Dear Friend,
What a week it has been for the world! As we write this newsletter, the whole world is catching its breath for the belated outcome of the 2020 US Presidential elections. While it’s not clear yet who will sit in the White House next, one thing is: democracy was put at risk with baseless claims of voter fraud, demands that legal votes stop being counted and threats to not pass peacefully power.
In this difficult situation, it’s more important than ever to unite and stand our ground: democracy means respecting voting rights, everywhere! With this spirit in mind, read this newsletter to learn more about our new #FreedomRibbon campaign, the work of our wonderful activists for Green December, and key events coming up!
Before jumping into it: NOW!’s 10,000-strong members community is the main engine that fuels our global work. If you are interested in supporting us, please consider becoming a member and contributing with a small, recurring donation to keep the dream of a global movement alive & strong!
GREEN DECEMBER IS GAINING MOMENTUM!
At NOW!, December is an important month: thousands of people from around the world will join our Green December initiative and take individual actions to fight against climate change. The idea is not only to lay a path for a better future, but also show governments that they must follow our example, and cooperate to win this battle.
With volunteers from Taiwan to the US, and from Denmark to India, our teams are pushing ahead to ensure that this month of action will spark some #ClimateHope!
A big focus of our teams’ work is the production of educational content on the climate crisis. Sometimes, it’s enough to know a bit more about a problem to start tackling it! See below a very cool example of the graphics our teams are producing, and here the full work on Instagram!
STAND FOR DEMOCRACY, JOIN OUR FREEDOM RIBBON INITIATIVE!
As winter advances in the northern hemisphere, and COVID-19 lockdowns are making a comeback in several countries around the world, some of our teams have found it increasingly difficult to hit the streets and advance our Wave Of Freedom campaign.
Did they give up? No.
Starting this Friday in London, NOW!’s members tied an orange ribbon in front of government buildings to keep our protests rolling. This ribbon symbolizes the Flame of Freedom that we keep on carrying, and the number of ribbons would thus represent the number of people standing for democracy! Nothing will stop the Wave of Freedom we are starting to push for major democracies to ally, counter dictators' crackdown on dissent, and Stand With Hong Kong, Venezuela, the Uyghurs, Belarus, Taiwan, and much more!
Of course, protests are still ongoing in all the cities where it is possible to do so legally and safely. Check the list out here.
BY THE WAY, ACCORDING TO BBC, NOW! IS INNOVATING THE WAY PEOPLE PROTEST IN COVID TIMES ;)
“There is a fine balance between protecting public health and freedom of expression,'' said Andrea Venzon to BBC, when describing the way NOW! is innovating protests and street actions during a pandemic! You can read the full article here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-54477523
AH YES, WE ALSO HAVE MANY EVENTS COMING UP!
In the coming weeks, we are organizing many events, including:
- Documentary Screening & Conversation on truth and reconciliation | Saturday, November 14th, 3 pm UK time
- Virtual Town Hall “Will Nguyen on the struggle for democracy in Vietnam | Wednesday, December 2nd, 2 pm UK Time
To see the full list of events, click here.
Remember, "together united, we cannot be defeated!"
All the best,
Andrea & Colombe, for NOW!
Co-Executive Directors