Brussels and the Big Dress
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SPEAK is a Network connecting the emerging generation to campaign and pray on issues of global justice. Through bringing change to situations of injustice we aim to share our faith in our creator: God.
SPEAK combines campaigning and prayer because we believe that they make a powerful combination to bring social transformation. We believe in networking because only together, when acting and praying in unity, can we really make a difference.
Visit the SPEAK site at
www.speak.org.uk
ECCJ conference in Brussels update
A few of us have just got back from Brussels (29th - 31st May) where we were linking up with European partners as part of the European Coalition for Corporate Justice that we're part of. Some very clever people from the coalition have been working on some legal proposals they think could bring Corporate Justice in at European level.
It was amazing to meet such committed people from civil society all across Europe, working very hard to see companies held accountable for human rights and environmental abuse.
Download ECCJ's legal proposals for amendments to European Community Law here:
Fair Law - Legal Proposals to improve Corporate Accountability
You can also download John Ruggie's latest report (John Ruggie is the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General on human rights and transnational corporations) on Corporate Accountability here:
Protect, Respect and Remedy: A Framework for Business and Human Rights
You can read more about the "Smart Regulation" conference and ECCJ's work at: www.corporatejustice.org.
To send a postcard to Commissioner Verheugen and read more about our European Campaign go to the Cost of Disconnection campaign pages.
BIG DRESS SHEFFIELD REPORT
WE DID IT!!! Our Big Dress is officially the biggest dress in the world. Were you there? Then you'll remember this! Couldn't make it down? Here's your chance to see what you missed... Hot off the press, from the world's biggest dress, here are a few of the highlights from the week...
We launched DJ Ross the Red's funky mixdown of a select few recorded messages, check it out on our myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/speakartistsnactivistscollective
The entire recording of our star-studded panel debate can be found here:
http://www.speak.org.uk/files/big dress panel debate.mp3
The press were out in force, check out the news reports:
Sheffield Telegraph - great piece! - http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/news/Designs-on-Fair-Trade-SLIDESHOW...
Sheffield Star - http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Piece-by-piece-it39s-a.4069108.jp
The Web TV Station, friction TV did a mini feature on us - check out the video here:
http://www.friction.tv/ftv_debate.php?debate_id=2955
A massive thank you to everyone who participated! You made the Big Dress the amazing, creative, diverse and record breaking event that it was!
See you at Vocal Training! If you want more time for training, networking, sharing inspiration with Speak people from all over the UK - make the most of the cheap early booking online here.
More about the Big Dress…
Thank you to those of you who cam to the Big Dress event in Sheffield. It was a fantastic weekend with a great programme, great weather and plenty of opportunity to involve people in the campaigns.
Nearly 300 messages were recorded for our Unfinished Business MP3 campaign, new Big Dress squares were made in our mock sweat shop, and the message of God’s heart for justice was shared throughout Sheffield! Amongst other key local figures, Lord Mayor Arthur Dunworth launched the festival with his full-support, “It’s a great pleasure to see people come together to better the lives of our disadvantaged brothers and sisters across the world. SPEAK’s work is something we all need to connect with and find a way to support since we have a responsibility to ensure the benefits of society are shared fairly.” You can watch excerpts and interviews from the launch on http://friction.tv/ftv_debate.php?debate_id=2955.
A debate on our campaign was attended by around 250 people on Saturday afternoon with a high calibre panel including Vice-president of the European Parliament, Diana Wallis MEP, theologian, and author of L is for Lifestyle, Ruth Valerio, Alan Murray founding Chair of the British Academy of Management Special Interest Group (SIG) in CSR and member of the UN Global Compact Task Force, and Hannah Ellis co-ordinator of the CORE Coalition. Diana left us all with great encouragement about just how much impact we can make; “I’m really looking forward to receiving the Pray & Post cards and letters from the SPEAK network –when you act, your voice can and will be stronger than the companies who lobby me”.
Over the course of the festival, the Big Dress entertained hoards of park dwellers, by the rock group ‘The Gentlemen”, through exhibitions from local artists, comedians, and by the stylings of Mixmaster Morris who provided ‘seamless adventures into DJ Psychedelia’ at our fantastic conscious club night. But it wasn’t just the locals who got involved – Sunday became a network gathering of international proportions! SPEAK groups and links travelled from as far as the Netherlands and Germany to connect and share their stories. Ruth Valerio lead a fantastic morning session speaking on the importance of maintaining relationships with God, the earth and each other. Challenging workshops and discussions saw the network doing what they do best - working together to feed into the vision and action of SPEAK. Topped off by a momentous collective MP3 message, the day was an incredible time of connecting together to inspire and encourage in our quest against injustice.
The weekend was a great success overall and we are very grateful to everyone who has participated in and supported the Big Dress events and campaigns. Please see photos and more news at http://www.speak.org.uk/content/a-big-success