Josie Long & Otesha meet Climate Camp

2nd September 2010 by

Ta da!! Here is our first foray into film with our patron, comedian Josie Long! Over the next few months, we will be showcasing some of the coolest and best aspects of the social and environmental justice movement here in the UK and relating it back to our daily lives.

This month, we went to Climate Camp in Edinburgh. A thousand activists camping outside RBS headquarters and protesting against their investment in fossil fuels and destructive projects like the tar sands may not seem relevant to a lot of us, but when you think that the bank is 84% owned by the UK taxpayer, it makes you wonder where your money is going.

So this month, we’re not necessarily asking you to siege your local bank branch (although, that of course, is your individual choice). We are asking you to put your money where your ethics are, pester your parents about their pension and above all, be honourable. That’s the title of Josie’s current show (nominated for an Edinburgh Comedy Award!), which is about trying to act in line with your beliefs, saying goodbye to complacency and just being aware that there are people out there fighting for a cleaner, greener, fairer world. Sounds pretty good to us.

You’ll have to excuse some of the poor sound and light quality in the video – it was me, Josie, a flip cam and a bike light running around in the dark! The next one will be more fancy.

From the archives – non-violent communication

5th August 2010 by

One sunny morning in mid-September, we packed up ourselves, the flowery palais (aka our tent) and a hula hoop, and bundled ourselves onto a train from London to Malmo, Sweden to learn stuff at the European Social Forum. Here’s what we learnt about:

Non-violent communication

Despite all the group hugs and general warm fuzziness here at Otesha, a few of us can be a little (ahem) forceful in our opinions from time to time. Especially when confronted with someone who, say, refuses to buy Fairtrade coffee because “we should support businesses in this country”. So we thought we’d best go along to a Non Violent Communication workshop and find out the least confrontational way to tell someone you can’t grow coffee in Wales. Read the rest of this entry »

Check us out – we're in the Ecologist

15th April 2010 by

If you’ve found your way to this blog, chances are you already know a bit about Otesha. But just in case you don’t (or if you can’t get enough) check out this article written in the Ecologist. Or just mosey over for the photo slideshow.

Climate Action in Poland

5th February 2009 by

Back in December 2008, were bursting with pride to be a part of the first-ever, all-singing all-dancing UK Youth Delegation to the UN Climate Change Conference in Poland.

Okay, so maybe the delegation wasn’t all-singing, all-dancing, but they were pretty unbelievable. Together with Emma and Casper from the UK Youth Climate Coalition, we brought together 15 of the best and brightest climate obsessed minds in the British Isles. In December 2008, we hopped on the train and headed east to Poznan, Poland to meet the policy-making big wigs and encourage them to take climate change seriously.

What we did:

Here’s a slideshow of the UK Youth Delegation, and here are some photos of the international youth (there were 500 of us!). Here’s a video of an action we did called ‘Project Survival’ and here’s another one, with a speech that youth made to the UN on the last day of the negotiations.

Read the rest of this entry »

Otesha goes to Malmo – and learns about art & culture

15th January 2009 by

One sunny morning in mid-September, we packed up ourselves, the flowery palais (aka our tent) and a hula hoop, and bundled ourselves onto a train from London to Malmo, Sweden to learn stuff at the European Social Forum.  Note from Liz: Jo can write whatever she wants here. Maybe something about the cultural stuff? Or whatever else, really.

As it says above, I can write whatever I want here. ANYTHING at all, and it will be published wide on the wordly web for all to see. Oh, the power. Fortunately for you I have no great agenda, so I’ll just tell you what we saw. Read the rest of this entry »

Otesha goes to Malmo – and learns about communicating climate change

13th January 2009 by

One sunny morning in mid-September, we packed up ourselves, the flowery palais (aka our tent) and a hula hoop, and bundled ourselves onto a train from London to Malmo, Sweden to learn stuff at the European Social Forum. Here’s what we learned about ….

How to communicate climate change (let’s make it sexy)….

At Otesha, you might have noticed that we can get a little warm and fuzzy (a little too warm and fuzzy, some might say).  So you can understand how, cocooned in an Otesha-style security blanket as I was, I got the be-jeesus scared out of me at the European Social Forum. Read the rest of this entry »

Otesha goes to Malmo – and learns about climate policy

30th December 2008 by

One sunny morning in mid-September, we packed up ourselves, the flowery palais (aka our tent) and a hula hoop, and bundled ourselves onto a train from London to Malmo, Sweden to learn stuff at the European Social Forum. Here’s what we learned about ….

EU climate policy

Don’t run away! Yes, EU Climate Policy sounds like a yawn and a half but bear with us, as the seminar was completely fascinating (although that might have something to do with Jens Holm, the speaker and a Member of the European Parliament, being a complete dreamboat. Swoon…. thud.) and very informative. Read the rest of this entry »

Hanna's week in Colorado

19th November 2008 by

Or ‘How they do it on the other side of the pond’

What is Hanna doing in Colorado you ask? Good question. Well, a few months ago the US Embassy called us (yes, we’re famous! They’ve even heard of us in America! Sort of.) and offered to fund one of us to go to Colorado to meet with ‘environmental experts’, participate in some ‘cross-cultural exchange’, generally learn lots to bring back home and maybe even teach those yanks a thing or too as well. Read the rest of this entry »


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