at the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2JL

We are please to announce we are doing a special screening of the most inspiring film ‘The Pipe’ which will start at 7pm after a short introduction. The Pipe is a compelling documentary film four years in the making, It tells the story of the small Rossport community in Ireland which has taken on the might of Shell Oil and the Irish State. The film will be followed by special guests, from the Shell to Sea and Rossport Solidarity Camp, who will talk about the campaign and the people involved with a Q & A session afterwards.

Shell to Sea campaign and Rossport Solidarity Camp

The Shell to Sea campaign is about the discovery of gas off this remote coastal village, which has led to the most dramatic clash of cultures in modern Ireland. The rights of farmers over their fields, and of fishermen to their fishing grounds, has come in direct conflict with one of the world’s most powerful oil companies. When the citizens look to their State to protect their rights, they find that the government has put Shell’s right to lay a pipeline over their own. Already 5 locals have spent 94 days in jail rather than let the proposed Shell pipeline cross their lands. This once tranquil area is engulfed in turmoil, as huge numbers of police drafted in. Normal policing has broken down following baton charges, surveillance, arrests, and a hunger strike by a local schoolteacher.

This campaign is a fantastic example of community resilience. We hope to learn from this and draw links with Rossport and communities campaigning in Scotland against development such as open cast mining, incinerators, biomass plants and more.

 Agenda for the Evening

1830             Arrival/register

1900             Welcome and Introduction to the event

1905             Introduction to the film

1915             Screening of The Pipe

2030             Rossport Solidarity Camp and Shell to Sea Campaign – Whats happened since ‘The Pipe’

2100            Q&A

2130             Event ends

Registering for the event

Please email  info(at)sead.org.uk or call the office 01314752612

SEAD (Scottish Education and Action for Development)
Norton Park
57 Albion Road
Edinburgh
EH7 5QY
t: ++44131 475 2612

All other details will stay the same

The Robin Hood Campaign proposes a tiny tax on banks, hedge funds and other finance institutions  that would raise billions to tackle poverty and climate change, at home and abroad.

Find out more about related Actions and Events at the Robin Hood Tax site.

For more information go to the Pass it on Day web site

Festival of Politics

18 -24 August 2010 Edinburgh

Plenty to get your teeth into at the Edinburgh Festival of Politics this year, including ‘Solutions to the Crisis in News Media and Representative Democracy; The Importance of Civil Society Activity’ ‘Power of the People’ ‘The Science of Food or Who controls what you Eat’, ‘Climate Change – Spiritual Causes, Moral Consequences and Ethical Dilemmas’ and ‘Zero-Carbon Scotland of the Future’.

Most tickets are free and you can find out more information about these and other events at the Festival of Politics website.

World Development Movement Scotland: Take One Action Film Festival

23rd September – 3rd October 2010 Edinburgh and Glasgow

This year WDM Scotland are screening three thought-provoking films as part of the take one Action Film Festival

The Take One Action Film Festival is an annual showcase of the most inspiring new and classic international films shining a light on critical global issues.  WDM are running a series of linked events which give you the opportunity to learn more about these issues and encourage you to get involved.

Find out more and see the full programme

Past Events

WWF’s Earth Hour 2009

Saturday 28 March, 8.30pm, WORLDWIDE!

75 countries. 500 cities. A billion people. Possibly the world’s greatest environmental event ever!

Sign up and switch off your lights on 28 March at 8.30pm to show world leaders that we need them to act decisively on climate change. WWF’s Earth Hour is a fantastic opportunity for you, your friends, family, school or business to get support action on climate change.
Sign-up now to WWF’s Earth Hour: http://www.wwfscotland.org.uk/earthhour

Put People First – jobs, Justice, Climate march, London

On 28th March thousands will march through London as part of a global campaign to challenge the G20, ahead of their 2nd April summit on the global financial crisis.

Even before the banking collapse, the world suffered poverty, inequality and the threat of climate chaos. The world has followed a financial model that has created an economy fuelled by ever-increasing debt, both financial and environmental.

Our future depends on creating an economy based on fair distribution of wealth, decent jobs for all and a low carbon future.

There can be no going back to business as usual.

People from all over the country will join the march on March 28, Be one of them or send your message here.

Growing in Glasgow

Saturday 28 March, 10.30am – 3pm, The Trades Hall, 85, Glassford Street, Glasgow G1 1UH

Glasgow Allotment Forum is organising a Spring Event – “”, sponsored by The Incorporation of Gardeners. The aim of the event is to provide a day of “Information, Interaction & Promotion” :

For plot holders – gaining information from experts through information stands, presentations displays & workshops, networking with other allotments, showing what allotments are doing & promote the allotment ethos.

For participating organisations to understand the needs of plot-holders in Glasgow and respond positively, meet plot holders, promote and market goods & services, promote the organisation.

Do it yourself: exploring tools for empowerment and grassroots social change course

22 – 27 March, Findhorn Foundation College, St. Leonards Rd, Forres IV36 2RD, Scotland, UK

This course is led by the Trapese popular education collective and expands ideas from their 2007 book ‘Do it yourself: a handbook for changing our world’ published by Pluto Press. It also draws on material from the MA in Activism and Social Change at Leeds University run by one of the members of Trapese (see www.activismsocialchange.org.uk). Lead by The Trapese Collective
For more information go to http://www.findhorncollege.org/proftraining/exploringtools.php#

Church of Scotland Day Conference

Saturday 21 March, 10am – 3pm, Bankfoot Church Centre, PH1 4BS (7 miles north of Perth)

A day for churches and individuals to find out what they can do to reduce their carbon footprint and to visit the latest eco-friendly church to be opened in Scotland.

For more information and/or to register please contact marjorie.clark@btinternet.com or call 01738 637 017. The conference is free of charge but pre-registration is requested, both for catering purposes and for relevant pre-conference information to be issued.

‘The Age of Stupid’ is launched nationwide. www.takeoneaction.org.uk

Starting Friday 20 March, Nationwide!

Saturday 21 March. 5.45pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Rd., Edinburgh

AGE of Stupid Screening followed by Speakers and Discussion on Community Action to tackle Climate Change.

This film couldn’t paint a clearer picture. We must act now! What can we do in our communities to tackle the causes of climate change? The good news is lots of communities in Scotland have already started. Following the screening, find out what they have been up to and how to get community action happening in your area.

By SEAD – Scottish Education and Action for Development (www.sead.org.uk) and Transition Scotland (www.transitionscotland.org/)

The ‘Age of Stupid’ People’s Premiere. www.takeoneaction.org.uk

Sunday 15 March, 5.30pm, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, Braehead and Liningston
On Sunday 15th March (5.30pm), 6 Scottish towns and cities will link up via satellite to the UK premiere of The Age of Stupid. Live from the solar-powered cinema tent in London’s Leicester Square, rickshaws will replace limousines and the carpet is GREEN. After the film, Green Party leader Caroline Lucas, activist and author George Monbiot, and other luminaries of the environmental scene join a Q&A to ask what we can ALL do before it’s too late.

2009 Middle East Festival Environmental Responsibility and Climate Change lecture

Friday 13 March, 7 – 9.30pm, Augustine United Church, Edinburgh

On behalf of SCCS, Gavin McLellan, Head of Christian Aid Scotland, will join a panel including Professor Alistair McIntosh to discuss cultural responses to climate change. More info here

Meeting the Climate Challenge : Your community and the climate challenge fund.

Wednesday 11 March, 1pm – 6.30pm, Rothes Halls, Glenrothes, Fife
The Energy Saving Scotland advice centre and the Sustainable Development Commission Scotland are hosting this free event to give community groups the opportunity to discover the Climate Challenge Fund and the organisations that can help them to realise their vision to become a low carbon community.

Visit the Climate Challenge Fund page to find out more.

World-Wise Training

Saturday 7th March, 10-4pm, Leith Academy, Edinburgh

Have you ever wanted to change the world, but didn’t know where to start? Then World-wise is just for you!

World-wise is a fantastic one-day course all about the power you have to make a difference on issue like climate change and international poverty. It’s your chance to learn about important global issues, discover how to influence decision-makers and plan a campaign.

If you would like to register, please contact Fiona Henderson on 0131 553 2810. It would be great to see you there. The course costs £15, or £12 concessions.

Facilitated by Simon Bateson, the World Development Movement www.wdmscotland.org.uk

Meeting the Climate Challenge: Your community and the climate challenge fund.

Thursday 5 March, 1pm – 7pm, Godfrey Thomson Hall, Moray House School of Education, Edinburgh.
The Energy Saving Scotland advice centre and the Sustainable Development Commission Scotland are hosting this free event to give community groups the opportunity to discover the Climate Challenge Fund and the organisations that can help them to realise their vision to become a low carbon community.

Visit the Climate Challenge Fund page to find out more.

The True Cost of Biofuels

Monday 2 March, 7-9pm, Edinburgh University Chaplaincy, Bristo Square

Biofuels now have to be blended with all UK transport fuels, there are large-scale industry plans for using vegetable oil for heat and power and the aviation industry is promoting them to try and argue that they should be allowed to keep expanding despite climate targets. Nearly all of those biofuels are agrofuels, produced from large-scale monocultures. What are the impacts on the climate, on communities, forests and other ecosystems and on food security and sovereignty?

Presentation by Almuth Ernsting, Biofuelwatch, with pictures and information from Indoensia, Paraguay, Colombia and Ghana followed by discussion

How Community Learning and Development Can Help Us Achieve a Sustainable Future

Friday 13 February 2009
10am-3.15pm, Perth Concert Hall. FREE.

This conference aims to ensure more is done to support communities’ applying the principles of sustainable development, and to think about how community learning and development can be encouraged during the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014). The conference is organised by the Community Development Alliance Scotland and the Sustainable Development Commission, with support from Learning Connections, part of the Scottish Government.

For more information visit:
www.communitydevelopmentalliancescotland.org

Building a Low Carbon Economy – A UK and International Perspective

Monday 9 February 2009
6pm, Playfair Library, University of Edinburgh. FREE but ticketed.

Featuring Lord Turner, Chair of the Committee on Climate Change and Professor Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director, European Environment Agency.

Friends of the Earth Scotland, the University of Edinburgh and British Council Scotland are delighted to be jointly hosting a public lecture on Building a Low Carbon Economy – A UK and International Perspective.