Take Action for GCOMS 2020 10 April – 9 May (In UK). This year, most actions will need to be online. Extra creativity is needed!
Sign the petition
Be part of the #MovetheMoney Selfie Campaign
- Let people know that this is an international and national campaign and raise awareness through your own social media networks and in conversations with others.
- Use these hashtags:
#MoveTheMoney #Demilitarize #GDAMS #GCOMS
#HealthcareNotWarfare #MilitarySpendingCostsUsTheEarth
#DivestFromWar #PeaceNotWar #WelfareNotWarfare #FundPeaceNotWar #CutMilex #BuildPeaceNotWalls #FundHumanNeeds #StopTheWarOnLife - Contact local/national press and your MP and share some of the data and infographics and your views about military spending and militarisation. Ask them to use social media to share messages of support. More ideas below.
SPREAD THE WORD
- Use Twitter. Help create a Twitter storm by tweeting what you would spend £55 billion on, to @hmtreasury with #GCOMS #RethinkSecurity e.g. @hmtreasury “If I had £55 billion a year I would prefer to spend it on #NHS. I prefer. #GCOMS #RethinkSecurity”
- Look out for news stories of national and local cuts to health/education/overseas aid/community development/climate change and sustainable development – stories may provide useful opportunities for letters to editors, or messages to use in articles, letters or banners.
- These are ‘Global’ days so emphasise the links and solidarity with others around the world taking action too.
- Share these online Education resources with teachers/schools to provide a way into critical discussion and student research
- Resources for churches and faith communities
Meetings and discussions
- Organise an online meeting to engage a local community and make links with local needs/local agencies/health spending vs. military spending/working on poverty and inequality/environment/social programmes. Use this as a chance for publicity: local radio/TV and press are looking for stories!
- You could show one of the clips listed. They may also give you ideas for events/visual presentations.
- You could invite your local MP join an online discussion about how budget priorities are set. Invite representatives from local social or environmental projects, or healthcare settings, so that they can put their case.
Useful video clips and short films:
- Andrew Feinstein (author of book and film on the arms trade Shadow World) on Coronavirus: How the Arms Trade is Making You Sick :
- Climate change and peace and security
x 5 min film from SIPRI - Covid 19 and Conflict and the Future
x 5 min film from SIPRI - Reimagining Security – Ted Talk ( 2015 but still excellent)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTBYcSL3MrI - Graphic video showing military spending between 1980 – 2019
- Why do we need to rethink security? 1.50 mins, Rethinking Security Project
This is a simple way of attracting attention and making a point. It does not have to be sophisticated… something short and witty is what you want!
CAAT, CND and Pax Christi members dramatized a ‘game show’ outside the House of Commons to show the lack of continuity between the government’s priorities and that of the people. A student needing tuition fees received instead military hardware. An injured man received an aircraft carrier instead of medical treatment. An engineer seeking funding for a renewable energy project was left disappointed when she got given money for military projects instead. Perhaps you could make a short film to share online, making a similar point in a visually engaging way?
Or you could take inspiration from these activists who built a visual display to highlight how military spending vastly outweighs what would be needed to tackle world hunger, provide universal primary education and clean water.
