direct action

Mon

Jan

2015

There Is No Future in War: Youth Rise Up, a Manifesto

New translation available

A peace sign printed on the American Flag is raised during a protest against the Vietnam War in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Archive / History Channel)

Submitted by Gary

Statement written by Ben Norton, Tyra Walker, Anastasia Taylor, Alli McCracken, Colleen Moore, Jes Grobman, Ashley Lopez / Codepink -

Once again, US politicians and pundits are beating the drums of...

Tue

Jul

Protests across Germany and the UK in response to public military days

Submitted by antimili-youth on Tue, 31/07/2018 - 17:24

Activists protesting at a military site in Mannheim, Germany, on the Bundeswehr Day

Activists in Germany and the UK organised actions during public military days in their countries.

In many Western countries, militaries recruit on a voluntary basis. This requires those militaries to pay more attention than ever to their 'public relations' (PR), to reach out to as many young people as possible and convince them to join their ranks. 'National days', or similar public days linked with the military, have been an effective component of this strategy. Last month, two examples of this occurred in two European countries: Germany and the UK.

Wed

Jul

Lockout Lockheed: Melbourne students take direct action against university contract with Lockheed

Submitted by antimili-youth on Wed, 25/07/2018 - 12:36

Student activists blockade a door at the University of Melbourne

Andrew Metheven, War Resisters' International

On 11th July students at the University of Melbourne took direct action to protest the universities collaboration with Lockheed Martin, the world's biggest arms company. The University has recently partnered with Lockheed on the STELaR laboratory.

In protest at the collaboration, students from the DisarmUnis and Lockout Lockheed groups locked-on to concrete barrels surrounding the universities administrative building. When staff attempted to make use of another building, students blockaded that one too. The campaign is demanding the university ends all ties with Lockheed Martin, and to reveal all of it's agreements with the company. Following the action, representatives from the university agreed to meet with the students to discuss their concerns.

Mon

Nov

This week is the International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth

Submitted by antimili-youth on Mon, 20/11/2017 - 14:59

This week (20-26 November) is the International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth. During the week activists from various countries will be taking actions and organising events to raise awareness of how the military and military values are promoted to young people, and how we can challenge it.

In Czech Republic, NESEHNUTÍ is organising a screening of the movie “Výchova k válce” (Education for War), followed by a panel session on the militarisation of education in the country.

In Israel, activists from the Mesarvot network - a solidarity network supporting political conscientious objectors in Israel - is organising a demonstration in Tel Aviv in support of the young refuser, Matan Hellman, who's declaring his conscientious objection on 20th November.

Fri

Sep

A call to action: 4th International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth, November 20-26

Submitted by antimili-youth on Fri, 22/09/2017 - 14:19

This November, activists from all around the world are taking action against the militarisation of young people in their countries, cities and towns.

Join us in this week with your own nonviolent actions, and be part of this global movement resisting the recruitment of young people's minds and bodies into violence.

The International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth is a concerted effort of antimilitarist actions across the world to raise awareness of the many ways in which violence is promoted to young people, and to give voice to alternatives. The week is coordinated by War Resisters' International.

Thu

Jun

UK: Protesting Armed Forces Day in Liverpool

Submitted by antimili-youth on Thu, 29/06/2017 - 18:45

By Rhianna Louise*

Today, on Saturday, June 24th, Liverpool is hosting Armed Forces Day in Britain. Armed Forces Day is a relatively new occasion in the UK; it began as Veterans’ Day, in 2006, and was then renamed Armed Forces Day in 2009 in response to declining public support for the armed forces. Events take place across the UK (this year there are over 350), and local councils bid to host the national event – for which they receive a small amount of government funding and sponsorship, and also spend significant amounts of their own money.

Thu

Jan

Disgruntled ex-Maoist child soldiers padlock party office

Submitted by hannah on Thu, 12/01/2017 - 17:55

Former Maoist child soldiers, discontent with the party for discarding them unceremoniously during the peace process, padlocked the CPN (Maoist Centre) office on Monday demanding their proper rehabilitation. Seven Maoist leaders were still trapped in the office as the Post went to press.

Read more at the Kathmandu Post...

Photo: PRAKASH CHANDRA TIMILSENA

Wed

Feb

Practical guide to video activism

Submitted by antimili-youth on Wed, 24/02/2016 - 18:09

By Taya Govreen-Segal*

Last week I wrote on the practicality of video activism for activists (see the first part of this two-part article series here). Now that you know why one should do video activism, I collected here 10 practical tips for video activism that I learned through my work in Israel Social TV, accompanied by examples. These are not rules set in stone, so if any of the things written here are a set back, you are welcome to disregard them.

*The examples are from a variety of fields of activism, mainly from Palestine-Israel, but all have English subtitles.

Wed

Feb

Interview with Peace Action Wellington

Submitted by antimili-youth on Wed, 17/02/2016 - 15:40

By Semih Sapmaz

Activists from Peace Action Wellington (PAW) organised two days of nonviolent direct actions against the annual Weapons Conference held in New Zealand (NZ) last November. Following their peaceful protests, 27 activists - 26 of whom keep fighting charges - were arrested and taken to court. On 18 February they are standing trial again, defending their right to peaceful demonstration for peace and justice.

Sending our solidarity messages to the activists in Wellington, we reached Valerie Morse from PAW and asked her about their campaign Stop the Weapons Conference as well as many other questions on militarism and the antimilitarist movement in New Zealand.

To begin with, can you tell us about Peace Action Wellington: when it was formed and what was the motivations behind forming it?

Tue

Feb

German Armed Forces Recruiting Minors on the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers

Submitted by antimili-youth on Tue, 16/02/2016 - 15:16

By Antimili-Youth

Last week the Bundeswehr (the German Armed Forces), had a stall at a school's job fair in Bad Saulgau, Germany. The event took place on 12 February 2016, the very same day which marks the anniversary of the signing of a protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that forbids the use of children in conflict, and is being commemorated as Red Hand Day, or the International Day Against the Use of Child Soldiers.

Mon

Feb

Video as a Tool for Activism

Submitted by antimili-youth on Mon, 15/02/2016 - 16:39

By Taya Govreen-Segal*

Have you ever invested yourself in an action? Planned, organized, coordinated, and then did the action, only to discover that hardly anyone heard of it? In this two-part article I will propose a possible solution for this problem: video activism.

Video activism is a way of expanding activism beyond the streets and into virtual spaces. In the first part I will try and explain why I find video a useful tool for activism, and in the second part, I will give a few more practical tips for creating your own videos.

Disclaimer: My knowledge and understanding of both activism and video are based on my experience in Israel-Palestine. Different cultural and legal situations in other places may make some of this not relevant in other regions.

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Languages

Countering Military Recruitment

WRI's new booklet, Countering Military Recruitment: Learning the lessons of counter-recruitment campaigns internationally, is out now. The booklet includes examples of campaigning against youth militarisation across different countries with the contribution of grassroot activists.

You can order a paperback version here.