and begin to work out the practicalities for us as XR Oxford. We will also discuss possible local actions in Oxford, including following up on some ideas from our mass gathering last week. Please join us if you have action ideas to share or if you would like to know how you can help with practical organising and action support. Everyone is welcome!
Action Wellbeing is an essential part of creating a regenerative action. It promotes the wellbeing of ourselves and others, strengthening connection and resilience. 24 July 2020, 6.30- 9pm. Register.
Arrestee Support
Know Your Rights: training every Tuesday 6-8pm. Register.
Witnessing an Arrest: Covers the key points to remember when witnessing an arrest and empowers all rebels to perform this role. Available online (password: ProsecutePolluters)
Introduction to Arrest Support: 20 July to 13 August, 6-7:30 pm. Zoom.
Non-violent Direct Action Training
Come along to our NonViolent Direct Action (NVDA) workshop, where you will learn about the history of Civil Disobedience, theories of NonViolence, and various NVDA skills such as how to talk to the police, how to block a road, and how to use your support systems. Every Saturday, 10am-1pm. Register.
De-escalation
1 to 1 Deescalation and Nonviolence. Alternate Mondays. 20 July-28 September, 6.30-8 pm.This training will provide: a deeper understanding of nonviolence, a brief introduction to Non-Violent Communication, one-on-one de-escalation with a range of different scenarios, practical role-playing exercises. Register.
Could you be a buddy for a new rebel?
Do you enjoy talking to new rebels: helping people become more confident, empowered and knowledgeable in XR? Are you friendly and approachable? Could you be a buddy? We’re looking for buddies who can take part in our New Rebel Pathway sessions, being partnered with one or two new rebels throughout the process. You don’t need to have an in-depth knowledge of XR, but it helps to be open to going through the process of learning with a new person, and helping find the answers together.
What we’d need from you:
Come along to a Buddies Briefing on Thursday 30th July, 7-8pm (details to be sent out)
Attend the three New Rebel Pathway sessions online (6th, 13th and 20th August, evenings) as a participant
Encourage your new rebel buddy in these sessions, engaging with their thoughts and ideas
Have one follow-up call a few weeks after the programme, to help your buddy decide on next steps
What you’d get in return:
Gratitude for being part of an essential process in XR Oxford, helping keep new rebels engaged!
The satisfaction of helping someone who was once in your situation
A good in-depth course in XR
Interested? Join this Buddy Telegram group and we’ll update you with details! We will only need a specific number of buddies for this programme so if you don’t do it this time there’ll be more opportunities at a later date.
Looking to get involved but not sure how?
You might be interested in our New Rebel Pathway, a three-session course starting 6th August that’ll guide you into XR principles, practices and strategies in much more depth, alongside a cohort of other new rebels.
Less time on your hands? Come along to a one-off ‘Getting More Involved’ session, a small course where we’ll chat through your interests, skills, and where you might like to be involved in XR Oxford.
Join XR Youth Oxford for a youth-led weekend occupation of the Oxford Westgate shopping centre
Why? Westgate is home to many corporations with appalling environmental and workers’ rights policies. We must rebel against these exploitative practices in order to build a just, post-Covid world.
Adults are more than welcome to join and support the youth.❤️
✍ 21st-23rd August:
From Friday till Sunday, we will occupy Westgate, aiming to stay there both nights. There will be a clothes swap (providing it is safe with COVID) and actions that will happen throughout the day. More details to come…
Our full catalogue of mailing lists – please do take a browse and join any that take your fancy. You can always adjust your subscription settings for email groups by selecting ‘All Email/Digest/Abridged’.
Bus Gates action in collaboration with the Oxford Green New Deal Campaign
Building Back Better!
As we move from strict lockdown to tentatively rejoining the world, the focus turns to building back better than we were before: cleaner, fairer, healthier.
And many of us in Extinction Rebellion Oxford have also been re-energised to be ‘building back’ again. By which we mean back ‘on the streets’ again! (Although we recognise the often invisible yet sterling work of those who are shielding and can’t yet join us – we hope to be reunited soon!).
This issue celebrates the recent and upcoming actions pushing for a green and just recovery…as well as our new announcement form, which any rebel can use to share news to XR Oxford across all channels, and our new Telegram channel!
Contents
Upcoming Events
What you can do to help Oxford #buildbackbetter
Lockdown Letters #2: A just transition
‘Inaction = Death’ Action
Rebel Trail – rise up against HS2
A Fourth Demand for Climate Justice?
Food and the Climate & Ecological Emergency
Trees of Hope get radio news
Black Lives Matter, bus gates and bike rides – a roundup of other actions
Upcoming Events
Monday 22nd June, 8pm – Lockdown Letters (for Robert Courts’ constituents), meeting link here | Meeting ID: 837 3575 3628 | Password: 140422
Right now: Sign and share the #buildbackbetter petitionto demand that the county council helps to keep Oxford safe from a second wave of Covid-19 and to turn Oxford into the UK’s leading walking and cycling city, using their £3million grant from central government.
On your next walk or cycle: take a picture of yourself walking or cycling and post it online, tagging ‘@Oxfordshire County Council’ (on Facebook) or @OxfordshireCC (on Twitter) and using the hashtags #BuildOxfordBackBetter #BuildBackBetter
Share with your network and nominate 5 friends and family to do the same!
On Monday 22nd June: Join our ‘Lockdown Letters’ session on Monday 22nd June, collectively writing letters for a just transition (see below)
On Thursday 25th June: Join a national day of action to deliver or email these letters to our local MPs (see below for full details)
Our second ‘lockdown letters’ action! Email or write to your MP to call on them to act now. Public pressure is growing for the government to use the recovery from the Covid crisis (which will require massive state intervention) to tackle both the Climate and Ecological Emergency and the inequality and injustice in our current system. Add your voice, and ask your MP to take urgent action.
Join the Zoom to find out more and discuss points we might all want to make. We will then write our letters sociably over Zoom. XR UK have made a template letter to adapt, or write your own from scratch. And if you prefer, you can download the briefing for this action and take action on your own or with your affinity group.
The more letters MPs receive, the more notice they will take of them. This action also helps build towards our on-the-street actions on 25th June…
A nationwide day of action to remind our MPs of their responsibilities for a post-Covid future!
The Committee on Climate Change recently called for post-Covid recovery to be a just transition, “focused on green growth, social parity and improved resiliency”. Their latest report will be released on June 24th, and is likely to be very critical of government failure to act. To coincide with this report, we will take part in a coordinated national action to deliver a clear message to our MPs that they must force the government to take immediate preventative action to avoid climate collapse, by implementing a Covid recovery plan that achieves net zero carbon by 2025.
When and where are we in action locally?
Oxford West (Layla Moran): XR Canaries will be in Bonn Square, Oxford (location here) with large versions of their letters and placards at 3pm. They will probably do a slow march of the surrounding area, and will be wearing a combination of green and black. Anyone from Layla’s constituency is welcome to join. Email canariescoordinator@gmail.com for any further details.
Abingdon (Layla Moran): XR Abingdon will be meeting at Abingdon market place at 12pm, walking to Layla Moran’s office on Barton Lane to deliver a letter and take some photos (location here), finishing by 1pm. See the Facebook event for updates or email xrabingdon@gmail.com
Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds): Headington Fringe will be writing letters to Anneliese Dodds, and organising a presentation of a letter at her constituency office in Cowley (location here) at 4.30pm. We welcome all rebels in the Oxford East constituency to join us in the letter-writing and/or presentation action. Please contact Mark and Marion at headingtonfringecoordinator@gmail.com and we will send you our briefing notes and any updates.
Witney (Robert Courts): XR Witney and XR Oxford Swallows will be meeting 11am-12noon outside Courts’ Witney office (58-60 High Street, Witney, OX28 6HJ) with our printed letters. If bringing one, try for a wide array of colours and styles, not just a standard letter. We will be hosting a letter-writing Zoom on Monday 22nd June at 8pm on Zoom (meeting link here | Meeting ID: 837 3575 3628 | Password: 140422)
Henley (John Howell): XR Henley will be outside the constituency offices from 6-7pm (event page)
Alok Sharma is Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, tasked with “ensuring that the country has secure energy supplies that are reliable, affordable and clean” and “tackling climate change”. He will be in charge of COP26 in 2021. XR will be marching a short distance to Alok’s office (location here) with manure and the message “Action – not horseshit!”.
Safety
As with all in-present XR actions at the moment, please:
Observe social distancing guidelines
Wear a mask
Bring hand sanitiser
Do not come if you have any symptoms of Covid-19
If you cannot attend in person because you are shielding, email your MP instead, and take a photo with your letter at home and share it online!
Oxford rebels Jessica and Xanthe starting the Rebel Trail
Along with non-rebel communities, XR is walking the HS2 route from Birmingham to London: 125 miles in 7 days. We will carry symbols of the woodland and species being destroyed to the heart of London. This action aims to raise awareness for the HS2 campaign and bring us together as a community. Join us along the way, or run your own woodland walks in your local area, make banners, spread the word, or take part in any way you’d like to!
The estimated cost is already 400% over-budget, two decades before it is due to be completed
The plans include three special stations linked to privately owned airports which have each filed for permission to expand.
Communities in the North of England were never asked what they needed. The UK government is spending their taxes on a new, high-speed link to London, when key rail links between Northern cities are poorly maintained and already unaffordable for most.
Right now, 63 Ancient Woodlands are being wholly or partly destroyed by HS2 Ltd. Countless species are being decimated that were already under threat due to habitat loss.
HS2 will not be carbon neutral in this century by the contractors’ admission. Join the WhatsApp group to keep in touch. Drivers and help with logistics are needed!
A new way to publicise your news
We want to help all rebels publicise their news so that it reaches as many people as it can. We’ve recently put some work into making this much more possible!
📬 1. New Announcements Form
If you have a piece of news, a request for help or a new project to share, you can now use our new announcements form, found here: www.xroxford.org/announcement (bookmark this link if you use it a lot).
Once you fill it in, your announcement will just be given a very quick look over by the Comms team to check all the details are there. Then it will be sent out to all three of our main channels (the new Telegram channel, the Announcements email list and the Facebook page) automatically. You can choose all three or filter which one you’d like to send it out to. No more logging in to cross-post across multiple places! Please leave up to about a day for your post to go out.
📢 2. Join our new Telegram channel and/or group!
We have a new Telegram channel up and running! https://t.me/xroxford If you like the headline news and announcements from across XR Oxford, without the chat, this channel is for you.
Attached to this is our new Telegram community group: https://t.me/xroxfordcommunity for wider discussion around issues important to XR both locally and nationally. You can read the guidelines for our community group here: http://tiny.cc/xrgroupguide
To access these groups you will need to first download Telegram on your phone: https://telegram.org/apps
📝 3. What this means for the Announcements email list:
An important update is that sending updates to the Announcements email list can only now be done via the announcements form, not through email or on the online forum. Do not email the announcements list from now on if you want to advertise something – it won’t work.
🙋 We want your feedback!
If you have any feedback on how to improve this system, please do share it with us at xroxfordcomms@gmail.com and we’ll see what we can do!
Join us to hear Vicki Hird and Miles King discuss what’s wrong with the current food system and explore some of the solutions. Vick Hird is an award-winning author working with Sustain, The Alliance for Better Food & Farming, and is Campaign Coordinator for Sustainable Farming. Vicki will talk about what a sustainable food and farming system could look like in the UK, and discuss what is blocking change.
A report commissioned by COP25 named Miles King as a key journalist influencer on the Climate and Ecological Emergency. Miles is a conservation ecologist with specialist knowledge of grassland and agricultural habitats and an interest in the relationship between nature and people. He has worked at the conservation charities Plantlife, The Grasslands Trust and Buglife. He will be discussing how we might change land use to tackle climate chaos as well as issues around waste, animal farming and bioenergy from crops.
Trees of Hope on Radio Oxford
Last month, XR Headington Fringe created their own Tree of Hope, adorning a cherry tree in Bury Knowles park with their hopeful and inspiring messages. The colourful paper leaves contained messages written by local people and rebels about what they are most looking forward to when lockdown measures ease. One of the messages said: “I hope to hug you soon.” Rebels wrapped a beautiful banner adorned with flowers, birds and leaves around the trunk. It said: “With hope and respect for nature, let’s build a better world”.
Mark, another Headington Fringe rebel commented: “so many people say they’ve heard more birds singing this spring than ever before. We can learn from our experience during the pandemic about what really matters to us, not just to help us get through this but also to encourage our community and city to look at what can be done in the longer term to make Headington – and Oxford – a better place to live and work in. These leaves express what we think is important.”
On a beautiful day in late May, Oxford rebels got on their bikes for a socially-distanced ride through Oxford: not just for the exercise, but also to show support for Oxfordshire County Council’s proposals to encourage walking and cycling, and reduce car traffic and air pollution.
Rebels from the Marsh Harriers affinity group took the chance to chalk beautiful messages on an empty Broad Street, one of the streets which the Council has suggested it will pedestrianise.
It’s impossible to say whether our actions had a direct impact on local residents’ views, but it’s heartening to see the public consensus on a healthier, more sustainable Covid-recovery in Oxford. In a recent Oxford City Council survey:
80.9% back removing all car parking from Broad Street and replacing it with socialisation space “to a large extent” or “to a moderate extent”
89.2% back expanding and segregating cycle lanes from vehicular traffic in the city centre “to a large extent” or “to a moderate extent”
80.0% back more space at park and ride sites allocated to secure bicycle parking in order to encourage ‘Park & Pedal’ journeys into the city “to a large extent” or “to a moderate extent”
Chalking our wishlist for a wider, more people-friendly Broad Street
Introducing Bus Gates
Do you know what a bus gate is? Not many do. But they are a key helping #BuildOxfordBackBetter – and will make our city a walking and cycling paradise. They are essentially just CCTV cameras which let buses and bikes through, and fine cars and motorbikes. In typical XR-singing-dancing-flag-waving style, on Saturday 13th June we marked six of the seven sites in Oxford where bus gates are proposed. The key purpose was to show the public where bus gates will go and raise awareness of them and their benefits.
The Oxford plans (i.e. ‘Connecting Oxford Plus’) have been inspired by Ghent, which is very similar to Oxford in population and age. In 2017 Ghent introduced bus gates and since then they have seen:
– 12% less rush hour traffic and 40% fewer cars on the main cycle routes
– 25% more people on bicycles and 28% higher public transport use
– 18% improvement in air quality
– a record electoral win for the politician who delivered it
– a more beautiful, liveable city, a better local economy and more people using local business
See the one-pager for more facts on bus gates that also debunks some myths…
Above: XR support BLM in Eynsham. Below: Chalk markings in Oxford by XR
Rebels support Black Lives Matter
It’s heartening to see rebels across the county supporting the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. As well as attending BLM protests in Oxford, Witney, Abingdon and no doubt elsewhere, the Swallows affinity group held their own mini-event in Eynsham. On a beautiful Sunday morning, socially distanced protesters, some accompanied by their children, gently shared their messages as local people queued for, or drank, their morning coffee in Eynsham Square. Thumbs up and nods from passers by created moments of silent solidarity with black people everywhere.
Our full catalogue of mailing lists – please do take a browse and join any that take your fancy. You can always adjust your subscription settings for email groups by selecting ‘All Email/Digest/Abridged’.
Out of respect for the recent death of George Floyd, and the many others who have been killed in racist attacks before him, we are pausing our most recent update from XR Oxford to give space for all of us to reckon, to listen, to learn, and to act. We are in a moment that highlights the very toxic system that our unsustainable world is built on.
It’s understandable to think that saving the planet is so urgent that we cannot take our focus off emissions, biodiversity loss, or other strictly ‘green’ issues. But if we look at the whole picture, the whole planet, it is clear that the same worldview of domination and extraction that has led us to the climate crisis is also at the root of racism and all other forms of inequality. One cannot be dismantled without the other. As Robert D. Bullard says: “Climate change is more than parts per million and greenhouse gases. The people who are feeling the worst impacts of climate, their voices have got to be heard.”
Entwining these issues in our rebellion may be uncomfortable, as it may expose the ways in which some of us thrive (and crucially, survive) in the system as it currently stands. It may bring up past mistakes or current blindspots. But as a community of rebels, we can also take this as a bittersweet opportunity: a time to listen attentively, to accept the discomfort, to learn, to support, and to amplify black voices. Further than just in this moment, in ongoing solidarity.
Black lives matter.
Please note that the following resources are not comprehensive. They have been sourced from lists of resources kindly shared by many in the black community and others (including Oxford Climate Justice Campaign) – we thank them for their time and emotional effort.
No money? You can watch this video on repeat without skipping ads (revenue from the ads will be used to help the protests and people affected by police brutality in the USA)
…in just over a year! We’re planning a retrospective newsletter for the next edition to come out before Christmas. We’d love your contributions as short highlights and memories, and/or images. We can’t promise to include everything, but send your thoughts to xroxford@gmail.com, and upload any photos here.
We’re also on the lookout for another rebel to join the friendly newsletter team, perhaps as a roaming reporter for events such as the farming conference. Help us expand what we can do and write about in 2020 – drop us an email if you’re interested!
Also looking forward to next year, XR Oxford Training Group are planning training that meets the needs and priorities of Oxford rebels over the next few months. We’d love to hear your views. The survey will only take you a couple of minutes to complete and will be open until 17th December.
Saturday 11th January – XR DNA Training (Save the Date)
Please note that the Eco-Listening Space, usually held every Wednesday, is paused for December. Please contact laurie@livingwitness.org.uk if you would like to help with holding the space in 2020.
The Oxford Farming Conference in January is a high-profile annual gathering of key players in the agriculture and food sector: everyone from small-scale farmers to big agrochemical producers. Speakers come from a range of fields (excuse the pun!), including the National Farming Union, Powered Pasture, the Soil Association, DEFRA, Natural England and many more, with sponsors like Sainsbury’s, McDonalds, pesticide company Syngenta, and Barclays hosting a networking session.
Agriculture at present, and farmers, are marginalised from the solutions to climate and ecological collapse. The thing that matters most for humankind is low on the global agenda. The simultaneous Oxford Real Farming Conference will provide one antidote by looking ahead to ask what the world really needs, and showing what can be done.
We are planning non-law-breaking publicity and outreach actions for each of the three days of the conference, to draw attention to the farming establishment’s potential role in a more sustainable future, plus a big callout for more land to be used for natural carbon capture. Contributions to the planning are welcome (come along to the planning meeting, or email Till) and affinity groups and individual rebels are encouraged to join in.
Forum Improvisation Theatre and Crisis Carol Singing are coming to Oxford! And they want you to join them! XR Theatrics brings the climate crisis centre stage by connecting the present day to the near-future realities predicted if urgent action is not taken. Will long queues for rations or water become the ‘new normal’? Will Fresh Air ‘Bars’ like the one just opened in Delhi become commonplace?
*Notes for XR Oxford participants
– Performances start off as “Invisible Theatre” so don’t be surprised if you can’t see anything when you arrive, and please keep XR logos discreet.
– Bring gas masks, if you happen to have one!
A message from the Tower
The amazing #VoteEarth banner got its third outing in less than two weeks on Saturday, appearing from Carfax Tower in central Oxford, and on Castle mound. A great way to keep the environment in voters’ minds as the election nears…well done to all rebels who took part.
Black Friday was full of colour…
Three consecutive events kept the XR message alive in the Westgate Centre amid the panic buying of Black Friday. The courageous and committed young people of Oxford showed us how creative and sustainable fashion can be; XR Oxford flash mob was in fine voice chanting and singing, flag-waving, leafleting and talking to shoppers; and then there were the stunning Red Rebels stopping members of the public in their tracks, leading to many long and interesting conversations with the public.
XR Youth Oxford raised awareness of the emissions and destructive environmental impacts of the fashion industry by making garments out of old clothes and putting on an alternative catwalk. Watch their inspiring video. About 60 singers from XR Oxford Glorious Rabble created a positive atmosphere enabling conversations with a wide variety of people. About 30 singers joined those who had rehearsed to sing familiar XR songs: The people have spoken; People gonna rise like water; Coal is not cool and coal don’t dig it, oil don’t drill it; Cut our carbon down to zero and finishing off with Power to the people. It sounded brilliant! The evening ended with a solemn procession by the Red Rebels.
“I thought the Westgate action was really good. People listened and it felt like it was very effective. The Red Rebels got a lot of attention and helped us.” – Arthur, 10 – pictured above, left
“It was great to interact with so many teens in the Westgate. The majority responding by filming and giggling, but they were definitely engaged. I suspect the giggling was more awkward in that they weren’t too sure how to respond to us. Some thought we looked scary or freaky but we certainly had their attention. In my working day I hear from young adults who don’t think they have a future, they are aware of the plight of animals and feel powerless. If one person was empowered into action to defend our climate by our night out then it’s a start.”
Jenny – Red Rebel at the Westgate Black Friday Action
#VoteEarth at the Climate Crisis Hustings
With the amazing ‘Vote Earth’ banner as a backdrop, last Thursday’s Oxford Climate Crisis Hustings succeeded in holding local candidates to account on climate. Over 80 people attended, with Lib Dem and Green candidates for Oxford East, and reps from Labour and the Conservatives. To paraphrase a few of the great questions:
Why not cut government support for fossil fuels and put the money into renewables instead?
What are you going to do to stop people flying frequently?
What do you think of the school strikes?
Do candidates support a doubling of tree coverage in Oxfordshire by 2045?
What do the candidates personally do to reduce their environmental impact?
Broadly speaking, all the parties were very keen to promote their environmental credentials (no surprise there!). But some gave more credible answers than others. All in all, it was great to see such positive engagement, from public and politicians alike. Of course, what action it translates into remains to be seen…
This event was spearheaded by Extinction Rebellion Oxford, and co-hosted with Friends of the Earth Oxford, Parents for Future Oxford, Oxford Climate Policy Forum and Oxford Climate Society. Many thanks to all the local volunteers who made it happen.
Ipsos MORI, the independent facilitator of Oxford’s Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change, have released their report on the Oxford Citizens’ Assembly, which can be read in full here.
Headlines
The majority of Assembly members felt that Oxford should aim to achieve ‘net zero’ before 2050 and should be a leader in tackling the climate crisis
Assembly Members were encouraged by what is already being done across Oxford to address climate change and meet the goal of becoming ‘net zero’
Enhanced biodiversity was central to the overall ‘net zero’ vision of Oxford with more cycling, walking, and public transport, and far fewer cars
The buildings sector should adopt improved building standards, widespread retrofitting, and more domestic and non-domestic energy needs being met by sustainable sources
Around one in four Assembly Members rejected the most ambitious visions of a future Oxford and they were also perturbed by the extent to which the burden of change was being placed on individuals
There was a sense that the Council needs to communicate a shared vision and strategy to reaching ‘net zero’ that shows the roles played by local and national government, businesses, and individuals
Assembly Members wanted more information about how to recycle correctly
There was a demand for more education and information for the wider public in Oxford to help them understand what they can personally do to help
What happens next?
On 19th December, a report containing Oxford City Council’s initial response to the Assembly’s recommendations will be presented to the Cabinet, including the City Council’s proposals, which will feed into the 2020/21 budget.
In the New Year, the findings will feed in to the City Council’s upcoming Sustainability Strategy, including an Action Plan to determine how the City Council can play its part in tackling the climate emergency over the coming months and years.
As recommended by the Assembly, City Council will also look at its role in convening and engaging stakeholders and the wider public to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One clear request from the Assembly was to produce educational material and information about how individuals can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the City Council will now work up detailed plans to achieve this.
Emma, one of the participants in the Oxford Citizens’s Assembly, commented:
“Personally, being a member of the Citizens Assembly was a privilege. Hearing from so many experts in their field, having the opportunity to properly discuss issues with other residents of Oxford and listen to the range of responses and views was at times challenging, but also rewarding. I felt proud to be part of the process and at a time when politics can seem disappointing, the Citizens assembly gave me the chance to be heard and for all of us to feel we genuinely had a chance to make a difference.
“The report manages to capture the complexity of the topics we discussed and also how carefully we considered the scenarios presented. There was an understanding of how great the changes would be in our daily lives but I was heartened by the commitment of fellow citizens to make these changes in their lifestyles to achieve net zero.
“I know the report stresses that we did not agree on a date to achieve it by, just that we wanted to be sooner than 2050 and for me, it seemed that we didn’t want to limit ourselves. For me personally, and plenty of others I talked to, there was a strong aspiration to try and achieve this as soon as we could and to start the process right now as the message that had been loud and clear was the time for action was now and every reduction, every change, every emission that was avoided would make a difference.”
“Four calling birds”. Of all the gifts in ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’, this one might be the most needed in our current crisis.
What could they be calling for? The truth? Justice? A future?
If the birds are calling, we can too.
Whether it’s singing our lungs out on Black Friday, or calling on our politicians to do what’s right on the climate crisis – hustings are imminent for both East and West Oxford constituencies – we can all use our voice.
And volume works – we’ve spread the word about the climate so much this year that both ‘climate emergency’ and ‘climate strike’ have been named Word of the Year by the Oxford English Dictionary and Collins respectively.
In the run-up to the election, how can we make that call louder?
Contents:
Upcoming Events
#ElectionRebellion: How to take action
All About Oxford’s Citizens’ Assembly
Singing on Black Friday
XR Muslims are looking for volunteers
Local actions for a sustainable food system at the Oxford Farming Conference
An Eco-Listening Space is also held every Wednesday from 6-7pm at the Oxford Quaker Meeting House, arrive 5.45pm for 6pm.
#ElectionRebellion: How to take action
Extinction Rebellion’s ‘12 Days of Crisis’ starts on 1 December and runs until election day. These elections will shift the UK’s future – let’s not let the climate crisis go ignored in voters’ decisions. But how?
1. Make your local climate hustings a big deal ✅
There are not one but two local climate-focused hustings coming up:
A ‘Climate and Youth Issues’ hustings in Abingdon next Monday, organised by the UK Student Climate Network (for the West Oxford and Abingdon constituency)
A ‘Climate Crisis’ hustings in Oxford on the 5th December, co-organised by Extinction Rebellion Oxford, Friends of the Earth and Parents for Future (for the East Oxford constituency)
These have the potential to really bring climate issues to the forefront of local elections – but only if locals know they’re happening! Help by sharing the events on social media, to friends and family, and on local community boards.
Stuck for what to ask on the night? Help your potential MPs feel the heat of the climate crisis with one of these probing questions, curated by XR Oxford’s Advocacy team.
You can also volunteer to help out at either event by emailing:
2. Tell voters the truth with this flyer toolkit ✅
Create your own Tell Voters The Truth Flyer with these handy templates and research sources, in order to put forward a neutral, comparative analysis of local candidates’ record on climate.
The goal of these flyers is not to endorse any candidate or party, but to Tell Voters The Truth about local candidates campaigning to be their next MP, and their record on climate.
3. Join the Election Rebellion Telegram Chat ✅
Local groups will be creating their own actions, but there are also regional actions which re-unite the South East in beautiful Rebellion, shining a spotlight on the true crisis! 🧭🌍
Roll up, roll up! Find out everything you could possibly want to know about Oxford’s own Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change, which invited 50 Oxford residents to deliberate over potential ways forward on the climate emergency. Oxford is the first city in the UK to use this approach for climate change, so there is a lot we can learn and teach from the process.
This event will explain what happened, how it was planned, and what XR Oxford did, plus analysis and presentations from XR Oxford’s Citizens’ Assembly Project Team and Oxford Citizens Assembly Network.
Friday 29th November, 5.30pm | Westgate Shopping Centre | Event
On the next Youth Strike day (and also Black Friday), XR Youth are planning a catwalk action in the afternoon (around 4pm), and afterwards at 5.30pm will be a singing flash mob, in the style of the Glorious Rabble!
We need lots of people to sing, and also to chat to shoppers and hand out leaflets. And you don’t need to be a ‘singer’ – the songs/chants are very simple and easy to learn, and people will be on hand to teach them. Please keep an eye on the Facebook/website event for further details.
If you would like to help with outreach, please get in touch with Radha (radha@uwclub.net). Leaflets will be provided. Please bring XR flags if you have them. If you haven’t done this before, and would like to be paired with someone who has, just ask.
Please note this is about supporting the Youth Strike movement and also highlighting the problems of the fast fashion industry, not about blaming and shaming individual shoppers.
XR Muslims are looking for volunteers
XR Muslims are looking for those who identify as Muslims and who’d like to help with any of their ongoing projects, including:
Developing a Heading for Extinction talk with additional material from Muslim faith traditions.
Arranging Heading for Extinction talks in your local mosques (masjids) and Muslim community centres.
Creating a welcome pack for Mosques and Muslim community centres to introduce Muslims to both their local XR groups and the XR (national level) Muslim group.
Writing a report on Muslim community leaders’ perceptions of XR and attitudes towards climate change.
Running social media campaigns – we would love to have creative people to help us design materials and messaging.
To get involved please get in touch with us at: XR.Muslims@gmail.com or join our Whatsapp group.
Local actions for a sustainable food system
7-9 January 2020
Our next big local action (or set of actions) is on the horizon! The food industry has their annual Oxford Farming Conference in January, and we can take the opportunity to demand transformative changes for a just and sustainable food system.
There will be an action for each of the three days of the conference. You can find the action outline here – please share this widely in your network and affinity groups (AGs), as we’ll commence with detailed planning now and encourage every AG to participate.
This is a set of non-law-breaking publicity and outreach actions which are ideal to integrate new rebels.
If you want to be involved with the planning – whether as part of an AG or not – please reach out to Till (XROxfordActions@gmail.com) or check out the Action Working Group’s google thread.
Rebels from all over Oxfordshire came together in the capital in defence of the planet – and even managed near-daily solidarity actions in Oxford too (see bottom row, centre)
October is Over. A new stage begins…
October, with all its fierce weather and our fiercer rage, is now just rolling clouds of memories of different shades.
We were moved; we were moved on.
We rescued tents; we rescued each other.
We were banned; we were the samba band, always arriving just at the right time.
We were rebels on the streets; we were rebels from our kitchen tables.
We were the right choices. We were the wrong choices.
We are just over one year and one week old. We have a lot to learn, without the luxury of much time to do it in. This season will be one of restoration, reflection, learning and soul-searching. It doesn’t have to be a dark or accusatory process, however – in fact, it might just shine a light ahead. There are many events below, crucially the ‘Thinking Back and Looking Forward’ meeting, and plenty of regenerative sessions, to help us through this.
Wherever you were in this Rebellion, whatever you did, thank you. You are essential.
Contents:
Upcoming Actions/Events
‘Happy First Birthday! Thinking Back and Looking Forward’
An Eco-Listening Space is also held every Wednesday from 6-7pm at the Oxford Quaker Meeting House, arrive 5.45pm for 6pm.
Not quite a birthday cake, but plenty of candles…
Happy First Birthday! Thinking Back and Looking Forward
14 November, 6.45-9.30 pm, Oxford Deaf and Hard of Hearing Centre
All are invited to an evening of reflection and looking ahead, an essential part of us learning and growing as an Oxford group.
In Part I, we will be looking at what XR Oxford has done this year, using the roses/thorns/buds template to review what has gone well, what has been difficult or challenging, and what we have learnt about how we need to develop in the coming period.
In Part II, we will work on a number of topics which have emerged as priorities:
A fourth demand
Power, privilege, diversity and inclusion
Messaging
Future actions – Targeting, creativity
Please note that the title and plan for this session (previously called The Big Debrief) have changed to respond to the needs identified in various discussions since the Rebellion, including the list of topics which people contributed to online and the issues that came up as priorities from the work done in the What’s Next? meeting on 30th October.
Scientists for Extinction Rebellion. Photo by Francesca Harris.
Do you have a passion or interest that you would like to use as part of XR? Would like to find others who share it to build a group?
Maybe you’re…
a crafter
a teacher
a scientist
part of a faith group
in an area without a local affinity group, or your local affinity group is full
We’re hosting a session on building and strengthening affinity groups within XR Oxford, as well as sharing advice and tips for emerging or existing affinity groups who are wondering how to grow or be more effective. Please email lucywalters185@gmail.com if you have an idea for an affinity group that you’d like us to publicise before the meeting.
Oxford’s Affinity Groups
In XR Oxford we currently have around 15 affinity groups – some are based around locality (in different Oxford neighbourhoods), some around passions or practices (the Drummers, Meditators, and Red Rebel Brigade), and some are workplace or lifestyle-based e.g. our Oxford University Staff affinity group, or our Families group. They all aim to sustain a sense of community and support.
This meeting may be of particular interest if you:
Are interested in drumming
Live in Blackbird Leys, OX4 or Long Crendon and would like to be part of new groups there
October Rebellion opening ceremony. Photo by Jethro Tanner.
Let’s make music!
We have a newly-formed group of XR Oxford Singers and Musicians! This will provide a forum for sharing ideas and making plans to bring music to local actions and events. Everyone’s welcome to join, no matter what your experience – all you need is enthusiasm and passion to let your voice be heard.
Please email xroxfordoutreach@gmail.com if you’d like to be added to the email mailing group.
If you’re interested in the drumming side of things, there’s also a new Oxford XR Drummers group! Email xroxforddrummers@gmail.com to get involved
Photo by Ted Giles
Were you arrested during the Rebellion?
Oxford’s Arrestee Support Group invite arrestees from the October Rebellion to email xroxfordarresteesolidarity@gmail.com with details of your arrest. If you consent to us having your information, it would be useful to know:
your name;
email and/or phone number;
when and where you were arrested;
and whether you were charged or released under investigation.
There is of course no obligation to make contact. We will keep track of dates and charges in order to share information and offer support, and will arrange meetings for arrestees. This will be open to arrestees from Oxford and Oxfordshire, as well as those arrested during the April Rebellion (whether charged or not). We are also compiling resources for arrestees and their supporters.
Anyone from XR Oxford who was arrested in either October or April is also welcome to join our Oxford Arrestee Support Google Group. This is a group for sharing experiences and advice – please only share any personal details of your arrest that you would be happy with the wider group seeing.
Make time for some regen
Getting back to ‘normal’ isn’t easy, and it’s natural to feel some post-Rebellion blues.
We all go through our own cycles of energy and emotions; one model which XR advocates is the Regenerative Action Cycle (pictured above). It is inspired through observation of natural cycles as well as teachings from many regenerative and indigenous cultures around the world. Following these cycles in our human activities can foster connection and regeneration within ourselves, within our communities, and in our relationship with the other-than-human communities we are part of.
Hat’s off to everyone involved in the Art-Science Extravaganza at the Natural History Museum last weekend! It was an amazing, uplifting event with fantastic collaboration between the Natural History Museum, Extinction Rebellion Oxford and the Sumatran Orangutan Society. Thank you to everyone who planned, created, and joined in!
Now it’s time to rise up! Whether you are arrestable or not, whether you can join us in London for one day, one week, a fortnight or can offer support from home, we need everyone and every part of everyone. The sands are running through the hourglass and time is running out for our beautiful planet. We need to act now!
We need everyone who can to come to our site at Whitehall, where our key theme is ‘Beyond Politics’. Try to come as early as you can in the week – this critical site will be a focus of media and public attention, and we need as many people as possible in order to take it. Right in front of Downing Street, we’ll be highlighting how our democracy is failing to address the climate and ecological catastrophes. We want to propose the positive democratic alternative of a Citizens’ Assembly, where citizens will have the courage to propose the solutions where politicians have failed.
For a larger map of all the London sites, and what they’re standing for, see the October Rebellion page (see the map below for a preview).
“Oxfordshire action info” (for Oxfordshire rebels at the Rebellion) In Telegram, for privacy, go into privacy & security settings, make a username, and set the “Who can see my phone number?” to “Nobody”.
Know our Principles: All participants in the Rebellion are asked to follow the Rebel Agreement as a basis for trust:
We show respect to everyone – to each other, the general public and to the government and police.
We engage in no violence, physical or verbal, and carry no weapons.
We hold ourselves accountable for our actions and do not hide from the legal consequences.
We bring no alcohol or illegal drugs.
We take responsibility for ourselves; we are all crew. Rebels undertaking nonviolent direct action must abide by the Action Consensus
Be aware of your rights and the consequences of getting arrested: Attend NVDA training in Oxford or Wallingford, and read this. There will be NVDA training available in London too. This is a quick introduction to the law relating to protest. Print a bust card and bring it with you. Choose your emergency contact and let them know how you’re planning to participate.
Sign up for a role either in London or at home. We have so many jobs to sustain the Rebellion!
And before you go, make time to recharge your batteries and relax!
Affinity groups: If you don’t already have an affinity group or are travelling alone to London, join affinity group formation once a day at our Whitehall site – probably late morning.
Travel: the cheapest way to get to London from Oxford is by bus. Keep an eye out for other rebels at Gloucester Green Bus Station. There will be coaches from various cities organized by XR Central on 6 October or join the rebel cyclists.
Accommodation: Camping is strongly encouraged in order to hold sites overnight. Bring a pop-up tent, sleeping bag and lots of warm clothes. Here’s a handy kit list.
What to wear: it’s going to be cold and could be very wet. Make sure you have plenty of warm comfortable clothes. It’s been suggested that wearing everyday clothes will encourage the public perception that the Rebellion is made up of ‘ordinary’ people. Don’t bring too much in case we have to move, reusable is good, secondhand is good..
Be creative: banners, placards, musical instruments, costumes, pot plants, songsheets, leaflets, facepaint, songsheets, loudhailer … The headline message for our site is Beyond Politics (Citizens’ Assemblies).
Photo credit: Jane King.
Why Whitehall and what about Brexit?
At this moment in British political history, with a divided country, it is essential that XR UK’s actions are focused primarily at Government rather than at Parliament. XR calls for MORE, for an upgraded democracy not less. XR UK will use every opportunity to draw our 3 Demands forcefully to Parliament’s attention, but UK XR Political Circle want to urge very strongly that our actions and words in Westminster in October target principally ‘Executive’ actions and Government departments that are stopping real action on the Climate and Environment Emergency. Parliament declared a Climate and Environment Emergency after our Rebellion on 1st May. It is Government action that is now needed (as well as Parliament going further to legislate for nearer-term deadlines on biodiversity and on climate). We are engaging in NVDA to renew democracy in this country. A Citizen’s Assembly on Climate and Ecological Justice can usher in a new era of direct, deliberative democracy and address our democratic crisis.
Extinction Rebellion’s strategy will focus on Government Departments to Demand they tell the truth about their plans for Ecological and Climate Breakdown.
Messaging for the Oxford site, given we hope to target Downing Street, will focus fully on our third demand, the Citizen’s Assembly. Key messages are: The current system needs help; Westminster cannot solve this crisis alone; Our electoral system isn’t coping with modern challenges.
The October Sustenance group are working hard to prepare for your arrival, but time is not on our side and our budget only stretches to 10p per Rebel per day – that includes power, equipment, food supplies, everything… We are expecting A LOT of Rebels, October Sustenance would LOVE to feed you all, but sadly this is just not possible. The kitchens will have to serve those that are the most in need – those who have travelled, those that are camping, those on actions, those that can’t afford to buy their food… The October Sustenance page has excellent ways to donate.
Identify cheap places to eat, share them with your group and sign up for places offering Rebel discounts.
Bring food, washable bowls, spoons and mugs to the rebellion. We have a wish list for a wide variety of items. Also needed for the training tent: yoga mats/carpet offcuts; folding camp chairs; umbrellas; bunting; battery powered lights.
Or sign up for another job (from event logistics to well-being), including roles for people who can’t make it to London.
Photo by Luis Cartaxo
Spread the Word!
You can send stories to your local press, adapt this template, find some quotes from local rebels, add a good picture and send it off to your local newspapers, radio and TV stations. The regional press working group needs more volunteers!
Talk to your friends, your family, your coworkers. Tell them why you’re rebelling and ask them to join you, if only for a day. Don’t forget to reshare any important updates you see to our Extinction Rebellion Oxford group via Facebook or Twitter.
Photo by Luis Cartaxo
Arrestee Support
Help us build a strong support network in Oxford and surroundings for people arrested in the October Rebellion. There are hundreds of local police stations where rebels may be held, especially outside of London, we need people to be ready to support arrestees as they are released. They may have been held for 24 hours, be worried, hungry, thirsty, disorientated and tired. It may be 2pm or 2am and they may have run out of phone battery, and not know where they are. We’ve created 150 police station support groups and a map to allow you to click on a link that lets you join your local police station group/s. If you help, join as many local station groups as you can in relation to where you can offer support. This is a great way for people who cannot travel to London to be involved and is an essential link in the XR support chain.
Photo by Luis Cartaxo
Let us take a moment, this moment, to consider why we are here.
Let’s recall our love for the whole of humanity, in all corners of the world.
Let’s remember our love for this beautiful planet that feeds, nourishes and sustains all life.
Let’s recollect our sincere desire to protect all this, for now and for generations to come.
As we act today, may we find the courage to bring this sense of peace and appreciation to everyone we encounter, to every word we speak, and to every action we make.
Oxford comes together at the Global Climate Strike. Photo credit: Hugh Warwick.
Before we get onto the legal stuff…
Let’s take a moment to thank all the young people of Oxfordshire, and across the world, for yesterday.
For uniting voices of all ages.
For showing us a way forward, together.
For telling the plain, simple truths that someone we adults forget.
According to Oxford Youth Strikes, an estimated 5000-6000 came out in force in Oxford to join the millions around the world, and the march got so big that it closed its own loop. The same happened at the evening Families Bike Ride, where riders from every corner of the city encircled the whole Plain roundabout with the sound of cheering, singing and the dinging of bells
This is an impressive achievement, and we’re not done yet. We hope yesterday has emboldened you to keep up that pressure into October, where we will be taking it to the real seat of power: Westminster.
On our legal rights theme for this week, let’s also consider our privilege of being able to collect together on a sunny day, without fear of harm or serious legal repercussions. This touching photo of yesterday’s school strikers of Kabul, guarded by Afghan security forces, highlights just how easy we have it. May we applaud their courage.
Know your rights…
“The only time that people know it is serious, is when people are prepared to sacrifice their liberty in defence of their beliefs.” George Monbiot, 31st October 2018, Declaration of Rebellion, London.
With less than three weeks until the Rebellion, it’s crucial that all rebels inform themselves about their rights as protesters and the possible consequences of arrest. Come along to a Legal Briefing + Q&A session in Oxford on 23 September or in Wantage on 26 September. These sessions will help you decide what actions to take at the October rebellion and beyond. Every part of every rebel is needed – we need people who are prepared to be arrested and plenty of people on the ground in many other roles. Read up on your rights and how to be prepared, even if you’re not planning on being arrested, or join the XR webinars to find out more about mass mobilisation, contemplating prison, and hunger strikes. There’s loads more general practical info in XR Oxford goes to the Rebellion.
Monday 30th September, 6.30-9.30pm – Affinity Group & Working Group Coordinators Meeting. Let your coordinator know if you have anything for them to bring up.
And on Fridays from 12.30 – 1.30 pm, there is a weekly ‘Eco-Listening Space’ to reflect on the climate emergency and any feelings that arise, Oxford Quaker Meeting House, 43 St Giles OX1 3LW
A detailed legal briefing with barrister John Briant of Reeds Solicitors and Chambers, in preparation for the October Rebellion. For rebels old and new and anyone interested in taking part. There will be plenty of time for Q&A!
The aim is to give you legal info to help you decide what actions to take at the Rebellion and beyond. It is essential that we each inform ourselves about the possible costs and other consequences of taking action – and this is a perfect chance to do it. If you do decide to take arrestable action, John will also give you practical tips about how to prepare for it.
If you decide not to take arrestable action, you’ll have the option to learn more about how you could support arrestees after the rebellion instead. Arrestee support is crucial, and we need folks who can support those arrested (more on this below!).
Know your rights – online trainings
23rd September, 7-9pm
Tuesday 1st October, 7-9pm
Saturday 5th October, 1-3pm
If you can’t make it to the in-person legal briefing, don’t worry! There are still several online Know Your Rights trainings before the Rebellion. Please remember that everyone should attend such a training and/or familiarise themselves with our legal resources before attending an action.
Why is this important?
Many rebels felt after April that their decision to get arrested was not an informed one – and they weren’t prepared for the consequences. It’s your responsibility to inform yourselves before attending an action – please encourage your affinity and local groups in doing the same. You can’t always plan an arrest – it can happen very quickly, so everyone should prepare themselves for this case, even if you don’t consider yourself an “arrestable”.
Know Your Rights trainings cover topics like…
What are your rights when dealing with the police?
What happens during a Stop and Search?
What happens during an arrest?
What are the possible consequences of an arrest or conviction?
What are rebels likely to be charged with?
What happens when you go to court?
To sign up, please first join the XR Oxford Announcements forum, and then visit this link. Joining Announcements will send you regular, important updates from XR Oxford, but if you’d rather just access the trainings and not get emails you can unsubscribe at any time. We have had to secure the training sign-up links due to the recent risk of trolls joining online XR meetings.
Arrestee/Defendant Support in Oxford – we need your help!
Arrestees have been key to the success of XR. For our campaign of non-violent civil disobedience to work, we need to be disruptive, and this inevitably leads to arrests: the more the better in terms of media and public awareness. So far over 1100 people have been arrested, and this number is bound to grow, as a key part of a powerful and effective movement. So it is important that we value, respect and support arrestees. Many have stepped well out of their comfort zones in support of the movement’s aims, and some may feel a bit vulnerable.
Support can include all or some of these:
Meeting Defendants – listening, and sharing thoughts.
Attending Defendants Group meetings, at roughly monthly intervals in Oxford.
‘Buddying’ arrestees through the ‘process’ of arrest and trial
Accompanying defendants to court, which can be immensely comforting in that potentially hostile-seeming environment.
If you have legal or literary skills, you may be able to assist those defendants who elect to self-represent to prepare their cases.
Being part of an arrestee support team at the October Rebellion. Following up who has been arrested, where they are being detained, informing their family/partner and meeting them when they are released.
Learning about legal aid, helping with legal aid applications, helping with fundraising to help defendants defray their legal expenses.
Never too big a circle for everyone… (at our park session on swarming and de-escalation)
As we go into our last month before the October Rebellion, it couldn’t be more of a turbulent time in politics. If damage can be done in words rather than blows, then right now the Commons isn’t the place to look for XR’s non-violent principles… Politicians could learn a lot from Rupert Read and Roger Hallam (two co-founders of XR), who exemplified respectful, civil debate in Oxford last week, finding common ground despite their differences on some topics.
September is packed. Local rebels are working flat outto make sure everyone is as prepared for the London Rebellion as they can be. If you’re thinking of getting involved but haven’t yet, now’s your time. Don’t be afraid to come along to our big planning meeting or a social and say: ‘Hi, I’m looking for the Rebellion?’
Update on Meetings
To give them a bit more flexibility and less time pressure, Working Groups are now meeting at their own convenience (rather than all at once). If you’d like to find out when the next meeting of a group is (or how you can help out), get in touch with a coordinator.
Friday 13th September, 7-11pm – Pre-Rebellion Social! No agenda, just bring some good food to share with good people, East Oxford Community Centre, OX4 1DD
Monday 30th September, 6.30-9.30pm – Affinity Group & Working Group Coordinators Meeting. Let your coordinator know if you have anything for them to bring up.
And on Fridays from 12.30 – 1.30 pm, there is a weekly ‘Eco-Listening Space’ to reflect on the climate emergency and any feelings that arise, Oxford Quaker Meeting House, 43 St Giles OX1 3LW
Feeding the Rebellion – photo by Gareth Morris
Four practical ways to help make the Rebellion happen
7th October – 19th October 2019
This rebellion is going to be huge – because time is running out. Leading scientists and public figures have estimated we have as little as 18 months to turn it around. The situation is urgent and we need to act now. ⏳ We will peacefully shut down all roads into Westminster in Central London and nonviolently disrupt the government until our leaders agree to take emergency action now. Other nonviolent actions will target corporations, ministries and infrastructure that maintain our toxic system.
Register for a role (however big or small). Local groups will be taking more responsibility for making the Rebellion happen this time (with Oxford working as part of the South East). This is “we are all crew” on a grand scale. It’s also a great opportunity for people in Oxford who don’t yet have roles to take some more responsibility, in a manageable, time-limited way. This Rebellion needs everyone. If you think you have nothing to contribute, think again. Bring yourself, and that will be enough.
Are you signed up to the Announcements email list? These are regular emails on more in-depth announcements for XR Oxford. If you’re looking for more information than this newsletter, this is the next step.
Download Telegram, the primary messaging app for the Rebellion. More secure than Whatsapp, this is the primary way we’ll be communicating on the ground – so please download it now! More info to come on how we’ll be using Telegram and which groups to join.
Hardship Fund for the Rebellion
We are seeking applications and donations for a hardship fund for the October Rebellion. If money is an important factor hindering your full participation in October, you can apply for any of the following:
A £15 travel grant.
An £8 per attended day subsistence grant.
For those who suffer loss of earnings due to their participation in October, a discretionary amount that will depend on: the extent of their involvement, the level of their hardship, the number of applications, and the money available in the fund.
Applications are to be made to the fund administrator, Tina, detailing level of need, and confirming that you live in Oxford or a nearby village, or have been active in Oxford Extinction Rebellion. The application deadline is Tuesday 17th September at 5pm.
Donations can also be made and are very gratefully received – you will be helping break down financial barriers so that as many rebels as possible can come to the streets of London.
Wear a beautiful XR Oxford bandanna for our performance actions at the Art-Science EXtravaganza, showing how ecological breakdown is linked to climate breakdown – they go hand in glove. Email Jane to sign up (letting her know if you’re part of an affinity group or not).
Calling young rebels and School Strikers!
Calling young rebels! Take part in the Masked Intervention for the EXtravaganza. Wear a beautiful mask representing some of the species essential in the British countryside. Help us show the public that we won’t beat climate breakdown if we have driven our wildlife to extinction. Contact Jane to volunteer.
The XR Red Brigade at St Ives, photo by GavanGoulder
Oxford’s own Red Brigade rises!
You may have seen XR Red Brigades before – you’ll never forget them if you have. Arresting, powerful and moving, their silent processions enact and embody the grief and rage felt towards our planet’s situation.
If you’ve heard the ripping of fabric around Oxford, or seen red scraps floating in the breeze, you’ll know that Oxford’s very own Red Rebel Brigade is rising! They are busy making costumes and rehearsing in preparation for October (and beyond!)… Irrespective of gender or age, all are welcome to join in whatever role suits you (makers, supporters, or to don the garb and have a go). You can join the Oxford Red Rebels Google group to keep in touch with upcoming plans and performances… or just watch out for the group in red…
Die-ins – reflection in action. Photo by Terry Matthews.
These are testing times. With the call to action comes the call to engage with projections of the future, and evidence of climate tipping points. Our response starts with our inner climate, what we do with how we feel about climate change, and how that influences our activism.
We’re part of the social turning point, where we say business as usual is not an option. Whilst this means taking our care and concern to the streets, it also means a turning point in how we respond. We need to be grounded, connected, collaborative, compassionate and flexible. We need to develop ways of being – in ourselves, in our groups and with the wider world – to call forth this energy.
Learn and share practices, exercises and techniques to help you stay connected, grounded and strong together. Open to anyone in XR interested in learning and developing healthy regenerative culture.
If you can’t make the skillshare, explore regenerative culture exercises with this XR podcast by Joanna Macy, and take a look at the resources our Oxford XR Regen team have developed.
Our public meeting to build for the Global Strike, with speakers including school strikers, trade unionists and journalist George Monbiot (pictured)
The Global Climate Strike Builds
Broad Street, Oxford, 11am-2pm
Stand in solidarity with the young generation. This September, across the world, millions of us will walk out of our workplaces and homes to join young climate strikers on the streets, and demand an end to the age of fossil fuels. March and rally alongside Oxford Youth Strike. Come if you can, and invite everyone you can think of to the Facebook event, and follow Oxford Youth Strike for Climate for updates about the day itself. The youth organisers have asked for:
More stewards!
A gazebo
A PA system.
If you can offer any of these, please get in touch with Jo Gill.
Get writing for Rebel Talk!
Poems for the Climate Emergency – Deadline now extended to 20th October
Rebel Talk, an XR Oxford project to create an anthology of poems from the movement by Spring 2020, has now passed TWO HUNDRED submissions, and counting! With the deadline now put back until 20 October, there’s plenty of time to make that three hundred…
With Oxford’s Citizens’ Assembly on the Climate Emergency launching on the 28th September, there’s no better time to watch The Deliberate Rebellion, a short film that examines Extinction Rebellion’s demand for a national Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice, and why it’s so important.
This newsletter relies almost entirely on submissions from rebels doing exciting projects – if you have an exciting update or event you want to share, email us your story at xroxford@gmail.com with the subject ‘Newsletter’.
