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What emergency? | Extinction Rebellion in Numbers | This Is Not A Drill

• Extinction Rebellion to lead one of this year’s festival themes “Save Our World”, raising the alarm on the climate and ecological emergency
• ‘Rebel Rebel’ stage to host a programme of talks and workshops on non-violent civil disobedience and environmental concerns and solutions
• Festival will be opened with the ‘Funeral of Life’, a protest against ecocide and honours those who have died defending their land and our environment
• The Rebel training space will provide inductions, art blockers workshops and trainings on non-violent direct action and citizens assemblies 
• Extinction Rebellion panelists include journalists Anita McNaught, Nafeez Ahmed and David Wallace-Wells as well as Extinction Rebellion spokespeople Roger Hallam and Rupert Read

This bank holiday weekend, Extinction Rebellion will be raising the alarm on the climate and ecological emergency at Byline Festival – the world’s first festival for independent journalism and freedom of speech – to debate, discuss, dance, laugh, and change the world.

The festival, located at Pippingford Park, East Sussex, includes performances by Pussy Riot, Lowkey and Don Letts, as well as honest talks on the climate and ecological emergency. This year two of the main themes are ‘Save Our World’ and ‘People Power’.

As well as hosting the Rebel Rebel stage with a full schedule of talks, workshops, music and performances, Extinction Rebellion will open the festival with an iconic ‘Funeral for the Earth’, a performance protest against the extensive damage, destruction or loss of the world’s ecosystems, known as ecocide.  The ceremony will also honor environmental activists who have been killed defending their land and our environment at the Media Circus stage. This iconic ceremony will be accompanied by the Citizens of the World Choir, made up of refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and friends.  They will be joined by John Mitchinson and the founders of the festival – Stephen Colegrave and Peter Jukes to welcome everyone and kick off a fabulous three days. Poets Salena Gordon and Birgitta Jonsdottir then conclude the funeral with spoken word.

Extinction Rebellion’s Rebel Rebel stage, which has been touring the country and appeared at festivals including Glastonbury and Womad, has a full schedule of events from talks and workshops, on citizens assemblies and non-violent direct action, to music, comedy, performance and poetry.

Talks Include: Roger Hallam on what Extinction Rebellion has achieved and what’s next, Deep Adaptation, Getting Real about the Climate Apocalypse, The Role of the Youth, Decolonising Environmentalism, The Climate Science Denial Network and This Is Not A Drill: An Extinction Rebellion Handbook. 

Festival goers are invited to learn more about Extinction Rebellion’s third demand with a mock citizens’ assembly on climate and ecological justice – through selecting participants randomly, via a process known as sortition – through deliberation to decision making. The Route to Rapid Decarbonisation, will then be deliberated with experts Anita McNaught (former journalist for Al Jazeera), Nafeez Ahmed (investigative journalist for InsurgeIntelligence), and David Wallace-Wells (author of The Uninhabitable Earth) in a conversation chaired by Rupert Read (academic and a Green Party campaigner). 

Zoë Blackler, from the Extinction Rebellion press team, said: “We urgently need brave and honest reporting on the dire emergency we’re facing. Journalists have a vital role to play in turning this crisis around. By speaking the truth they can mobilise the public to demand government action. Journalists have been behind some of the greatest acts of truth telling, exposing the massacre of innocent civilians, mass surveillance by security services and financial and political corruption by the wealthy and powerful. So we’re thrilled to be taking part in this gathering of brilliant independent thinkers who aren’t afraid to tell the truth.”

Prof Rupert Read, co-curator of the festivals Future Dome stage and Extinction Rebellion spokesperson, said: “Time is running out. Solving the Climate and Ecological Crisis is the greatest and most complex challenge that we have ever faced, and we urgently need to work together in order to do so. The Byline festival has activism and telling the truth at its heart, which is why it fits so well with our demands. It’s exciting that our two organisations will be able to come together this weekend to inspire people to act to help preserve our planet.”

Anna Hyde, festival coordinator at Extinction Rebellion said: “We are very grateful to Byline as a bastion of independent journalism and free speech, for inviting us along and being so supportive. We are looking forward to engaging with those who can help us Tell the Truth about the urgent challenges we all face from the climate and ecological emergency. We also have the Extinction Rebellion Art blockers so please bring along a piece of clothing that you would like to have printed and become a Rebel!”

The Rebel Rebel stage is also host to music, performance, comedy, poetry, yoga and meditation. Please see online for more details

Workshops at the Rebel training stage include; Inductions, Non Violence Direct Action training, Arrestee welfare, grief workshop and art blockers training

What is ecocide?

Ecocide is the extensive damage to ecosystems. Extinction Rebellion demand that the legal system make ecocide law in order to protect the planet. This global law that would make corporate executives and government ministers criminally liable for the damage they do to ecosystems. More info here https://www.stopecocide.earth/

Notes to editors:

If you’d like to arrange an interview with a spokesperson, or just meet up for a chat about how we can help you report on the emergency, contact us on:

Contact us on: +44 7918 165046 / +44 7938 395439

Rebel Rebel stage line up: https://www.bylinefestival.com/xr19

This Is Not A Drill: An Extinction Rebellion Handbook.

About Extinction Rebellion:

Time has almost entirely run out to address the ecological crisis which is upon us, including the 6th mass species extinction, global pollution, and abrupt, runaway climate change. Societal collapse and mass death are seen as inevitable by scientists and other credible voices, with human extinction also a possibility, if rapid action is not taken.

Extinction Rebellion believes it is a citizen’s duty to rebel, using peaceful civil disobedience, when faced with criminal inactivity by their Government.

Extinction Rebellion’s key demands are:

1. Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.
2. Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
3. Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.

What emergency? | Extinction Rebellion in Numbers

Get involved

• In the UK, come to one of our events, join the Rebellion Network and let us know how you can help out.
• Start a group where you are: in the UK or around the world.
• Find your local group.
• Check out the International XR website, with links to the French, German, Italian and UK websites.
• And while your time and energy are of most importance, if you are financially able to donate money, see our crowdfunder.

About Rising Up!

Extinction Rebellion is an initiative of the Rising Up! network, which promotes a fundamental change of our political and economic system to one which maximises well-being and minimises harm. Change needs to be nurtured in a culture of reverence, gratitude and inclusion while the tools of civil disobedience and direct action are used to express our collective power.

About Byline Festival

The Byline Festival is a festival whose aim is to promote independent journalism and free speech. The festival was founded by Stephen Colegrave and Peter Jukes in 2017. Its tagline is “Dance, Discuss, Laugh and Change the World”.

Social media hashtags: #bylinefest2019 #extinctionrebellion

Schedule of Talks and events:

Opening Ceremony

Media Circus

20:00 – 20:30 Opening show – Extinction Rebellion funeral with citizens of the world choir, John Mitchensen, Stephen Colegrave and Peter Jukes 

20:30 – 21:00 Extinction Rebellion funeral with Selena Godden and Birgitta

Extinction Rebellion Rebel Rebel stage

Friday 23 August 

13:30 – 15:00 Heading for Extinction

15:00 – 16:00 How civil disobedience works

Saturday 24 August

10:30 – 11:30 Roger Hallam on Extinction Rebellion, What is has achieved and what’s next

12:00 – 13:00 This is not a drill: An Extinction Rebellion Handbook

13:30 – 14:30 Decolonising Environmentalism

15:00 – 16:00 Deep Adaptation: Getting Real about the climate apocalypse

16:30 – 17:30 In Conversation with Gavin Turk

Sunday 25 August

10:00 – 10:30 Extinction Rebellion explained

10:30 – 11:30 Where does it all fall apart, systems collapse

11:30 – 12:30 The Climate Science denial network

13:30 – 14:30 Citizens assembly afternoon, Part 1: Imagine if the world was not run by politicians

15:00 – 16:00 The Route to rapid decarbonisation (as part of the mock citizens assembly)

16:00 – 17:30 Byline mock citizens assembly (Part 3)

Monday 26 August

10:30 – 11:30 The Role of Youth Voice

12:00 -13:00 How to change the world through local government

13:30 – 14:30 People’ assemblies: Ideas for Byline’s future

Future Dome stage

Friday 23 August 

16:30 – 17:30 Future Environment: Desert Britain. How our water supply is running out – and faster than we realise

Sunday 25 August 

12 :00 – 13:00 Future Environment: What will we eat? Farming in a hostile climate

The Rebel Rebel stage is also host to music, performance, comedy, poetry, yoga and meditation. Please see online for more details

Workshops at the Rebel training stage include; Inductions, Non Violence Direct Action training, Arrestee welfare, grief workshop and art blockers training

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