Representatives from Occupy Edinburgh travelled to London last weekend to attend the first UK and Ireland conference since the Occupy Movement began. Edinburgh attendees joined others from over 15 occupations, from Glasgow to Cardiff, to Cork and the Isle of Wight gathered to discuss their progress during the first 5 weeks of the worldwide movement.
Occupiers vowed to remain in constant contact and to reconvene every month in different cities. Other attendees from around the UK were from Bristol, Brighton, Bath, Bradford, Norwich, Newcastle upon Tyne, Plymouth, Sheffield, Nottingham, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Exeter and Leeds.
On Saturday, delegates from numerous occupations gave short speeches outside St Paul’s describing the evolution of their camps, which formed after the movement went global on October 15th. The activists re-convened for discussion on Sunday in the “Bank of Ideas” – an empty four-story building owned by Swiss Bank UBS, which members of Occupy London moved into last Friday.
Representatives from Occupy London said:
“We have come together in London this weekend on behalf of our respective occupations. We have created connections, shared experiences and collaborated on our ideas through consensus. We unite to make change. We have resolved to meet again over the weekend of 17-18th December in order to continue building the UK-Ireland Occupy network.”
Safer Spaces policies among camps were shared as well as reoccurring issues experienced by several cities. One particular hardship, which has been faced by many occupations, was the attraction of some disenfranchised members of society who engage in, and suffer from, drug and alcohol abuse. There was a clear consensus from UK and Ireland occupiers that camps cannot be used as safe havens for substance abuse; steps are being taken across the board to immediately implement a more stringent policy.
A comprehensive collection of contact details is being established so that occupations can work together to eradicate common problems faced by almost all camps. Working groups will have immediate contact with one another so that the Edinburgh Love Police could contact London’s Tranquillity Team to discuss camp safety for instance.
Countless occupations in England have received threats of violence from the English Defence League, with Occupy Newcastle’s Camp being attacked by the far-right group. Occupy Edinburgh, also experienced trouble with members of the Scottish Defence League last week, but the many conferring occupations promised to work together to eliminate threats of violence. Advanced communications between camps now mean that occupations can collaborate and synchronise actions and events around the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
