EMERGENCY MEETING: Calling all Woodcraft members

[Lloyd Russell-Moyle]

EMERGENCY MEETING - Support the Kettled Generation – This Sunday A meeting to organise Woodcraft Folk support for young people taking action against Fees and Cuts This Sunday (5th December) 11-2pm At London School of Economics - LSE (room to be confirmed) Woodcraft Folk aims to empower young people. We are going through a period where young people are coming out in enormous numbers to stand up for what they believe in. Hundreds of thousands of young people are taking to the streets to defend their education and their future. We need to be there to support them. I know that many of you are doing fantastic things with your groups. Cambridge Venturers visited the occupation at Cambridge university last week, the Playout bus has been playing music at protests and distributing placards, Highgate and Holloway pioneers marched to Downing street on the first national day of action and I am sure it has been a point of discussion at many more group nights. Our blog “Kettled Generation” captures just some of the things young members have been up to: http://s.coop/kettledgeneration Next Thursday (9th December) is the next big event. Parliament is voting on the government's university funding plans and young people will be spending the day at a mass lobby at Westminster called by NUS, UCU Higher Education conference, Education Activist Network,  NCAFC, Right to Work and others (see http://s.coop/5yt) So in preparation for that we are holding a meeting for Woodcraft Folk members to come and get involved. Anyone can come, although DF's are already holding a separate meeting – Midlands Thing – where these issues will also be discussed. This meeting is about Woodcraft Folk members organising to support young people – amongst other things we would like to distribute warm clothes, hot drinks, flags. We will make plans for Thursday's event, talk about how we can provide support more generally, distribute flyers and start making things like flags. Please Come if you can, and distribute this widely.

[Lloyd Russell-Moyle]

Dear member Many of our leaders and young members are planning to attend the rally and lobby of Parliament on Thursday to coincide with the vote on education cuts and a rise in tuition fees. We'll be supporting our members who choose to take part in these peaceful protests and those who won't be in London on Thursday, but who want to make their voice heard on these issues. I'm sorry this email is so long, but there's a lot of important information that we need to pass on. We've broken it into the following sections: 1. Woodcraft Folk Statement of Support for Young People who choose to protest 2. Ways to raise the issue in your school, college or community 3. Practical points if you are joining the march and lobby of Parliament on Thursday 1. Woodcraft Folk Statement of Support for Young People who choose to protest As an organisation with children's rights at the core of our constitution we be believe in the basic rights of children to make their voices heard. An important aim of Woodcraft Folk is to educate and empower children and young people to be able to participate actively in society while staying safe and feeling supported. Recent decisions by the government to try and cut Educational Maintainence Allowance, increase student debt and cut funding for schools and universities are making children and young people feel they must protest to get their voices heard. We are not surprised that many young Woodcraft Folk members are joining those peaceful protests against the government's actions; growing up in Woodcraft Folk gives young people self confidence and teaches them about working together. Our primary concern is to make sure that children are safe and supported when they are making their voice heard whether that is in local action or at national demonstrations. With this aim, we will be supporting Young Woodcraft Folk members at the mass demonstration and lobby on Thursday by marching together, creating an environment that is friendly, supportive and fun. We are also trying to provide a contact number and a safe space in case any Woodcraft Folk members get scared, cold, lost or need our help. We will be equipped with blankets and hot chocolate in case people get cold. We are also exploring the issues in our local groups across the country. Young people across the nation are finding an independent political voice in response to the actions of the government. The proposed education cuts, rise in student debt and cuts to EMA will have the most impact not on current university students, but on sixth formers and children still in school. To our knowledge, we are the only national children's organisation that has commited to support young people when they decide to take action together. 2. Ways to raise the issue in your school, college or community Maybe you have been discussing the issues around the proposed cuts to EMA and education funding and increasing student debt in your Woodcraft Folk group. If you want to take action locally, here are 10 things you can do. These are the suggestions of the young people and adults at the Kettled Generation meeting at LSE: Set up a Facebook group for your school to tell people about the issues. Make a leaflet about the issues to hand out in your school. If you send it in we will put it up on here too. There is the Kettled Generation leaflet, of course. Ask your school if you can hold a lunchtime meeting/assembly about what’s going on. We have written a letter that you can adapt, ask your Woodcraft Folk leader to sign and give to your head teacher if you think this will help – download it here. Show a short film (could be at the meeting) in which young people say what they are doing to make their voices heard (this is a great film from the occupation at UCL – you could even makeyour own film; if you do we will put it up on here). If you have one, ask your Student Voice committee to discuss what actions you can take to support the protest. Write to your MP and/or sign a petition Ask to discuss the issues in PSHE lessons. Join Wednesday’s after school actions in your local area (http://educationactivistnetwork.wordpress.com ). If you live in London, speak to friends and family about coming to the parliament lobby after school . And finally, get in touch (via pr...@woodcraft.org.uk) to tell us what you’ve been doing and we will put it up on the Kettled Generation blog http://s.coop/kettledgeneration 3. If you are joining the march and lobby of Parliament A Rally, Lobby of Parliament and Candlelit Vigil has been organised to coincide with the parliamentary vote on Thursday by the National Union of Students (NUS) and the Universities & Colleges Union (UCU). a) Things to do beforehand Make your own placard - you can download a template here We've drafted a template letter for parents wishing to give permission for school-age children to join protests - you can download that here UCU have produced a guide to lobbying your MP. Store the Woodcraft Folk helpline number - 020 8133 3595 - in your mobile b) Things to bring It will be cold! The vote may be as early as 6pm, but could be much later in the evening, so there is likely to be a lot of standing around. Here are some suggestions: Dress warmly - It's much easier to keep warm than to get warm after you've got cold. Stuff an extra jumper in your bag and make sure you've got a warm hat, gloves and scarf. A waterproof and windproof jacket will keep you warmer (even if it's not raining). Wear two (or more) pairs of socks and boots/shoes that you will be comfortable walking/standing in. Bring some snack bars or other high-energy food that you can fit in your pocket. Keeping warm is hungry work! Bring a flask with a hot drink. Bring a candle for the candlelit vigil. Make sure your mobile phone is charged so you can let people know where you are. Think about bringing something you can sit on. A camp stool or an inflatable pillow means you can take a break without having to sit on the cold ground - but don't bring anything too bulky or heavy. c) Contacts / meeting points on the day There are three meeting points depending on when you can get to central London and how far you want to march. We'll be with the London Region Woodcraft Folk banner and a cloud of 100 red and green balloons which should make us easy to find. 11am - Meet at London South Bank University, Keyworth Street, London SE1(map) nearest tube: Elephant & Castle This is a feeder march to the meeting point for the main march: 12noon - Meet at University of London Union, Malet Street, London SE1(map) nearest tubes: Euston, Goodge Street This is the meeting point for the march to the rally on Victoria Embankment. 4.30-5.30pm - Meet at Embankment Tube - look out for the balloons. At any time you can call 020 8133 3595 to reach our friendly helpline. We'll be keeping in touch with Woodcraft folk groups on the demo and answering calls from members at the London protest to provide directions, information and support. We'll also be organising a 'safe space' away from the main demonstration where you can come and warm up - just call the helpline on 020 8133 3595 for directions. Blue Skies (and warm toes!) Jon -- Jon Nott General Secretary jon....@woodcraft.org.uk Woodcraft Folk Unit 9 83 Crampton Street London SE17 3BQ Tel 020 7703 4173 www.woodcraft.org.uk Woodcraft Folk is a registered charity in England and Wales (1073665) and in Scotland (SC039791)