Our first round of funding has come to a close, with £40,000 distributed between the groups below. £10,000 was distributed between 13 of the groups (small grants), the other 15 were allocated slightly larger grants by Edge members and applicants collectively at the grant-making meeting.
6 Rang (small grant) – a group of concerned Iranian lesbian individuals, who have come together to change and thereby struggle against the implicit and explicit homophobia present in Iranian society. They raise public awareness among the Iranian community of homosexual rights and issues and plan to organise an event in London to further the fight for the right to freedom of sexual orientation.
8 April Movement – a group of Roma and others who campaign against the worsening, unchecked rise of anti-Roma, anti-Traveller racism and violence. The campaign is centered around two coordinated events, the traditional Roma Nation Day 8 April demonstration and the commemoration on 2 August of the genocide against the Romani people which they link with present-day killings by neo-fascists and racists.
Alliance for Choice Belfast (small grant) – an organisation that campaigns for the extension of the 1967 Abortion Act to Northern Ireland. Their work involves highlighting the tens of thousands of women from NI who have had abortions in England and elsewhere since 1967 – thereby exposing the hypocrisy of the politicians who say there is “no demand for abortion rights” in Northern Ireland.
Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh – a self-managed social resource centre open for groups or individuals to use who are trying to make a better society and improve their lives. They provide resources and meeting space for groups that organize non-hierarchically and are working to change society and aim to increase awareness of the root causes of serious problems facing the world and encourage grass-roots activity for meaningful change.
Ban the Burn (small grant) – an environmental project aiming to stop grouse-moor estates burning and draining blanket bogs. Based in Hebden Bridge the group hope to have a countrywide impact, significantly reducing the 3.7 million tonnes of CO2 emitted by damaged UK peatlands.
Brighton and Hove Unemployed Workers Centre – resource centre defending the unemployed and unwaged against working links and the attempts by the State to force people into low-paid unskilled work. The centre is used by the local Hollingdean community which uses their vegetable shop/co-op, computer facilities, free clothes etc but they are also a Brighton & Hove wide group for giving advice and campaigning. They fight for justice for and with the poor and oppressed.
Britain on Trial (small grant) – a collaborative series of pieces (articles, poem, illustrations and more) that aims to question and analyse unjust aspects of British society in these times of uncertainty. They aim to provide an alternative narrative to mainstream messages relating to issues of power, politics and social issues through a series of interactive events using an accessible format with the larger public who might not necessarily be engaged or politically aware of issues relating to social and environmental injustice. Britain on Trial is very much led by the most affected people, issues include discrimination, unemployment and sexism amongst others.
Coal Action Network (small grant) – supporting groups and individuals with information and experience to take collective action against the exploitation of coal which is a major cause of climate change. CAN formed in 2008 in response to the massive expansion of the UK’s coal industry. Although campaigns have been successful in stopping power stations being built, there are still plans for many opencast mines throughout the UK, and communities living next to existing ones still suffer their impacts daily.
Critical Education Project – a new group dedicated to building radical consciousness through education. At the heart of their work is the belief that systemic change requires the development of a radical political culture.
Disabled People Against Cuts – campaign founded and led by disabled people to raise awareness of the impact of government cuts on disabled people and to challenge government policy on disability which is eroding the human rights of disabled people in the UK. The campaign was set up in October 2010 and is founded on the core values including the social model of disability and the principle of rights not charity.
Fitwatch – began in 2007 as a response to the constant harassment and intrusive surveillance protesters received from Forward Intelligence Teams (FIT). Deploying a range of tactics, Fitwatch has worked to ensure FIT policing is on the agenda not only within activist circles, but also in the wider public through our media work. They work for the right to protest without intimidation and harassment.
Foil Vedanta – an independent grassroots campaigning organisation focused primarily on the British-Indian mining giant Vedanta. Foil Vedanta targets the company in London where it is registered as Vedanta has been exposed for corruption and illegal land acquisition destroying the lives of many livelihoods in the process. Foil Vedanta are always guided by the priorities and concerns of those directly affected by Vedanta’s activities and have direct connections to affected communities in Odisha in India as well as several in Africa.
Fuel Poverty Action – grassroots campaign group made up of people fed up with mammoth fuel bills, cold homes and climate crisis. Each winter, thousands of people die in the UK because they can’t afford to heat their homes. They campaign against poverty and corporate power and for energy democracy and climate justice.
Green and Black Cross – an entirely independent grassroots project set up in the spirit of mutual aid and solidarity to support autonomous social struggles within the UK. It’s a new project set up in November 2010 to provide legal support for protests against the governments wave of massive spending cuts.
JENGBA (small grant) – Joint Enterprise: Not Guilty by Association (JENGbA) is a grassroots campaign that was set up in September 2010 by families who have loved ones convicted under ‘joint enterprise’ law. Joint Enterprise means that anyone who is on the periphery of a crime, even just at the end of a phone, can be charged along with the principal and receive the same sentence. The law is being used sweepingly to target the working class and BME communities.
Let Freedom Ring! (small grant) – a training programme for transformative education and action which provides activists and educators with the tools, skills and methodology to mobilise and organise self-mobilised communities to fight for justice and equality. This team have come together due to the rising levels of inequality and injustice and the lack of work to support and empower the communities most directly affected to understand the root causes of these issues and to take action for themselves.
Migrant Artists Mutual Aid (small grant) – a network of people who come together to produce community cultural events that aim to promote cohesion and intercultural understanding while raising money for migrants in crisis. Funds are used to run campaigns to fight against deportation and for the right to asylum. The group are based in Liverpool and mainly led by migrant mothers.
Million Women Rise – work to end male violence against women and girls. The group was set up in 2005 by black women due to the lack of visibility of Black women’s voices in the predominantly white middle class feminist movements in the UK. They campaign and highlight issues of domestic violence, sexual violence and rape, forced marriage, ‘honour-based violence’, female genital mutilation, porn and prostitution, the media’s institutionalised objectification of women, racism, lesbian phobiaand many other forms of violence against women and girls.
One Voice Community Collective – group of people from African/African Caribbean backgrounds, based in West London, who have come together to address issues of racism, and discrimination faced by their community. They provide advocacy, emotional support, and information and guidance to members of racialised and minoritised communities confronting institutional racist, discriminatory and disproportionate practices and aim to set up an Afrikan led local police monitoring initiative as a way of holding local police accountable for racist acts and omissions.
Peace News Summer Camp – Published since 1936, Peace News is the UK’s only grassroots newspaper covering the full spectrum of peace and justice issues. This year’s summer camp has the theme of ‘taking a lead from the Global South’. The camp is an annual event for the radical and direct action-oriented peace movement, taking place every July. This year the camp is being organised by a group of black people.
Rossport Solidarity Camp (small grant) – At the invitation of the local community, the Rossport Solidarity Camp was set up in June 2005 on the route of the proposed Shell pipeline. The camp has progressed through a number of different locations and incarnations in the last 5 years and played a big role in supporting the local community in their fight against Shell. More info on that campaign can be found on the Shell to Sea website.
Squatters Action for Secure Homes (small grant) – lobbying and direct action campaign opposing the government’s attempts to criminalise squatting. SQUASH will continue to fight against this draconian and undemocratic legislation, fighting to repeal it and supporting those fighting it in courtrooms and on the streets. They are also expecting to have to take action against further legislative attacks on squatting.
Stop Deportation – the Stop Deportation network was formed by various campaign groups and individual activists to document, campaign and take action against mass deportation flights to countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Sri Lanka. The network have organised numerous blockades at detention centers to try to stop these deportations.
Stop G8 (small grant) – a loose network of individuals and groups using a diversity of tactics to oppose the Summer 2013 G8 gathering in Northern Ireland. Beyond the summit, they aim to help re-build an anti-capitalist movement in the UK and beyond.
Stop the Arms Fair Coalition (small grant) – a coalition of groups and individuals campaigning to end government support for Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEi) which is – according to its organisers, Clarion Events – the biggest arms fair in the world. The four-day arms bazaar takes place every two years at the ExCel Centre in London’s Docklands. The next one is due to take place from 10-13 September, 2013. They say: no more bloody arms fairs in London or anywhere.
UK Uncut (small grant) – grassroots movement taking action to highlight alternatives to the government’s spending cuts. It began as a hash tag on twitter but is now responsible for over 1000 protests and occupations nationally across the UK.
Land Workers Alliance (was UK Via Campesina) – born out of the international Via Campesina movement which is a membership organisation of over 200 million peasant farmers across the world, the UK group are a newly created national alliance of peasants (people who work the land) that campaigns publicly on issues affecting small-scale food producers in the UK.
Unity Centre – offering friendly, practical solidarity and mutual aid to all asylum seekers, refugees and sans papiers. Part of the ‘No Borders Network’ they work to create a world with freedom of movement for all. Working with the asylum seeker community in Glasgow, they use radical methods of collective action, solidarity and non-hierarchical organizing to challenge the injustices faced by asylum seekers under the UK’s racist immigration system.