Aldermaston 2008
The Bomb Stops Here - Surround the Base!
www.cnduk.org/aldermaston

Time for action:
Thousands will be converging on Aldermaston on 24 March - let's make sure we send a strong message to the government!

Resources are now available to help mobilise

Action packs are now going out to all local groups. These contain leaflets, mobilisation pack and model press release to help you generate publicity in advance of the action. If you are not from a CND group but aim to bring others with you to the event then please contact the office for a copy. Mobilising leaflets are now also availible to order free from the CND office.

Check the Aldermaston website, to see what transport is currently organised. If you have booked a coach or minibus, please make sure that you let CND know - e-mail mellcndeast@cnduk.org or phone either 0845 337 0282 or 07760 161755 - so that this can be publicised on the website.

Also, visit the website to find out more about the themed 'decade of protest' gates. What decade are you or your group going to celebrate?

Mobilisation

Start getting the word out now to all your local group members, to other peace, anti-war, green and anti-poverty groups, to local churches and mosques and to trade union branches and colleges. Don't forget friends, family and work colleagues.

Sign-up to the event on and invite your friends

Contact your local press, with personal stories of who is taking part in the action and ask them to run a piece in advance (to help build publicity)

Put up posters in your local shops, library, colleges and community centres

Find out what appropriate local events and festivals are taking place and see if you can book a stall or give out leaflets.

Organise a stunt in the local shopping centre or busy high street to attract attention when leafleting.

Think about what sort of visual presence you will have on the day - banners, pictures, artwork, poems - and factor that into your activities.

on Saturday 15 March, the Stop the War Coalition has
joined with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the
British Muslim Initiative in calling a national demonstration
in London, as part of the worldwide day of protest against
George Bush's wars on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq
invasion, when there will be demonstrations from Washington to
Beirut, from Sydney to Seoul.

WORLD AGAINST WAR DEMONSTRATION
Called by Stop the War Coalition, CND and BMI
SATURDAY 15 MARCH
ASSEMBLE TRAFALGAR SQUARE 12 NOON
MARCH TO PARLIAMENT
More details: http://www.stopwar.org.uk/

TRANSPORT: Coaches to the WORLD AGAINST WAR are being
organised around the country. For details, see:
http://tinyurl.com/2da68c

Over 10,000 policy makers and experts gathered in Bali to discuss climate change at the UN Conference.

 

Thomas Bielby, Young NCB and Children and Youth Board member, was among three other young people from across the globe to share views on the impact of climate change on their lives and that of their peers and communities. They also shared ideas on how to educate and inspire others to work together to address the challenges brought about by climate change.

Thomas, 16 years old, from Middlesbrough, said: ‘The greatest impact of the changing climate will be on children, young people and future generations. We are the most vulnerable to climate change, yet have contributed the least.

‘The UK Government needs to do more to give children and young people a voice on climate change decisions and promote the impact that we have on others around the globe.’

A new project, Children in a Changing Climate Programme, in partnership with Plan, the Institute of Development Studies and NCB aims to redress the balance. The new research programme will investigate the role children can play in reducing risks from disasters and adapting to climate change.

http://unfccc.int/meetings/cop_13/items/4231.php

The Children's Rights Alliance for England has just written a report about how  well England is doing on improving Children's Rights. England has never fully signed up to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the report - 'State of Children's Rights in England' - says the Government isn't doing what the UN reccomended in a lot of areas either.

The report also says: 'coming in the same year that more than 50 young people have died following a knife or gun attack... the lack of ministerial courage to end all forms of violence in the family home is wearing thin'. Some people have said that comparing gun crime to smacking by parents at home isn't fair - and some young people have even argued that being smacked was good for them.

So how many rights are enough - and is there such a thing as too much protection? 

Roger Morgan, the Children's Rights director of England, did a survey on what  young people living away from home think about the 'ContactPoint' database the Government is setting up. ContactPoint is meant to be used by people working with children, to make sure that you get the best care and help. But because it will have personal information on it, 83% of young people surveyed were worried that dodgy people might get acess to info about them. Specifically, they said that having phone numbers and photographs on the database made them feel unsafe.

What do you think? If you're worried, you can go to the Ofsted website and  find out more. Or make someone listen to your worries - try your local MP, The Children's Commissioner or the Children's Right Director. 

This is an educaiton action...

You can take action now!