Read the newsletter in French | German | Italian
Dear fellow human living through a planetary crisis,
No one is coming to save us, so it’s your time to make a stand. To demand honesty and action from our leaders, and a democracy fit to finally fix the causes of climate breakdown and ecological collapse.
The rebellion starts on October 3rd in Zurich, for as long as it takes, and it needs you. An opening ceremony will take place on Sunday 3rd, and the disruption of central Zurich will start on Monday 4th.
Over 130 committed people have already stepped up in various organisational roles to make the rebellion next month the history-altering event we need.
Hundreds more, young and old, are preparing to sit in the roads of central Zurich and refuse to budge until action on the climate and ecological crises is taken, willing to be arrested for it. They need you to step up, and either join them or support them. Are you in?
There are plenty of ways you can participate in this rebellion. From preparing yourself to be arrested to awaiting arrestees at the police station with tea and a hug, from contributing art performances to starting conversations with passers-by, from to documenting the rebellion with pictures and films to cooking delicious meals for other rebels. Mobilise your friends and family and support the rebellion on your social networks. In any case, we are here to help you find your place:
Wondering about the plans, starting from the 3rd of October? Here’s a little teaser to get you on your toes! There will be an opening ceremony on Sunday 3rd, complete with concerts and training sessions. And from Monday 4th onwards, day after day, the rebellion will stage a sit-in at some major intersections in the central Zurich. Bring your chair and/or a plant, to make it as comfy as it is disruptive! More details will follow next week. In the meanwhile: keep an eye out for updates, prepare yourself, and mobilise your network. We’ll give you everything you need here for that!
To change everything, we need everyone. We are all crew.
With love and rage,
Anais and Marie for the newsletter team
Melanie, Cinzia and Verena for the translation
Stay tuned
Wondering about the plans, starting from the 3rd of October? Here’s a little teaser to get you on your toes! There will be an opening ceremony on Sunday 3rd, complete with concerts and training sessions. And from Monday 4th onwards, day after day, the rebellion will stage a sit-in at some major intersections in the central Zurich. Bring your chair and/or a plant, to make it as comfy as it is disruptive! More details will follow next week. In the meanwhile: how to get the latest information?
- First of all, make sure to fill in the form to find your role. This is a tremendous help for the organisers. And within the next few days, you’ll be contacted personally to define your role further and help you join the rebellion the way YOU want it.
- And, to get first hand information about the plan, join now the Telegram info-channel.
Get prepared
- Join the welcome sessions: From Wednesday the 8th and until the rebellion starts, the Outreach team will be organising open welcome sessions to onboard all new brave folks willing to rebel with us against climate inaction and curious about the rebellion. On Wednesday and Sunday evenings (8 pm), rebels will meet you online to fill you in about the plan in October, and help you find your place in the rebellion. The next session is on Sunday. Further info here and the Zoom link is here.
- Get prepared with Non-Violent Direct Action training (NVDA): For those of you ready to get arrested, the Training team is organising several NVDA training sessions in your city or around. Come and meet others to learn together how to do civil disobedience, stay calm and compassionate, handle interactions with the police, and your legal rights. Several training sessions will take place in Zurich, Biel, Fribourg, Lausanne, and Vevey. It’s always possible to request help to organise a session in your town! All info here!
Mobilise in your network
- Join our Facebook event: a very simple way to mobilise around you is to join our newly created Facebook events for the rebellion: there is one for the opening day on the 3rd, and one for the actual rebellion, starting on October 4th. Accept the invitation, and invite all your friends. Show you’re proud to rebel for life on Earth. We need everyone.
- Change your social media header and show your support to the rebellion: you can find headers here: IT / FR / DE / EN
- Distribute posters and flyers in your surroundings: You’ll find here the official flyers and posters of the rebellion. Aren’t they beautiful? So get ready to plaster around in your city. Here’s how to proceed. And if you need help organising such an outreach action in your city or getting material, please contact Marg at Marg.dy@protonmail.com
- Social media messaging campaign: Help us write to as many people as possible on Facebook to invite them to join us in Zurich from October 3rd. Find out how to do this, and/or write to Moritz moritz-bischof@gmx.ch to join the messaging team.
- How to talk about the rebellion: You want to talk about the October rebellion around you, bring people in, but you don’t really know how to explain it and convince people to join you? No problem: we’ve summarised for you the main points to talk about, and how you can go about it - all in a neat one-pager ! Use it for any mobilisation action or just when talking to your family, friends etc.
International News - Hunger strike of the Last Generation in Germany
“We’re really screwed - CO2 levels continue to rise. I’m Henning, 21 years old, and I’m going on a hunger strike because I have a clear vision: that we can finally be honest with each other.”
In Germany, seven people between 18 and 22 have entered an open-ended hunger strike. Their demands are a public meeting with the three candidates to the Chancellery, and a promise from them to establish Citizens’ Assemblies on the climate crisis upon election.
By the time we send you this newsletter, it will be their 11th day without food. Civil resistance takes many shapes and forms - what they all have in common is bravery, love and sacrifice. As we prepare to rise in rebellion, may we draw from these young people’s incredible strength and send them some in return.
Visit their website
One question, one answer
Why the rebellion is non-violent and will always remain so?
We are afraid of the violence that climate breakdown and ecosystem collapse will bring to humanity and our communities. In fact, it has been happening already in many places of the world.
To avoid that, the rebellion aims at bringing people together, not apart. Establishing citizens assemblies is one way of decreasing the likelihood that conflicts tear our country apart, the likelihood of ever descending into civil war.
For the same reason, the rebellion is strictly nonviolent and will always remain so. But the definition of nonviolence goes far beyond “not committing violence”: what it truly means is treating everyone, including one’s opponents, with respect, kindness and compassion.
Moreover, treating opponents with respect is also a tactical choice: it increases the likelihood of their defecting, and makes it easier for them to come to the table.
By causing disruption in a peaceful way, the rebellion presents the government with a dilemma. Letting rebels carry on will encourage others to join. Repressing rebels will undermine their own legitimacy, and drive more people onto the street. Our strategy is based on classical nonviolence and the tactics that contributed to historical victories in many places around the world, in struggles as different as decolonisation (Gandhi…), ending racial segregation (Freedom Riders, Martin Luther King…), toppling of dictatorships (Otpor! in Serbia…), getting governments to act on the AIDS pandemic (ACT UP!), or, in our own Switzerland, ending compulsory military service (conscientious objectors).
Read the rest of the FAQ here
Published on
by
XR CH.