Why block airports and throw soup? What is effective in moving parliament to end global heating?
Join the Commonweal Trust for an engaging and thought provoking talk and Q&A session exploring nonviolent direct action with Professor Rachel Julian and activists Mollie Somerville and Ludi Simpson.
Mollie and Ludi are both in their seventies with grandchildren and professional careers behind them. They have been arrested multiple times in the past two years, after actions organised by Just Stop Oil, most recently throwing soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers in the National Gallery. They say that they have caused minor disruption in order to draw attention to the harm to every living thing caused daily by fossil fuel corporations and the politicians they have bought. Mollie and Ludi travelled different journeys to their current campaigning, and are both involved in local community and environmental organisations.
Rachel Julian has been a peace and nonviolence activist and worker for over 30 years from peace camps and direct action to movement building and participatory research. She is currently a Professor of Peace Studies at Leeds Beckett University and trustee for Commonweal Collection, Peace Museum and Nonviolent Peaceforce. Rachel’s work focuses on the transformative power of nonviolence, the everyday activism in communities and the importance of people being heard in the struggle for peace and justice. She helps lead the international ‘Creating Safer Space’ project in which communities explain how they use nonviolence to reduce violence and improve safety across the world.