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GPJA #505: Protest jailing of journalists in Egypt – 3pm Sat, US Consulate, Auckland

June 26, 2014 Leave a comment

GLOBAL PEACE AND JUSTICE AUCKLAND NEWSLETTER No. 505, June 26, 2014

WHAT’S ON IN AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND

Thursday, June 26, 7pm, Unite Office, 6a Western Springs Rd, Morningside, Auckland.

The Spirit of 45 – film by Ken Loach. The working class of Britain had just come through two world wars and a Great Depression in between. They were sick of poverty, mass unemployment and bad housing. Many wanted a socialist society, and in the elections of 1945, they defeated Churchill and elected a radical Labour Government. Socialist Director Ken Loach has interviewed many of the people of this generation of fighters who not only fought fascism, but tried to build a better society at home when they returned. There is much we can learn from this generation of heroes. Join Mana Owairaka to look at the strengths and weaknesses of this movement, and explore the possibilities for such a radical programme of change today in Aotearoa. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c86Gwsb5LY

Saturday, June 28, 3pm, US Consulate, Citibank Building, Customs St, Auckland

Stand up for Freedom in Egypt – Release the Al Jazeera 3 and all Political Prisoners.

Supporters of the Egyptian revolution will gather at 3pm this Saturday outside the American Consulate on Customs Street in Auckland to call for the release of the Al Jazeera 3 and all political prisoners in Egypt.

Local Egyptian activist Mohamed Hassan:

"As a journalist I stand firmly in solidarity with Baher Mohamed, Mohamed Fahmy and Peter Greste and all journalists imprisoned around the world for daring to do their job. I also stand in solidarity with the tens of thousands of political prisoners in Egyptian jails without access to fair trial or fair representation. As an Egyptian I oppose the inhumane and unjust sentences handed down by the Egyptian courts. I oppose the stance taken by the Egyptian Government in dismissing the calls by the international community for fair and honest trials. I oppose any measures that work to stifle the foundations of free speech and basic dignities that all men and women are entitled to. The core demands of the January 25 Revolution were, and still remain; bread, freedom and social justice. I strongly oppose any and all attempts to undermine these basic and dignified desires that all Egyptians, and all people, rightly deserve."

Joe Carolan, Auckland based unionist-

"socialist Mahienour el-Massry and eight other activists have been sentenced to two years’ jail by Egypt’s military regime. Their “crime” was to organise a demonstration in violation of new anti-protest laws that came into force late in 2013. El-Massry has a long history as an activist and played a leading role in the campaign to expose the role of the security forces in the horrific murder of Khaled Sa’id. Sa’id was beaten to death in Alexandria in 2010. The protests which followed his murder played a key role in galvanising opposition to President Hosni Mubarak in the lead-up to the 2011 revolution. El-Massry, a lawyer, was arrested and beaten by the police in March 2013, after she went to represent arrested demonstrators at a police station in Alexandria."

STAND UP FOR FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN EGYPT

RELEASE THE AL JAZEERA 3 and ALL EGYPTIAN POLITICAL PRISONERS

Organised by Global Peace and Justice Auckland

Further info: Mohamed- 021 022 17607 / Joe- 029 44 55 702

Saturday, June 28, 7pm, Te Papa Museum in Wellington, New Zealand

Block the National Party – What they do in the Shadows. Poneke Action Against Poverty are calling a protest outside the National Party Conference on the 28th of June. We will have line up of speakers and live music as well as good old fashioned protesting. So come along and give Key and the rest of the nasty Nats a piece of your mind. As this protest is only a week away please share this event like crazy and tell all your friends and whanau. https://www.facebook.com/ponekeaction

Tuesday, July 1, 6.30pm, Lecture Theatre 3 (Level ‘0’) Owen Glenn Building, University of Auckland

Max Rashbrooke ‘Inequality in New Zealand: why don’t we talk more about wealth?’ Max Rashbrooke is the editor of Inequality: A New Zealand Crisis, published in June 2013 by Bridget Williams Books, and the author of the short e-book ‘The Inequality Debate: An Introduction’, published in March 2014. He has written stories for national newspapers and magazines in Britain and New Zealand, including the Guardian, the National Business Review and Metro. He was also the recipient of the 2011 Bruce Jesson Senior Journalism Award.This Fabian Society session will move the discussion to the consequences of an unequal distribution of wealth and the likely impact of neglecting the responsibility for inclusive economic policy.

Wednesday, July 2, 6-8.30pm, Sir Neil Waters Lecture Theatres, Albany Campus, Albany Expressway (SH17)

Inequality: the defining issue of our time. The growing inequality gap between the rich and the ‘rest’ has become one of the key political issues of 2014. It’s a topic that award-winning author and journalist Max Rashbrooke will address at a free public lecture on the Albany campus on July 2. http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/about-massey/events/event-detail.cfm?event_id=3F6D1BE8-A1D4-E952-F1D4-F13148289972

Wednesday, 5pm, July 2, Unitec Lecture Theatre (B510-B007), Waitakere campus, 5-7 Ratanui Street, Henderson

Dr Mike O’Brien – Child Poverty: What we know and what we can/should do.

You are warmly invited to join leaders in the social practice sector for a fortnightly evening lecture. Each 45 minute session looks at multidisciplinary approaches to social justice and is followed by a Q&A and light refreshments.

Joining us for the fourth lecture is Associate Professor Dr Mike O’Brien from the University of Auckland. Dr O’Brien will summarise the research and data on child poverty in New Zealand, present ways to reduce child poverty, and consider the obstacles that need to be addressed. Dr O’Brien is Associate Professor at the University of Auckland’s School of Counselling, Human Services and Social Work. He is also a member of the Child Poverty Action Group and the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW). Dr O’Brien has written widely on domestic and international child poverty and is currently editing the CPAG publication, Choices for Children.

Admission: $10 (complimentary for field educators and supervisors).

Friday, July 4, 8pm, Whammy’s Bar, Wine Cellar, K/Rd, Auckland

Exciting fundraiser tor West Papua Action Auckland : Featuring SJD, Mara TK, Tourettes, The Bads, Steve Abel, Nightchoir, Will Wood, Reb Fountain, Road Warriors and Loud Ghost. Funds raised will help us to host ‘West Papua the Pacific’s Secret Shame’ Seminar on August 1 and 2 at University of Auckland Law School 9 Eden Crescent Auckland opens 6-30 pm Friday 1 August 2014. Cost: $15. Contact details: Dave Khan (event organiser), davemkhan 021-151-4562; Maire Leadbeater (West Papua Action Auckland), maire 027-443-6957

Friday, July 4, 9am to 4.30pm, Western Springs Community Hall, 956 Great North Road, Western Springs, Auckland

SYMPOSIUM ON WOMEN & CHILDREN. A ‘State of the Nation’ discussion on life for Women & Children in New Zealand in 2014. Come along to hear our political panel and some of our country’s leading academics, thinkers influencers and strategists at this one day Auckland Symposium on July 4th. We will also launch Women’s Refuge Awareness Month and you will hear acclaimed artist Tina Cross introduce and perform a special song written for Women’s Refuge.TO GUARANTEE YOUR PLACE EMAIL janet – PUT SYMPOSIUM IN THE SUBJECT LINE. YOU WILL RECEIVE A REGISTRATION FORM AND DETAILS FOR PAYMENT OF $50.00 PER ATTENDEE.

Tuesday, July 8, 6.30-7.45pm, The Cube, ASB North Wharf, Wynyard Quarter, Auckland

Thursday, July 10, 7-8.30pm, The Peace Place, 22 Emily Place, Auckland Central

An Eco Spirituality Talk on the subject of Sustainability with Patrick Doherty.

During the evening we will explore four themes: -we will pray and reflect on our Catholic call to care for Gods creation and the poor and vulnerable;

-we will learn about the causes and moral dimensions of environmental degradation and climate change; -we will assess how we contribute to environmental degradation and climate change; -and we will support each other in clarifying the principles of sustainable living and commit ourselves to changing and reducing our carbon footprint. Patrick Doherty is a husband, father & grandfather, who trained as development economist in Zimbabwe and worked in the Justice and Peace Commission there during the civil war in the 1970s before moving to NZ. He is currently in private practice as a counselor, lectures at Unitec in Counselling Studies and has previously lectured in Sustainable Living studies. He has also run Mindfulness Meditation courses and courses in pre-marriage education in conjunction with his wife. He also helps manage a community garden and is currently researching Sustainable Communities. Cost: Koha

July 17 & 18, St. Peter’s College Hall, 23 Mountain Road, Grafton, Auckland

Advocacy in Aotearoa – From the Grassroots to the United Nations. Event page and online registration: http://tinyurl.com/adaotearoa Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/advocacyinaotearoa Hosted and sponsored by the Edmund Rice Centre. Workshops and presentations by: Child Poverty Action Group, JustSpeak, Generation Zero, Caritas, NZ Refugee Council,

Centre for NZ Progress, P3, ER Justice Trust, ER International, Justice and Peace Commission, CDA. Guest Speakers: Sue Bradford and Phil Glendenning. Focus issues are: Child Poverty, Youth Justice, Refugees and Asylum Seekers and Climate Change. We are expecting approximately 100 participants from all over New Zealand. There are scholarships/subsidies available for people that can’t afford the conference fee.

Friday 1 August, 6.30-8.30pm, Saturday 2 August, 9am-5pm, Faculty of Law, The University of Auckland, Level 2 (Friday) and Level 3 (Saturday), 9 Eden Crescent, Auckland

The latest from on the ground in West Papua. The urgent need to improve media and international NGO access to West Papua. New Zealand’s historical and current complicity with Indonesia, including providing police and military training and condoning environmental exploitation. Support for West Papua in Melanesia and Indonesia’s attempts to undermine this support through the Melanesian Spearhead Group. Is West Papua the new East Timor? Political panel with representatives from major parties. Find the event on maire .

August 5,6,7, 8.30am-4.30pm, WINZ, 93 Mascott Ave, Mangere

AAP Impact. Learn your rights from trained advocates.

Saturday, August 30, 3pm, Britomart Transport Centre, Queen St, Auckland in Auckland

A30. MARCH TO BRING DOWN THIS ROTTEN GOVERNMENT. Its time to mobilise and bring down John Key’s National Party Government. Increase the protests, strengthen the campaigns, register the working class and poor to get them out. Lets organise a national day of Action on Saturday August 30th. Spread this event like wildfire.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

FREE WEBINAR: 10 SOCIAL MEDIA BEST PRACTICES FOR NGOS

Through a partnership with the Public Interest Registry – the nonprofit responsible for managing the .ORG domain and the soon-to-be launched .NGO and .ONG domains, Nonprofit Tech for Good will be presenting a free webinar series for NGOs worldwide starting in July. Entitled 10 Social Media Best Practices for NGOs, the webinar will train NGOs, nonprofits, and charities on how they can better utilize social media to showcase their programs and fundraise online. The 90-minute webinar will:

Highlight the shift from to broadcast to social communications and fundraising.
Demonstrate the top three best practices for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Discuss how to tell your nonprofit’s story through video, images, and infographics.
Explain how to create an editorial calendar for social media communications.
Present a system for tracking and reporting your success.

The webinar is being offered three times to accommodate NGOs in multiple time zones and the content of each webinar will be tailored to fit the region it is being presented for. Register below for the webinar that best suits your time zone. Webinars will be capped at 1,000 attendees, so to ensure that as many NGOs as possible can attend, please only register for one webinar:

Services Offered by Nonprofit Tech for Good

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

We are seeking passionate community volunteers to work alongside the Project Coordinator on daily food rescue runs. Our drivers pick up fresh produce and bread on a daily basis, from designated companies who are contracted to Fair Food, which is then sorted into appropriate boxes in the back of our Fair Food van. They then distribute the food to Community organisations on a scheduled run, which varies daily. Fair Food operates between 9am – 3pm (times may vary), Monday to Friday. We have a volunteer training day on Mondays for 1 person at a time – meeting in Henderson at 8.30am. Please note: There is heavy lifting involved as well as climbing up and down ladders There is a considerable amount of time spent in the van. Full Driver’s License preferred. All applicants will be police checked and asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. If you are interested in being a part of our team and meet the above criteria – we look forward to hearing from you. Contact Travena on 022 167 8963 or 09 838 4820 – option 6 or email info

JOIN THIS YEAR’S AUSTRALIAN SOLIDARITY DELEGATION TO VENEZUELA DECEMBER 2 – 13, 2014

Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network. Registrations are now open for the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network’s 2014 solidarity tour to revolutionary Venezuela.

http://links.org.au/node/3700