So it’s been a very busy couple of months. I’ve mainly been working on the anti-ID Card stuff (a Project Blog will be on its way soon). Apart from that:

Climate Camp
Climate Camp is the annual meeting of Climate Change activists, who each year choose one disastrous and environmentally destructive project to highlight. There is also a week of workshops, discussions etc and a day of action involving a march. Climate Camp is also a way for the autonomous collectives/campaign groups around the country to come together to highlight climate change. Climate Camp was this year focussed on Kingsnorth which is the site of a new coal-fired power station.

Climate Change is real, it happening, perceptibly all around us. Climate Change is an issue of social justice. The poorest people with the least say are going to be most affected by the changing climate. But policies about climate change cannot come from the top down. We need to start changing people’s behaviours on the ground and convincing our membership about the need for action on this issue. Find out about greening your own students union. Another place to look is a film, The Age of Stupid, which explains a bit about the issues involved and has Pete Postlethwaite in it - bonus. NUS can also help you with your green weeks and environmental campaigns, get in touch if you need any help.

BOND
I have been making contacts with an organisation called BOND who deal with international NGOs and work as a network for those campaigning on social justice. They are involved in 50 days of global action.

Liberation 2008
Liberation 2008 took place in August and was an opportunity for people to find out about the work of our 4 liberation campaigns. Liberation isn’t about forming a congregation of single issues. It’s about creating a world view that recognises that straight, white, non disabled men do not in fact, despite what the Daily Mail would have you believe, make up any kind of majority in Britain or indeed anywhere in the world. Liberation should be at the heart of what NUS does- using education to make things fairer. I have also been to the Disabled Students Committee meetings. If you are a budding Women’s Right activists and you live in London (or fancy spending time on the comfortable and efficient rail network!) then you are welcome to attend Feminists in Cafes which is a campaign group whose first meeting is Tuesday the 9th of September in Foyles Café at 7pm. You can see the event on facebook. Its not an NUS event and you don’t have to be a student to attend.

Officer training
I have been on two Officer training events this summer and once again blown away by how our movement attracts some of the most passionate and effective people I’ve ever met.

NEC stuff
Most NEC members went on the NEC residential which was an opportunity to get to know each other and start to look at the year ahead. I came away with a real impression of people that can work together. We are 27 extremely diverse people who, who are sometimes reflective of the movement as a whole in having a great capacity to come together to get things done. I thoroughly look forward to the year ahead. We have also had two NEC meetings.

So that’s all from me for the time being. ID card blog coming soon. Get in touch if you need anything.

Elizabeth

07773704423

elizabeth.somerville@nus.org.uk

The Blogs on this site represent the individual views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies or practices of the National Union of Students.

All links in blogs will open in a new browser window.

The permanent URL for this specific blog entry is: http://www.officeronline.co.uk/blogs/elizabethsomerville/275662.aspx