This decision-making process was grueling. No, we’re not just saying that, it was extremely difficult to decide amongst incredibly capable, driven & audacious activist initiatives. The eclectic group of Guerrilla Grantees of the Autumnal Closed Call of 2017 are all on display below. We had a stronger focus on the Movement area during this call, since we had more Backbone grants in Spring & you can find out more about our funding areas here. We really do encourage you to visit the websites of these initiatives & follow their social media pages to get a full taste of their activism-awesomeness. We’ll be posting ‘feature’ posts for each of our grantees in the coming weeks, with greater details on what we’re funding for each one, but for those looking for a quick overview, the synopses follow in no particular order:
NEON (New Economy Organisers Network)
NEON is a network of over 1,600 UK organisers from 900 different civil society groups. They run powerful trainings and support campaigns to help progressives win social, economic & environmental justice.
The Rules is a worldwide network of activists, artists, writers, farmers, peasants, students, workers, designers, hackers, spiritualists and dreamers, linking up, pushing the global narrative in a new direction. They focus on five strategic areas that are in desperate need of radical reform: Money, Power, Secrecy, Ideas and The Commons. They explore world-changing ideas, dig up dirt on corporations & corrupt CEOs, hurl metaphysical stones at governmental & societal repression, and offer material support to emerging movements & spontaneous activist fissures, wherever they occur.
The Red Line Campaign (Linha Vermelha)
A national campaign against dirty energy, particularly oil and gas drilling across Portugal. The campaign uses effective visuals via red lines, knitted by activists, and members of the local community standing up to gas and oil exploitation. The movement is national and aims to mobilise communities across Portugal however with also close international ties and a growing network of clean energy allies. This campaign is also receiving support from a local ecovillage partner, the healing biotope Tamera.
A small collective that is engaged in the fight against gas, fracking, mining – the works. Their aim is to support grassroots groups who fight new gas infrastructure, facilitate the flow of information between NGOs & local groups, connect people and help build a movement that will stop gas and bring an energy transition.
Ministry of Space – Ne Davimo Beograd (Let’s not Drown Belgrade)
The Ministry of Space is a Serbian nonprofit promoting the “right to the city” and fostering citizens’ participation in urban development and urban resources management,
contributing to development of a just city and society. Members of Ministry of Space come from various academic backgrounds: architecture, political science, anthropology, construction engineering, etc. One of their initiatives, ‘Ne da(vi)mo Beograd (Don’t let Belgrade d(r)own) is movement that brings together organisations & individuals interested in urban and&cultural policies, sustainable city development & fair use of common resources. They are a diverse group of people gathered around a common goal: putting an end to the degradation and plunder of Belgrade on behalf of megalomaniacal urban & architectural projects, primarily the “Belgrade Waterfront” project.
An emerging union, that is strong and member-led, that listens to and empowers London renters, in all their diversity. It is fairly well known that London’s private renters are getting a rotten deal, tenancies are too short, disrepair is too common, and rents are higher than almost anywhere in the world. However, across Europe there are examples of more humane systems, where renters can access affordable, decent and secure homes. This union will stand with and for London’s private renters: a union that will fight for a fair deal for renters and build the power needed to transform London’s housing system.
ZEMOS98 is a team of cultural workers. They try to create critical thinking, and to deconstruct the mass-media messages, to weave networks, relationships & communities. They try to work (g)locally, behind the borders. They try to organise a Festival every year and try to create a New Media Laboratory called 98LAB to learn about this things. So, basically, they try things.
The Smart CSOs Lab is an international network of civil society leaders, researchers and funders aiming to develop and put into practice strategies that embrace the cultural and systemic root causes lying behind the social and environmental crises of our times. They believe that civil society organisations (CSOs) have a crucial role to play in catalysing transformative social and economic change, yet new ideas and strategies are needed to address the challenges we face. This journey demands overcoming the dominant paradigm of economic growth as well as shifting from today’s dominant culture of consumerism and nationalism towards a culture of wellbeing with simpler living and a sense of planetary solidarity and identity.
