ACTIONS

 WOMEN’S MARCH IN THE PARK

COME ANGRY. LEAVE INSPIRED. MAKE CHANGE.

In January we came together for the Women’s March Sydney – an uplifting affirmation that women and their allies are standing up and demanding equality. 99 days since since our history-making march, we are raising our voices again on 29 April 2017.

We invite all who joined us in January – and all who wish they had – to come together in solidarity and sisterhood to raise our voices in defence of women’s safety and health.

Bring your signs, your lunch, a picnic blanket and your friends to Prince Alfred Park. We’ll be holding a mass sit-in, hearing from inspiring women, enjoying music from performers and DJs, turning ideas into art, and learning advocacy skills from community leaders in workshops that will connect you with like-minded people across our city. As always, all genders are welcome.

At the March we pledged to volunteer in our communities, to pay attention to what our elected officials are doing and speak out, and to support women in the arts, politics, business and STEM.

We have been steadily working to fulfil our commitment to that pledge, and recognise that equality is a myth as long as women cannot control our health and safety.

Safety denied is equality deferred: Cuts to women’s shelters, the privatisation of rape victim phone counselling services, no legislated safe access zones for reproductive health services, and the shameful death toll of women murdered in domestic violence altercations – we live in a state of emergency.

The event will be a day to raise your voice for women’s health and safety. Tracey Spicer, well known veteran journalist is set to MC alongside a powerful lineup of speakers including:

Human rights activist Saba Vasefi

No Profit from Rape campaign leader Simone White

Aboriginal rights activist Bronwyn Penrith

UNSW SRC Women’s Officer Lizzie Butterworth

Abortion reform activist Darelle Duncan of End12

Women’s March Sydney co-founder Kate Taylor

We are delighted to welcome Tanzanian-Australian artist Malaika Green to the stage. Chicks with Decks will be spinning vinyl on the Ease Up Hi-Fi hand-made portable sound system into the afternoon, featuring DJ’s Sista Cini, Satva & Milky-T playing old skool RnB, Rockabilly, Soul, Funk, Hip Hop, Reggae and Dub in a ladies special.

A growing list of organisations have signed on to support Women’s March in the Park, including End12, No Profit from Rape and Time for Action.

Other stand-out partners include Grandmothers against Detention of Refugee Children NSW, Share the Dignity, Feminist Legal clinic and The University of Sydney Women’s Collective.

If you are interested in partnering with us, please email womensmarchsydney@gmail.com

Keep an eye on our Facebook event page for updates.


HUDDLES

Huddle (noun) – a small group of people holding an informal conversation

Starting in the first 10 days of February, we will gather together in neighbourhoods all over the world to define our next steps as a movement, and envision how to transform the energy we saw at Women’s Marches into local and national direct action. Here’s what you’ll need.

You don’t need to have done anything like this before – all you need to get started is a group of up to 15 people, a meeting space, a meeting facilitator to lead the discussion, and to register your Huddle on the official map.

The goals of your Huddle should be:

  • To get to know each other and build a community of support for action in your area.
  • To envision what it will take to mobilize our community to build the country and world we want.
  • To define a set of actions and strategies that our group will pursue in the coming weeks and months.

You, or another group facilitator, should guide the discussion, keeping in mind that the Huddle is meant to be positive, inclusive, and action-oriented. Please review this toolkit for host guidelines, a proposed agenda, tips for future actions, and other important resources for hosting a successful Huddle.

Huddles are intended to gather people with shared interests and concerns to build community within the context of local and global activism. Your group’s next steps will depend on the interests of your guests and the unique needs of your community. To get discussion started, we suggest that you think about issues impacting women in the areas of Health, Economic Security, Representation and Safety. For action ideas, think about how you could apply the Women’s March Sydney pledge promises to each issue that you’ve identified. Check out the Women’s March Sydney Facebook page for further inspiration.

The sky’s the limit for the kinds of actions your group can plan & most importantly, have fun!