This coming week's events and workshops

This coming week is full of fun, action, events and workshops:

Rhythms of Resistance are coming down on Monday 31st May at 7pm

Spiritual workshop and meditation (tbc)

Direct Action workshop (tbc)

Squatting workshop (tbc)

Tae Kwon Do workshop (tbc)

Tai Chi workshop (tbc)

Language workshop (tbc)

There's a Film night in the pipeline where we want to show some educational, informative and inspirational films. We may need a battery. If anyone has a spare battery or knows someone who does and wouldn't mind coming down to the Democracy Village and helping us out for a few hours then it would be much appreciated. Thanks.

A Peace Vigil (tbc)

We have our Court Case on Thursday 3rd June at 10.30am in The High Court of Justice. GLA (Greater London Authority), who manage Parliament Square and Trafalgar Square, asked Boris Johnson to take the issue of us occupying the Square to the High Court and permission was granted. We do not know what will happen but believe it is our Human Right to gather and hold a People's Assembly, discussion and ideas / skill sharing in this open space. Please come down to the High Court of Justice on 3rd June at 10.30am to show your support for freedom of speech if you can and let others know. The more the merrier :-)


Activities within the camp

We will create a healing, wellbeing, counselling area on site for residents and visitors alike to come, relax, rejuvenate and take a break from the busy-ness of life.

We will set up a recycling area for plastics, glass, metal, cans and cardboard. Please email any ideas to democracyvillage@gmail.com or come down and get involved.

We will also construct a new compost toilet for solid waste using palettes, buckets, sawdust. Again if you have any ideas about compost toilets, please could you send them to the above email address or alternatively come along.

Thanks

Peace, Love and Light...You are Divine, let your light shine bright

Namaste

Links to articles, pictures and videos about the Democracy Village

Hey,

I tried to upload all the pictures and videos of events, meetings, workshops and day to day life at the Democracy Village directly onto the blogspot but was unable to do so; so instead I have compiled all the links here together to other sites that contain everything. Alot of the pictures and videos are great and will give you a better view of the place; however coming down to Parliament Square and checking it out for yourself will give you the true sense of community spirit. Hope this is useful and you enjoy seeing how it evolved into the beautiful, welcoming, all encompassing, ideas/skill sharing, creative space that it is today.

Pictures

• Pictures and article on Indymedia when Democracy Village was in its early stages. "Democracy Villge, Parliament Square, London at http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/05/450572.html
• The Peace Festival on Election Day where we had speakers, live music, banner making, dancing, poi, face painting and took the banners down to the Media Camp at College Green and Downing Street. We were promoting peace and calling for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. "Democracy Village I May 2010 - a set on Flickr" http://www.flickr.com/photos/31291200@N08/sets/72157624088588406/?page=2
• "British politics: Election 2010" at http://www.flickr.com/photos/31291200@N08/sets/72157623928732239/
• The run up to and including the Queen's State Opening of Parliament (25.5.2010). Activists arrested after scaling the Houses of Parliament and unfurling a banner: "We respect the soldiers, we do not support the war" and other peaceful citizens also arrested after sitting down outside the gates of Parliament calling for Peace. "Democracy Village II May 2010" http://www.flickr.com/photos/31291200@N08/sets/72157624013554079/
• Pictures taken at the Democracy Village, "Democracy Village London May 2010" http://www.flickr.com/photos/wobblyturkey/sets/72157624007252916/

Articles

• "Who lives in Democracy Village?" An article by Homa Khaleeli at The Guardian on 19th May 2010 at 8.00pm at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/19/democracy-village-parliament-square
• An article on Indymedia about peaceful protestors scaling the roof of Westminster Abbey by Verrall and a concerned citizen on 20th May 2010 at 9.33pm at http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/05/451748.html
• An article about the Democracy Village written by Teppo on May 24th, 2010 at 11.12pm at http://orgtheory.wordpress.com/2010/05/24/democracy-village/

Videos

• "Peace poncho" for Winston Churchill reading: "Bring Our Soldiers Home" (Mobile Phone Report) on 10th May 2010 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taNMH77baPs&feature=related
• Evening meeting / People's Assembly at Democracy Village on 10th May 2010 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BEylbNyoBM&NR=1
• Banner Drop on St Margaret's Church (Mobile Phone Report) on 11th May 2010: "Troops Out" and "Time for Peace, Bring Our Boys Home" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nq4k8E2k3g&feature=related
• Banner drop on the tree opposite Downing Street (Mobile Phone Report) on 12th May 2010: "Come on Dave, Time for Peace, Bring Our Boys Home" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA5f-xV2MGk&feature=related
• "What is the Democracy Village?" on 14th May 2010 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzAYAW-dO6s&feature=fvw
• Guerilla Gardening at Democracy Village, Parliament Square London on 15th May 2010 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TQDjGq1rSo&feature=related
• Short spoken word poem about Democracy Village on 15th May 2010 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgn6bdKfTdQ&feature=related
• "Soldiers Home, Please" banner drop from Westminster Abbey on 20th May 2010 at http://www.youtube.com/user/2012vd#p/a/u/1/yyJEKbXkzVM
• "Peaceful protestor scales the Treasury building in London" holding a sign: "Bring Our Troops Home" on 20th May 2010 at http://www.youtube.com/user/2012vd#p/a/u/2/DK1P9yse7Ls
• Protest camp in Parliament Square by Rachel Stevenson and Richard Rogers from The Guardian on 20th May 2010 at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/video/2010/may/20/ethical-living
• Tent search at Democracy Village, Parliament Square on 25th May 2010, the Queen's State Opening of Parliament at http://www.youtube.com/user/2012vd

Ok hope that helped.

Until next time..

Peace, Love and Light..You are Divine, let your light shine bright

Namaste

An overview of the past month at Democracy Village

Hey everyone,

I just want to apologize for the slowness in updating the blog..it's been busy, busy, busy down at Democracy Village. We have been re-arranging and tidying up the camp, creating a warm, inviting, welcome area at the front, planting more vegetables in our peace garden, doing direct action in and around Westminster, holding different workshops and classes, growing and expanding each day. I will be uploading pictures and videos on here soon showing everything that has been going on whilst we've been on the Square; but right now I will map out the sequence of events over the course of the month. Apologies..this may be a long blog, but I want everyone to know the latest. Here's a quick list of what is in this blog so you can scroll down to whatever takes your fancy:

*Background information on The Democracy Village
*Peace Festival and activities
*Guerilla Gardening Event
*The Queen's State Opening of Parliament
*Direct Action
*Groups that protested on or around Parliament Square whilst we have been here

Background information on The Democracy Village

We have been occupying Parliament Square now since May 1st. There were only a few of us back then but now the camp consists of around 30-40 people from different groups and genuinely concerned citizens about the current state of the world. We are a diverse community who try to live by our ideals, working together to bring about real change. We hold meetings everyday at 10am (camp duties) and 7pm (open to the public) where we discuss any immediate issues and find solutions to problems. Everyone is welcome to submit their topic of discussion to the daily agenda at the meetings and this way all voices are heard. We eat communally in a food circle in the peace garden and try to find time to relax through meditation, yoga, playing instruments, dancing, poi.

Peace Festival and activities 6.5.2010

We organised a Peace Festival at the Square on Election Day which attracted many people from all walks of life. The day was filled with fun, creativity, speakers (open mic), face painting, banner making. We made signs and banners calling for Peace and to bring the troops out of Afghanistan then we took to the streets, making our way down to the Media Camp at College Green where we were greeted by TV presenters, security and police. We were successful in sending out our message over the live broadcasts. Later we then proceeded to Downing Street with the dragon parade where we had police escorts there and back to camp. We had a wonderful time! (Pictures up soon)

Guerilla Gardening Event 15.5.2010

Next up we had our day of Guerilla Gardening, adding to the existing Oak Tree in the centre of the Square which was planted a few days prior to the event. Guerilla gardening is where you go out into your local community or any urban area and spontaneously dig and sow the land in order to restore diversity and bring a previously derelict site back to life or it can be done anywhere, even in window boxes. The choice is yours!

There was alot of excitement and anticipation in the air as we rushed around getting plants, vegetables, seeds and tools ready for the occasion. We all sat around in a circle carefully planning and discussing ideas about how we wanted to design the garden, based on permaculture methods. Once we had finalised the plan, which was to plant around the oak tree expanding out into wider circles, we carefully went around measuring and mapping out where the circles would be. We all stood at the ready, spade in one hand, plant in the other and on the signal dug small holes in which we gently placed geraniums, strawberries, peppers, sunflower seeds and trees into. This was very empowering!

Growing your own food and becoming self-sufficient is liberating because you free yourself from dependence on bland, mass-produced foods in supermarkets and instead nourish yourself and your family with fresh fruit and vegetables planted by your own hands. It's incredible..a wonderful experience. The gardening continued throughout the course of the day and is still ongoing. So if you have any spare plants or seeds that you would like to see in full bloom on Parliament Square then come down and "dig for victory" today. (Pictures up soon)

The Queen's State Opening of Parliament 25.5.2010

We were awoken at 6.30am by police activity on the camp: they were searching all the tents in order to look for any bombs or dangerous items ahead of the Queen's arrival at Parliament. They didn't find anything, once again proving that we are honest, peaceful citizens with nothing to hide. The whole Square was cordoned off whilst the day's events took place. There was a relaxed, festival atmosphere around the camp with small groups singing and playing acoustic instruments. A women's group was also set up to celebrate and embrace all that is feminine, as well as provide a healing, support network for women who live at and visit the Democracy Village (Pictures up soon).

Direct Action

Peaceful activists at the Democracy Village have been doing direct action everyday over the last few weeks but here are some instances that come to mind:

-Making a "peace poncho" for Churchill on 10.5.2010, which attracted alot of attention from the public, DSG, police and a mysterious, loud, aggressive guy who coincidentally worked in the Churchill Rooms at the War Museum. Firstly the DSG came and asked us to replace the previous cloak with a cleaner one because it was too "tatty", which we immediately did. We were then greeted by Community Support Police and The Met; by now Churchill was sporting his brand new spanking poncho which read: "Bring our soldiers home" on the front and "Troops home now" on the back. A crowd had also gathered by this time and with the activists respectfully refusing to strip Winston of his new garms, the constable had no other choice but to walk away. Later a journalist from The Sun came and reported on the event with a policeman climbing up onto the top of a van to remove Churchill's attire.

-Two concerned citizens ascended St Margaret's Church dropping banners: "Troops out" and "Time for Peace, bring our boys home" on 11.5.2010.

- Two comrades climbed the tree outside Downing Street with a message for our new Prime Minister: "Come on Dave, Time for Peace, Bring our Boys Home" on 12.5.2010.

-A peaceful protestor scaled the Treasury building with a sign saying: "Bring our Troops Home" on 20.5.2010.

-Three caring individuals climbed Westminster Abbey to send out their message to the world: "Soldiers Home, Please" on 20.5.2010. They spent 6 hours up there, after which they were approached by the police and carefully led back down.

-A citizen at the Democracy Village scaled the Houses of Parliament on the first day of its opening (26.5.2010) where he unfurled a banner reading: "We respect the soldiers, we do not support the war". He stayed up there for 5 hours and on coming down was arrested. So a group of us went to the front gates to "see him off" as it were, but ended up sitting down in front of both gates of Parliament, calling for Peace. We blocked any traffic from coming in or going out, which meant people could now walk past freely. We were in good spirits, singing and holding signs. After a few hours we were all arrested (about 10 of us) but remained peaceful and non-violent, expanding the circles of our love and compassion out to those around us, including the police, and ultimately to the whole world. It was a very powerful moment.

Groups that protested on or around Parliament Square whilst we have been here

Although we are occupying Parliament Square right now, we do not stop others from protesting here as well and welcome them to come, network, engage in discussions and send their messages out to the world. Groups who have protested on the Square whilst we have been here are the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND); Climate Camp Vigil; Take Back Parliament, who came onto the square after protesting outside the Houses of Parliament; the English Defence League (EDL), who marched up to Downing Street, around the square then down towards Victoria; a small group later came onto the square and attended our evening meeting; and the British Tamils who gathered on the square on 22.5.2010 to commemorate the first year of the mass genocide that is taking place in Sri Lanka. We respectfully moved our tents to the perimeter of the Square in order to give the Tamils space to protest. There was a powerful energy on the Square that day as we stood in solidarity with them. We welcome all to come and share their ideas, skills and visions.

Wow, it has only been a month but so much has happened during that time. Well I think you are pretty much up-to-date now. I will try my very best to stay on top of things from now on.

Ok until next time...

Peace, Love and Light..You are Divine, let your light shine bright

Namaste

At the beginning - building our first a-frame structure

Just uploading some photos taken at the Democracy Village and here's one when the community was in its first stages. This was the first a-frame structure we built together from recycled materials which later became our kitchen. We also had a rocket stove at the time where we would do all the cooking and boil up water for tea. It was sooo exciting!

Democracy Village Declaration & Invitation

We are a group of concerned citizens who have gathered in Parliament Square in order to promote peace and bring an end to the war in Afghanistan. We want to let our government and the rest of the world know that we are deeply troubled by the way our country is being run, and the way our tax money and resources are wasted on illegal and inhumane wars.

There are many issues being campaigned for at the Democracy Village as our beliefs are diverse yet we are united in our desire for change. Therefore we strive to use this public land as an open forum where any issue can be discussed and all ideas represented. We want to raise awareness and promote original thought through discussion, outreach, workshops and people's assembly.

We are entirely non-violent but actively resist any attempt to suppress our rights of assembly and free speech. We will remain here until our aims are achieved.

We believe that big changes begin with local action and local action begins in your own front garden. That is why we have created this democratic, self-sufficient village directly in the front garden of our MPs, who continue to ignore our ongoing environmental, social and economic issues.

You are hereby invited to come along and get involved :-).

THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!

*Disclaimer: Due to the open nature and diverse beliefs of our democracy village, this text does not aim to reflect the opinions of every individual within our discussion forum.

Citizen Journalism

Citizen Journalism workshop, how to make outreach video reports with a mobile phone http://visionon.tv/production bring a video recording device to take part.

"create the world you want to see"

1-2 pm at Democracy Village 15th of May

A quick round-up of this week's events

Mon 10th May - The Democracy Villagers complete two compost toilets on Parliament Square and make a 'peace poncho' for Winston.

Tues 11th - Two concerned citizens ascend St Margaret's Church dropping banners "Troops Out" and "Time for Peace, Bring our boys home"

Wed 12th - Two comrades climb the tree outside Downing Street with a message for our new Prime Minister, "Come on Dave, Time for Peace, Bring our boys home"

Thurs 13th - The Welcome Area gets a makeover and angry housewives go on sex strike in Trafalgar Square!

Fri 14th - Preparations begin for tomorrow's big day of Guerilla Gardening and a weekend full of fun, action and activity

What is the Democracy Village?

New video from Hamish Campbell at visionOntv
Thanks to Billy Bragg for permission to use his song.

Parliament Square Guerilla Gardening

A few people at the Democracy Village on Parliament Square have decided that Parliament Square in Westminster is in need of a make over.
So..... we are very happy to invite you to a Guerilla Gardening event to brighten up the square - this Saturday starting at 12 PM (with entertainment til late)
We want to transform the place into a beautiful and productive paradise, to let our government and everyone else know what kind of world we want to see.

If you can, please bring veggie or flower plants, seeds and food for a picnic. There will be music and an open mic (we've got a marquee if the weather turns wet!).

The Democracy Village started on May 1st by people who want to see changes along many issues, including peace, justice and freedom. This is direct democracy.

Directions: Westminster tube is 1 minute walk from the Square.

Mobile Phone reports from the camp

For more videos http://visionon.tv/grassroots

Recent Statement

We are a group of concerned citizens who are coming together to call for Peace, Justice and Freedom.

The issues which we campaign for are diverse e.g. Peace, an end to the war in Afghanistan, Climate Justice, Civil Liberties, Land Reform, Electoral Reform and much more. We are unified in our desire for change and will remain here until our demands are met.

This is a creative space to discuss and put into action solutions for the future, such as community, self sufficiency and sustainability.

Everyone is welcome to come down, pitch up a tent and get involved :-)

May 15th Guerilla Gardening Event

We are very happy to invite you to a Guerilla Gardening event to brighten up Parliament Square - which is in desperate need of colourful flora.

The event will start at 12Noon where we will be guerilla gardening on Parliament Square. Please bring plants, flowers and picnic food. From 4pm there will be live music, an open mic, and a discussion forum.

We welcome you to join us at the village and campaign on any issue you care about.

Statement From The Democracy Village, Parliament Square, May 2nd

We, the concerned citizens of the Democracy Village on Parliament Square, demand on behalf of the majority of people that the war in Afghanistan is ended and the troops are brought home with immediate effect.

The Democracy Village calls all like-minded concerned citizens to come and join us. We are calling a Strike for Peace until our demands are met. We are committed to maintaining an ongoing presence on Parliament Square.

All are welcome to come and stay for a few hours, a day, or a night. Donations of food and equipment are very welcome. Bring a sleeping bag and tent if you plan to stay.

In this election, no major party has offered the choice to end this pointless war.

VOTE FOR PEACE by coming to the village today.

Email: democracyvillage@gmail.com for more info

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