Currents
Don’t buy it
International ‘Buy Nothing Day’ was joyously celebrated across the world on November 24 (North America) and 25 (everywhere else).
International ‘Buy Nothing Day’ was joyously celebrated across the world on November 24 (North America) and 25 (everywhere else). From India to Indiana, Taipei to Toronto and Manila to Melbourne, shoppers floundering in the festive spending frenzy were encouraged, in a variety of creative/surreal ways, to ‘stop shopping, start living’. There were anti-corporate protests, brand-worshipping cults, community coat exchanges, Christmas card-making stalls, dancing monkeys, stands in front of Starbucks giving away free coffee, chic-looking bottles of NothingTM for sale. In London, a group known as the ‘Space Hijackers’ caused chaos in Nike Town and HMV by wandering round the stores wearing ‘Everything in this store is half price!’ T-shirts and looking helpful. In New York, a traffic-blocking BND parade was led by anticonsumerist performance artist/prophet Reverend Billy and his Church of Stop Shopping. The aim of the day was to get people to think about their consumerism habits, the social and environmental consequences our plastic-intensive, globally exploitative, throwaway lifestyles are having, and to suggest alternative things we can do with our time and money.
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Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
