Welcome to SpanThatWorld.com! The online home of the District Fellows Movement, the 16-20 age group of the cooperative children and young people's charity The Woodcraft Folk.
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Woodie Affinity Group’s First Action Report
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What is an affinity group?
Affinity groups are small groups of people (usually around 10-30) who come together to undertake direct action. Affinity groups are organised in a non- hierarchical manner, so there is no boss. everyone shares skills, and decisions are made based on consensus.
What does The Woodcraft affinity group do?
The Woodcraft Affinity Group only took its first steps this summer at climate camp 2010. Here’s the low down of what we got up to:
We gathered at climate camp on the Saturday. It was a really lovely site, right bang in front of the RBS (royal bank of Scotland) headquarters, just outside Edinburgh. There was a great turn out of Woodies, about 15 of us in total. We had lots of chats about what we wanted to get involved in.
The camp is structured so that the first few days are educational- lots of fantastic workshops, training and meeting people. Then the Monday was chosen as a day of action, when affinity groups throughout the camp would undertake their chosen direct action. Because the Woodie affinity group was so diverse, there were some people who wanted to get involved in direct actions that were arrestable, some that wanted to support actions, and some who wanted to be involved with a non-arrestable, creative action. So we went our separate ways so to speak, whilst still offering the support of being an affinity group. The ‘non arrestables’ put together an exciting piece of graffiti artwork that is going to be displayed in Edinburgh. Others became part of the legal team, medics, blockades, flash mobs and general frivolities!
Direct Action?
Something that a group does to achieve political, economic or social goals. The exciting thing is, they do this outside of ‘normal’ political channels. Direct action can be violent or non violent (except in a woodcraft context- where it is always non violent!) strikes occupations sit-ins sabotage vandalism graffiti performance education. Although direct actions usually stretch the rules of civil obedience, they do not have to be illegal or ‘arrestable’
“We who in engage in non-violent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive.”- Martin Luther King, Jr.
How do i get involved?
The future of the affinity group is bright! The group will depend a lot on individual protests, but keep your eyes peeled on span that world for information.
In the mean time, Kezia is your point of contact! Or click HERE to visit the Facebook page
kezia_harper@hotmail.co.uk
Video
Here is a video report from a very successful and rather slick (no pun intended) action some Climate Campers did in London going up against BP. Its a good illustration of what a crack Affinity Group can get up to.
