I left my email address at
I left my email address at the Occupy New Putney Debate on Land and Democracy and have received the following email from them. It gives a good idea of where they (or at least their Environment Working Party) are coming from and want to go. Not too different, it seems, from existing activist groups in this area.
Quote:
Dear All,thanks so much for coming to our Putney Debate on Land and Democracy last Thursday. At Occupy London we hope that all of the debates will help build a community of people who want to do more than talk, and come together as part of a wider movement against neoliberalism and the corporate takeover of society, and for real democracy and sharing of natural resources, to help bring about real changes in our society and around the world. Details of how to get involved in our group can be found at the bottom of this message. Of course, the talk is important, for working out a coherent diagnostic of what is wrong with society and the kind of changes we wish to see. Action without thought is blind. Lots of interesting ideas came out during this session, and our occupier friend Tina has written a very good overview of the evening here: http://occupylondon.org.uk/archives/17849 You can also find a livestream of the event here, courtesy of our friend Obi: http://occupylondon.org.uk/archives/17835 Just a few of the ideas (based on what people have sent back to me) raised in the breakout groups (send in any others you have as a "reply all" to this message):*build and reinforce communities where we are*Occupy empty buildings/expand squatting (increasingly a necessity for many young people)*demand that the City of London make all its accounts transparent*learn from & get together with friends to replicate successful alternative community experiments, such as the occupied library at Friern Barnet (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/sep/11/squatters-reopen-friern-barnet-library) and the Diggers' camp at Runnymede (http://diggers2012.wordpress.com/) *devise strategies to counter "privatist" propaganda in every way we canThe event was organised by the Occupy London Energy, Equity and Environment Working Group (EEE). We are also organising an Environment Day, with some brilliant speakers like the energy expert Jeremy Leggett and Polly Higgins, leader of the campaign for Ecocide to be adopted by the UN as an international crime. There'll be lots of audience participation, and dealing with the crucial themes of food, energy, and environmental law. We hope you can come and invite lots of friends! The facebook page for this event can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/114672452021499/ The full programme for the Putney Debates can be found here: http://thenewputneydebates.wordpress.com/programme/If you agree with us that voting every 5 years or going on an occasional march won't change anything in any significant way, then we hope you'll get involved with Occupy London, UK Uncut, the Fuel Poverty Action Group, the Climate Justice Collective, Femcells or any of the groups that are part of the wider anti-neoliberal movement. EEE is an autonomous grassroots working group within Occupy London, set up 18 October 2011 to connect the dots between environment and economy, and put the environment at the heart of the Occupy movement in London, which I think we can say we have successfully achieved. We organise a mix of educational events, protests and direct actions, sometimes in association with other grassroots environmental groups, sometimes independently. If you would like to get involved with this group, please email me by reply.Best wishes,PeterOccupy London EEE