#100daysofactivism

Events are still unfolding, with police illegally evicting the squatters. Follow events here. In their words:

Love Activists and Squatter and Homeless Autonomy (S.H.A.) have seized a disused RBS bank abandoned for two years in the heart of Westminster; a building that has been taken by the people, for the people. RBS was bailed out £46 billion by the taxpayer, equating a loss of £1500 per UK taxpayer. This means RBS are 82% owned by the people of the UK. This is a public repossession. Despite the 1.5 million empty buildings, There are 110,000 homeless people in the UK this winter, and squatting is a direct solution to this housing crisis. We demand a repeal of the 2012 laws, which have outlawed squatting of residential buildings. This could provide adequate housing solutions to the homeless.

We have opened up the space as a community area, completely separate from the greedy capitalist structure of modern society. The community will provide a free meal center for those living on the street, and to gather support to continue this project. A planned Christmas dinner will take place on Christmas day supported by Beat 'n Street Kitchen, and Food not Bombs. Our aims are to continue to provide food to the homeless, and a safe space for them to rest. Further to this, there are several spaces on the upper floors for groups wishing to hold events, workshops and talks. We would love for the whole community to be involved with this space.

In their words: Our mission is to create engaging short films which accurately represents individual journeys with gender expression and self-identity. 

  While the My Genderation films are made by trans* people about other trans* people, they are for a much wider audience, to allow people to connect and empathise with individual journeys. We create all our films independently and have total control over filming and editing. 

  So far, My Genderation films have been shown in schools, universities, film festivals and is endorsed by the BBC through their ‘Fresh’ documentaries initiative.    Lewis Hancox & Raphael Fox are the creators of My Genderation. The film-makers both took part in My Transsexual Summer (Ch4) which was a prime-time series which essentially started a dialogue with the nation about gender.

The death of Eric Garner sparked protests around the US, especially in New York, after the policeman was acquitted.  The photograph above comes from the Guardian, who write:

The demonstrations also continued in New York. Here, a man protests in falling snow following a news conference where members of Justice League NYC presented a list of demands at City Hall. The league, made up of juvenile and criminal justice advocates, artists and experts, and formerly incarcerated individuals, issued the demands in response to the failure of a Staten Island grand jury to indict white police officer Daniel Pantaleo for the chokehold death of Eric Garner

In their words:

"The Guardian and the Royal Court are collaborating on an unprecedented series of “microplays” which bring together journalism and the theatre, the first of which has been authored by Laura Wade, the award-winning writer behind Posh.

The filmed, five-minute plays, which will appear online over the next three weeks, unite Guardian writers with some of theatre’s most important playwrights and directors. Written at speed, filmed in a day and starring actors including Rafe Spall and Katherine Parkinson, the microplays are designed to be an extension of the Guardian’s journalism.

The project, entitled Off the Page, presents a state-of-the-nation portrait by responding to critical issues within six key areas of Guardian coverage: food, fashion, music, sport, education and politics." Read More

In their words:

Life can be viewed as a compilation of experiences. To gain someone else’s experience is to gain their perspective. And, it is when these perspectives are shared that intelligent conversation takes place. In this context, we all have something to share: ourselves.

The concept of talking to your neighbor or meeting the people around you is nothing new, but the chances for doing so seem to be few and far between. We live in a world with over 7 billion other people, yet talk to only a small handful.

Free Intelligent Conversation is the introduction of a culture that seeks out these often-passed-by conversations.