Barton, Kat

This is one of those rare books that transforms the way you think about a well-worn topic. Written mainly for those with an interest in process and the ways in which organisations function, it presents readers with a new organisational model with the potential to completely alter the way we structure our groups, businesses, schools, hospitals and indeed any organisation of any kind.

Author Frederic Laloux conducted research with people working in organisations across a wide range…

All over Britain, people came together to commemorate Hiroshima and Nagasaki Days. There were vigils, ceremonies and tree plantings whilst other people chose to raise awareness by leafleting, fasting or floating peace lanterns. This is a round-up of a few of the events that took place:

In Southampton, over 100 people gathered at Bitterne Park United Reformed Church Hall for a meeting with the Mayor, Cllr Edwina Cooke, and Bruce Kent. After the meeting the audience and speakers viewed…

The atmosphere when I arrived with most of the other campers at 12.30pm and throughout the day was excellent – there were workshops all afternoon, a working kitchen, compost toilets, a farmers market, music - samba, Céilidh, guitars, folk bands – a real carnival feel. The event was entirely peaceful all day with the police calm and friendly, some walking through the camp, at least one holding a daffodil and at least one seen hugging a protester!

At 7pm, the mood changed…

Climate campaigners won an important victory at the end of January when multinational oil company Shell was ditched as sponsor of the annual Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine `Wildlife Photographer of the Year' exhibition.

The campaign against Shell's sponsorship of the exhibition was co-ordinated by direct action group Rising Tide and was part of its Art Not Oil campaign which seeks to end oil industry sponsorship of arts and culture. Art Not Oil used creative direct…

Not only did the Nepali democracy movement manage to effectively de-throne the hated King Gyanendra (see p4), but an historic ruling in December saw the Supreme Court legitimise gay rights in the Kingdom. The landmark judgement came after four activists from the Blue Diamond Society - Nepal's only organisation fighting for the rights of sexual minorities - filed a public interest litigation back in May 2007.

Not only did judges order the enactment of new laws protecting the rights…

America's largest annual gathering of peace and human rights activists took place last month when over 20,000 people demonstrated at Fort Benning - the US Army's training school for Latin American military and security personnel. Formerly known as the School of the Americas (SOA), it has been renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) although its role remains the same: providing training for the military officers who have gone on to commit human rights abuses…

Last month, over a thousand Iraqis took to the streets of Baghdad in protest at the building of a separation wall in the poor, mainly Shi'ite neighbourhood of al-Washash.

It is not the first wall to be built in the city: the US military - which regards separation walls as a centrepiece of its strategy to end sectarian violence in the area - began construction of a three- mile, 3.6-metre-high concrete wall in April and are currently in the process of erecting more in at least five…

After 22 years of debate, negotiation and hard work by campaigning groups, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has finally been approved by the UN General Assembly, by an overwhelming majority of 143 to 4, with 11 abstentions. The declaration recognises indigenous peoples' ownership of their lands, and affirms that they should not be moved without their free and informed consent.

In another long-awaited ruling - this time by the Supreme Court in the Philippines -…

`Tara is, because of its associations, probably the most consecrated spot in Ireland, and its destruction will leave many bitter memories behind it'. Those were the words of WB Yeats and others in a protest letter to The Times in 1902, when the Hill of Tara was last threatened. Over a century on, it seems little has changed as the Irish government pursues its plans to build a motorway though one of the most important archaeological sites in Europe.

There are already forty known…

Residents of the Palestinian village of Bil'in were celebrating last month after the Israeli High Court decided in favour of their petition calling for a change in the route of the illegal separation wall which encircles their village. The victory comes after 30 months of weekly nonviolent resistance actions by locals as well as Israeli and overseas activists. X At the beginning of September, two intrepid activists set off on an ambitious six-month journey through Europe in search of small-…

The biennial Defence Systems & Equipment International (DSEi), one of the largest arms fairs in the world, has once again been met with protests in East London, where it has been held since 1999.

The recently announced decision by publishing company Reed Elsevier to pull out of organising the event has rightly given anti-arms trade activists cause to celebrate. But judging by the unusually low turnout at this year's “Day of Action Against DSEi” on 11 September, it would seem…

There was a lot of good news to do with the Climate Camp, including the fact that BAA tried to get an injunction which could have applied to five million people anywhere near Heathrow, and instead got an order against three individuals - who were legally entitled to go to Climate Camp because it was outside the area described in the order!

Despite gaining government consent to go ahead, the German-based chemical company, BASF, has abandoned its plans to carry out GM potato trials in Yorkshire. The decision comes just weeks after protesters staged an organic potato planting action on a site near Hull which was believed to be earmarked for GM.

Following recent media attention over the BAE affair and a significant campaign success when global publishing company, Reed Elsevier, announced it will no longer be organising…

The Bush Administration was dealt another blow over Iraq in April after three of its top generals turned down a new high-profile post tasked with overseeing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The retired generals were approached by the White House but rejected the job, with one citing the chaotic way the war was being run as the reason for his decision.
Climate activists have once again been busy in the East Midlands area -- this time disrupting work at the Ratcliffe-on-Soar coal-…

Seven British doctors recently embarked on a 10-day visit to the Dove and Dolphin International Medical Centre in Gaza to spend time with Palestianian doctors and medical students. The doctors hope to collect information on common medical problems which they will then collate and offer for publication in medical journals.

In March, 138 academics from 17 countries signed an open letter to academic publisher Reed Elsevier, demanding an end to its role in the arms trade. Reed's…