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Shared Planet 2006

Shared Planet 2006 was a big success. Close to 1000 people took part in the weekend and an additional 1000 joined us for the Carnival of Climate Chaos on the Saturday afternoon!

• Read a full report below
• Read Reading P&P’s write-up
• View the Shared Planet Photo gallery
• Send us your feedback!

Following the huge success of Shared Planet 05, with tickets selling out two weeks in advance of the event, this year it was decided to expand the capacity to 750. An anxious couple of weeks of slow bookings after the release of tickets gave way to a flood in the last two weeks before the event and everything was looking set for a monster SP06.

Shared Planet kicked off on the Friday night with arrival and registration at UCL. Among the arrivals were five heroic P&P sponsored cyclists: Emma Hughes and Sian Miles from Cardiff uni, Charlie Brazier and Gabi Sibley from Oxford Brookes uni and Matt Gardner from Manchester. Sporting weary smiles and John Wayne-esque gaits our pedal-powered protesters arrived to a hero’s welcome (well, some photos anyway) and very fittingly kicked off the climate change theme for this year’s event. You can read all about Matt’s journey on his Just Giving page.

As the masses began to arrive the first workshops got under way with a samba dancing session in preparation for the following day’s ‘Carnival of Climate Chaos’. Once booty had been well and truly shaken it was off to the traditional luxurious Shared Planet accommodation, this time on the floor of Somers Town sports centre. A good night’s sleep (?!) was in order in preparation for the ‘I Count rally’ the following day.

Saturday was climate change, climate change, climate change! The conference was officially opened by the legendary George Monbiot. Having been delayed by a late train, George walked straight into the building and on stage and delivered an inspiring 20 minute speech criticising the government for needing an economic reason, in the form of the Stern report, to do something about climate change rather than acting from a moral imperative. He went on to tell us that it was vital that a climate change bill should be included in the Queen’s speech, firing everybody up in preparation for the big march. This was followed by the launch of the Ditch Dirty Development campaign, demanding that the UK government lead the world in promoting low carbon development and ending support for fossil fuel extraction. We were really lucky to have Sharon Sian Looremetta from Practical Action as the keynote speaker for the launch as she then had to rush off to get ready to talk at the i-Count rally in Trafalgar square.

Without a pause for breath, or even lunch, everyone then headed off to Malet street to line up for the ‘Carnival of Climate Chaos’ march to Trafalgar Square. Armed with a fantastic array of banners designed by political artist PolyP, and accompanied by the superbly coordinated, and loud, Uniao da Mocidade youth samba band, we set off for Trafalgar Square. The procession, comprising around 2000 people ranging from babies to pensioners and every age in between, looked stunning and some great chants were heard coming from the crowd. At the front of the march the Belper school People & Planet group got our vote for best chant. Difficult to reproduce here but suffice to say that it so caught the imagination of P&P Head of Campaigns and march coordinator James Lloyd that he was seen stumbling home on the Sunday night, after a celebration glass of ‘lemonade’, still chanting it to himself.

We arrived in Trafalgar Square just in time to find that the power, which some time before had gone off, had returned to the stage and were treated to a number of speakers, including Dr Hana el Banna, president of Islamic Relief, the Bishop of Liverpool and an inspirational Rob Newman. The Trafalgar Square event wasn’t to everyone’s taste but we came away in little doubt that ‘we count’, and the 25,000 strong crowd in the square sent a strong message to the houses of Parliament that people expect to see legislative action on climate change. At the end of the rally there was just time for some swift refreshments and a breather on the way up the strand before the start of the fringe events at LSE and Kings College. For those feeling a little worn out after the march there were a range of excellent films and exhibitions to be seen. For those who still had energy left, and there were plenty, two panel debates took place on whether big business meant bad business, and on the future of climate change campaigning after the November 4 march. Both debates featured varied and balanced panels, including Craig Sams, chair of the Soil Association and founder of Green & Blacks chocolate, and Ashok Sinha, director of Stop Climate Chaos. The energetic debate continued right up until the 8pm finish.

After such a long and stimulating day, it was time for everyone to let their hair down, have a drink and get ready to throw some serious shapes on the dance floor at the awesome Shared Planet party. With comedian Josie Long, poet Luke Wright, four rocking bands, a stage invasion and a wild-eyed compere the evening didn’t disappoint, and everyone stayed up well past their bedtime.

As everyone staggered bleary eyed into ULU for the Sunday workshops one would have been forgiven for thinking that people might have preferred to curl up with a coffee and a newspaper. Not a bit of it, that unique energy that seems to emerge when a load of P&Pers get together carried everyone through the introduction to non-violent direct action, how to get media coverage, social movements and the new Latin America, carbon offsets stripped bare, how to research corporations and the hugely popular art of Rebel Clowning. The choice of workshops was huge, about 50 were available, and the only shame was that there wasn’t more time for everyone to do more workshops.

This time there was actually time for lunch, much needed by many, and then we trooped into the Camden Centre for the final sessions of the event. At two o’clock began what may have been the highlight session of Shared Planet this year, the Treat AIDS Now campaign launch, with Dr Masias Cowper, the South African AIDS activist. Her energy and enthusiasm soon had six volunteers up on stage reacting to various scenarios around the experience of being HIV positive, and even confessing to difficult first experiences with condoms (thanks Ross!). However, when she revealed that these were scenarios that she had faced as a person living with HIV, and pointed out that her daughter could still be alive if she had had access to the best HIV drugs, the emotion got the better of many of us, none more so than Masias herself. There couldn’t have been a better inspiration to get out and run the Treat AIDS Now campaign with passion.

The last session of Shared Planet 06 was a panel debate with Jo Swinson MP, the comedian Mark Steel, and Tony Blair’s special adviser on poverty, climate change and trade, Justin Forsyth. The debate was at times ferocious with some fairly sharp comments aimed at Justin Forsyth criticising the current administration’s stance on a range of issues.. As with the previous day’s debates there were far more people who wanted to contribute than were able to due to time, but we were all left with plenty to mull over on our journeys home.

And just like that, bags were handed out, goodbyes were said and it was all over. Congratulations to the P&P Shared Planet team for planning and coordinating a complex event with lots of different venues. But most of all congratulations to all the participants for their energy and enthusiasm which always makes Shared Planet the unique and inspiring event that it is. ‘Til next year!