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Summary Report: Festival of Dissent

Ed Campbell | 15.04.2005 10:09

Despite the very wet and windy weather there was a good and high quality turn out, for the FOD.

After some highly personal reflections on the Festival, published on this site, the following is an objective, and accurate report on some of the work done. It has been published on the Dissent Website.


My only criticism would be that many other good things took place over the week, that have not been reported, that will surely manifest themselves over the coming months.

I would encourage all to get involved in the Dissent Network during build up to the G8, through national and local groups structures, or by participating in one of the actions or demos taking place around the country over the coming months.

There are also the bi-monthly gatherings which are open to anyone to attend, and can be an opportunity to get to know people, and also get more deeply involved in organising things.

Another approach might be to temporarily affiliate your group to the Dissent network, in the run up to the G8. In this way the effects of our protests can be maximised by co-ordinating and working together cooperatively.

Visit the web-site for more Info. www.dissent.org.uk


The Report from the Dissent web-site:




From Wednesday the 6th to 10th of April, over three hundred people from across Scotland and beyond met in rural Lanarkshire at the "Festival of Dissent!" They met to plan resistance to the G8 summit, to further educate themselves, and to build and discuss better ways of living and working together with their local communities. The public gathering made its decisions collectively and consensually. Meanwhile, the police prepared for violence at a nearby "boot camp" in Carluke and spent public money to deploy a helicopter to hover over the festival. In contrast the gathering focused on creatively challenging the problems caused by the G8. The final plenary of the Festival of Dissent declared: "The Iraq war has further demonstrated the deceit of world leaders. The purpose of the G8 is to preserve the plunder of the world's most powerful. It is ridiculous to expect the G8 to 'make poverty history' or tackle climate change; it's like putting the fox in charge of the hen house."

The gathering worked on plans for a convergence in Scotland. "We invite others from across Scotland and the world to join us in preparation for the convergence, and to gather with us during the G8 summit. We invite people to help us oppose the G8 and its policies, and most importantly, to contribute to the daily struggle to create new worlds."

The gathering discussed the practicalities of accommodating, feeding and providing support for thousands of protesters in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. A number of action plans were further developed, reflecting the diversity of those attending. This includes:

a public day of blockades on July 6th which aims to isolate the G8.

a Peoples Golfing Tournament on July 7th
a day of action on July 8th against the real causes of climate change
a creative family and community festival and the construction of community gardens and social space

It was also decided that refugees and asylum seekers attending future events would be financially supported to reflect the struggle of self-organized refugees against forms of persecution in the U.K. and in their homelands.

For more information please contact: 07813 406159 or e-mail  dissentinfo@gmail.com

Ed Campbell
- Homepage: http://www.dissent.org.uk

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  1. Festival Feedback — At last my feet are warm and dry!