Rebels,

Let’s not beat around the bush.

This summer has been fucked up, and it is not even over yet.

We all know the problem is not that our government has not “realised” the climate crisis is upon us. They will act when they are forced to - by us. By the people.

Yet at the moment, there is, as far as we (newsletter team) know, no group within the Rebellion that is planning ambitious disruption of national scope in Switzerland - anything that would put us in the ballpark of achieving real change. This is bad news.

This is not to say rebels have given up.

Indeed, we’re very pleased to be sharing many news and invitations to events in this newsletter. They come from rebels in Zürich, Basel, Fribourg, Neuchâtel, Lausanne, and Geneva, as well as from the group XR Familles, the sister movements Animal Rebellion and Scientist Rebellion, and the allied campaign Renovate Switzerland.

If you’re not already active, these are as many opportunities for you to get involved, meet people, gain strength from the community… and find people to grow ambitious plans with.

So rally - think big - organise! Will the impulse behind the next big thing start in your local group - or your kitchen?

With love and rage,

Anaïs, Sanja, Marie, Frank, Marcus, The newsletter team

The national structure gets minimal

Rallying behind the idea of a rebellion in Zürich in October 2021, several dozens of rebels from all over Switzerland gathered in self-organised, closely coordinated national teams.

There is alas at the moment no national project in the pipeline requiring such coordinated effort. Therefore most of these national teams have seen their activities slow down over time, and their members devote their energy elsewhere.

The national Action, Outreach, Media, Self-Organising System, and Regenerative Culture teams, are preparing to close down.

The national Legal, IT and Finance teams will keep doing their best to support rebels with their limited resources.

The last meeting of the Anchor Circle, in its present incarnation, will take place on September 19th.

Following that, in the next newsletter, each national team will communicate clear instructions, so any future group of rebels leading a project or campaign can request to use the tools/infrastructure/contacts developed so far. Some of the people who have worked in these teams will leave their contact, to be able to offer advice and feedback

Where is the next national campaign going to come from?

Thousands of people in this country have engaged with Extinction Rebellion at some point or another, tens of thousands more have been touched by it. This makes for a fertile soil on which to grow future campaigns.

Below you’ll find news from local groups and sister campaigns that would be thrilled to have you join. Is none of this happening in your area? Or do you have a different vision? Then get started. Everything big ever began with a small group of people. Two friends in a kitchen. Five strangers meeting around a provocative placard at a demo.

The recipe is simple: build a small, committed group with whom you share a vision. Make a plan. Talk to as many people as you can - if the vision is inspiring and they see you’re willing to put in the work to make the plan come true, they’ll join.

An encouraging message from the legal team:

“After Zürich, many have been cooled down by the penal orders handed out to people in support roles, who had actually never stepped on the road - but we’re starting to get victories on that front! We hope to re-open these legal safe spaces for non-arrestable rebels, which the heavy repression had effectively closed. It’s our full right to go on the streets, period!”

Rebellion grows from our heart A personal message of empowerment from rebel Marcus, from the media team

Updates from local groups

Rebels in Basel reminded their fellow citizens that climate is like beer - shit when too hot.

In Switzerland, Extinction Rebellion exists as a network of local groups. In this hot threat of a summer, some rebels have felt tired or missing contact with others. Many of the actions of this summer have reflected this, being small and more regenerative, sometimes looking for ways to express the sadness we all feel for our beautiful planet.

It is ok to rest and look for new directions - and then rise again. The rebellion is resilient. When you have rested, find your courage again, find your people again, and get organizing the new world we need! We don’t always feel strong, but we are strong together. Here some highlights and coming actions of various local groups:

Zurich

Save the date! Zurich invites all rebels to join them for:

⚠️ Funeral for car-free Westtangente in Zurich⚠️

September 25, at Westtangente at 4pm.

“With heavy hearts and unforgettable memories, we bid farewell to the car-free Westtangente, which was filled with life and happiness for three days (9/23/2022 10pm to 9/25/2022 midnight) and is abruptly snatched from life after only 50 hours.

The funeral service will be held on Sunday, September 25, 2022 at 16:00 on the Westtangente in a wide circle of family and acquaintances. We welcome the sympathy of all. The funeral procession will be accompanied by music.

XR Zurich and other organizations, approval pending.”

Lausanne

There are two big marches planned in Lausanne to kickstart the autumn, organized by two working groups, Animal Rebellion (together with “Ecologie et Altruisme”), and XR Familles. For further news from Lausanne, also keep an eye on their newletter and event calendar.

⚠️ A march for the end of speciesism in Lausanne ⚠️

August 27, at the train station square at 3pm.

Come one and all for the respect of the lives of animals ! Every presence counts. Let’s denounce speciesism and work together for a world that takes us all into consideration, regardless of our species.

Check the Facebook announcement here.

Read the whole call to combine the struggles between the ecological movement and the animalist movement here.

⚠️ Climate March in Lausanne: Act now! ⚠️

September 3, at the train station square at 2pm.

The climate marches of 2019 pushed the climate emergency in the public debate, but still Switzerland is not on a pathway to meet the targets of the Paris agreement. Now is the time to act for the future of our children. Join us in a colorful, joyful, unifying and powerful march to demand a change! With you, we will be thousands!

Check out the demand letter and details here. Your help is needed to bring this event to life! You can take an organizing task by filling this framaform.

Neuchâtel

Rebels in Neuchâtel are mobilizing people to protect “La Tène”, where precious agricultural landis at risk to be destroyed under construction of an economic development techno-hub – without taking into account climate change and future energy and food shortages.

⚠️March of cairns in Neuchâtel⚠️

September 18th starting at Laténium at 2pm. This summer rebels in Neuchâtel have been building cairns in memory of extinct species, and invite everyone to join in autumn!

More information here.

Geneva

For a few months now, the rebels in Geneva have been creating small plays in Geneva’s trams. Dressed like the personnel of an airplane, they give safety instructions in case of – general crash of our system, due to climate change. Yes, it is no more a time to get into the sky, but to give a spark for the rebellion!

When talking about rebellion, we also need to talk about a plan! As a matter of fact, rebels in Geneva are working on it right now, to build a plan for themselves for the next three years. Aims, claims, strategy… It’s exciting and hopeful work.

⚠️ If you want to join the strategy planning or the tram actions in Geneva, you can write to : xr-geneve@riseup.net

Nicole being arrested on the Rudolf Bridge during the October Rebellion.

The “Strasbourg” legal action group for the rebellion continues their fight for justice in the court with the aim of taking the cases of arrested rebels all the way to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg if needed. On 19th September Nicole, a 46-year old mother of three, will appear in the Zurich courtroom after being arrested during the October rebellion for blocking traffic on the Rudolf Brun Bridge. This was Nicole’s first civil resistance action as an activist, and she says of her motivation for taking part:

“I am scared for my children. The youngest is seven years old. What will his adult life be like? What also makes me sad and angry is how we are taking the whole of the living world with us. Our Western civilization is responsible for the 6th mass extinction. How could I just ignore that and do nothing?”

Those interested in supporting the legal fight can get in touch with the legal group at StrasbourgXR@protonmail.com.

Updates from sister movements and allied campaigns

Scientist Rebellion

Some plans are shaping up at the moment! Hopefully they’ll be part of the next newsletter. Summer is the season of conferences, and Scientist Rebellion is using it for recruitment!

This week in Prague was the annual congress of the European Society of Evolutionary Biology. About 150 researchers chose to attend the Scientist Rebellion workshop, co-organised by Swiss based scientists!

Animal Rebellion

Animal Rebellion Lausanne is one of the co-organisers of the march for the end of speciesism in Lausanne on August 27 (see above). They’re hoping to use the occasion to grow!

Renovate Switzerland

Supporters of Renovate Switzerland will be back on the motorways this autumn! Their goal is to be at least 5 times bigger than during their April warm-up.

Help them grow, raise money and recruit by joining their conferences and inviting all your friends!

Every Tuesday in Lausanne (FR), every Wednesday online (FR/DE), every Thursday in Biel/Bienne (FR/DEà. Add to that Zürich on September 7th and 14th (DE). Watch their website for weekly talks soon to be scheduled in Geneva (FR) and a couple more in Neuchâtel (FR)!

You can subscribe to their newsletter here.

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