UPDATE: Our main families site is now at Trafalgar Square :-)

WELCOME TO THE REBELLION!

We’re very glad you’re here. This document aims to answer any practical questions you may have and address concerns so that you feel informed about what it means to come to Rebellion with your family, and equipped to plan your visit.

Please note there are two other documents available to ensure you have a safe and fun rebellion with your family, and feel confident about taking care of the emotional wellbeing of your children. These are called a ‘Guide for Families Attending Actions’ (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RxnH0olOT95FGUYrkn1ayyVXPa44wcm1h8MSp89r7AI/edit?usp=sharing) and ‘Family Risk Action Plan’ (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s5hfZM1I1fK1Uo9kynFzvJEHCD0MtGzQAl1H2PifguQ/edit?usp=sharing).

There is also a document aimed at parents bringing children under five to climate activism protests (based on our experience as Extinction Rebellion Families so far): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tTu3L88WZjXhc42TS9gwU6opQwqYNk91NV02uxY_SFc/edit?usp=sharing

The main families site is based at The Mall. The theme for our site is ‘The Future is Here’.

#EVERYBODYNOW

Come and join us. It’s that simple. You don’t need to do, bring, or be anything, just come. You will be guaranteed a warm welcome.

Equally, if you would like to help out in any way, and feel like you want to join in, or if you can offer a skill/activity, email extinctionrebellionfamilies@gmail.com or come to find a co-ordinator on the day (we will be the noisy funny people around, and some of us will be wearing a green sash). If you fancy coming along with cake, or a craft activity, it would go down a treat!

You are welcome with your newborn. You won’t be the only new mum there. Children of all ages with all their needs, are welcome. Our aim is to create a feeling of extended family.

Come for as little or as long as you would like. Come for a day, a few days, a week, or just an hour. It’s all needed. It will all make a difference - your visit will make an impact. There will always be something going on, and likeminded rebels to spend time with.

If you want to make contact with the organisers beforehand, email extinctionrebellionfamilies@gmail.com.

OUR PLANS FOR OCTOBER REBELLION SO FAR:

We will have a main XR Families and XR Kids Area in “The Future is Here” site at the Mall where we will hold program for families from 11:30am until 6:30pm everyday. Here is our event calendar for the first week, so far: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SS3qkJihVl337D6rhGTwqAr9lnvJE5V5/view?usp=sharing

This includes a program of wellbeing sessions for parents, carers and families, covering topics such as talking to children about the climate emergency and parenting during times of crisis, parent support groups and sessions where children can explore (in a playful and age-appropriate way) their feelings about climate change. These will be run by experienced children’s practitioners and qualified therapists. You will be able to find more information on the session Facebook event pages, which will be listed here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/ExtinctionRebellionFamilies/events/?ref=page_internal

In addition we will have family support areas in all other 10 sites with art and craft activities and some of them will be running some scheduled activities that will be on our social media.

As well as on-site program, Extinction Rebellion Families and Extinction Rebellion Kids will also run Satellite Actions:

GETTING THERE, STAYING OVER AND ON-SITE FACILITIES

  • We are offering free accommodation via families based in London who have spare rooms available. Email extinctionrebellionfamilies@gmail.com and Maria will be on hand to help you
  • Some families will also be camping on our “The Future is Here” site and you are welcome to join us for that. October camping can be cold and wet so bring lots of things for warmth! You will need to bring your tent, warm sleeping bag, warm clothes, a lantern, plates and cutlery, flask and water bottle. The rebellion has a no-disposables policy so these things will not be provided. There’s a suggested kit-list on our full briefing for the rebellion website page. We will have compost toilets on site and there will also be a phone charging station.
  • The kitchen on site will be serving vegan food. It may take some time to get the kitchen up and running so, if you can, bring a picnic to share for the first day. If your child has dietary restrictions it would be better, if possible, for you to bring their food for the first day and email us on  extinctionrebellionfamilies@gmail.com and we will be able to help guide you to shops near to our site where you will be able to find specific items you need
  • If you need financial assistance to make it possible to travel to London, please email extinctionrebellionfamilies@gmail.com, setting out the cost of your travel and your contact details. We are running an ongoing fundraising campaign, including during rebellion, and may be able to offer some travel subsidies (without being able to make any guarantees at this point)
  • We understand that it can feel more appealing to join with another family locally and travel down together. We may be able to help you find families in your area. Email extinctionrebellionfamilies@gmail.com stating which area you are from and we will try to help you make contact with the closest XR affinity group to you
  • On our site we will have secluded baby feeding and changing facilities and a travel potty, we would appreciate it if you could bring biodegradable potty bags.

TRAVELLING FROM MAINLINE STATIONS TO OUR SITE, AT THE MALL

  • We will be based on The Mall, at the Admiralty Arch end, near Trafalgar Square. It is easy to get to the Mall from all mainline stations in London

  • From Victoria Station to The Future is Here site (The Mall) - 10min Circle / District Line →  1stop (St James Park)  →  Walk across the park (9min walk).

  • From Kings Cross  to The Future is Here site (The Mall) -  24min Piccadilly line →  5 stops (Piccadilly Circus) → Walk a straight line down Waterloo Pl (3min walk)

  • From Charing Cross Station to The Future is Here site (The Mall) - - 10min walk from The Strand, crossing Admiralty Arch and Entering The Mall

  • From Waterloo Station to The Future is Here site (The Mall) - 14min Bakerloo Line →  1 stop (Charing Cross) →  walk from The Strand, crossing Admiralty Arch and Entering The Mall (10min walk)

  • From Paddington Station to The Future is Here site (The Mall) - 21min Bakerloo Line →  7 stops (Charing Cross) →  walk from The Strand, crossing Admiralty Arch and Entering The Mall (10min walk). Once here, if you want to travel between sites, they are all walkable - from a journey time of around 10 minutes to 30 minutes

THE SCHEDULE, PARTICIPATION AND COMMUNICATION ON THE DAY

  • You can find the schedule for families at “The Future is Here” site located at The Mall on our Facebook pages Extinction Rebellion Families and XR For Families (London Based)
  • Follow @xr_families_London on Instagram and @XRFamilies on Twitter for info and updates
  • Our family activities are aimed at pre-school and school age children. For the first time we are collaborating with the newly created XR Kids, catering for children aged around 9-15. They are in charge of their own programming! They are focusing their activities after school hours and will be taking the main stage from 4:30-5pm every day. We will hold a few open mic sessions which your child is very welcome to join
  • Our site is home to a diverse range of communities for the rebellion, so there is also a general programme of talks and performances, much of which we expect to be of interest to parents and children
  • There will also be schedules available for the family areas at some of the other sites
  • All schedules will be shared through our social media channels

For live updates and communication on the day follow @xr_families_London on Instagram and @XRFamilies on Twitter

  • This will provide details about what’s on, as well as live status of sites, police blocks, accessibility etc.
  • We will do our best to provide updates throughout the day, helping you to plan your journey to Rebellion - and get home again at the end of day, with minimum delay, particularly if you have school pick ups etc

ON-SITE TRAINING AND PREPARATION BEFOREHAND

  • If you are wondering about how to liaise with your school with regard to your child’s absence we recommend checking out the resources produced by Parents 4 Future, an organisation heavily involved with the monthly Youth Strike movement - see the website here: https://www.parentsforfuture.org.uk/resources
  • Inductions and the foundational training for XR, the ‘Non Violent Direct Action’ training will be offered regularly on all sites - once you arrive, look out for the Training Tent and the white board showing what time the trainings are for that day
  • If you would like to receive any other documentation from a legal perspective, please email extinctionrebellionfamilies@gmail.com and we can share some documents

BROADER CONCERNS ABOUT POLICE PRESENCE, RESPONSE AND LIKELIHOOD OF ARREST

We appreciate that this is a top of mind concern. Extinction Rebellion uses nonviolent mass civil disobedience as its core tactic. This puts us into an oppositional position with the state, and there are consequences of that. The value that XR upholds above all others is that of nonviolence. The peaceful way in which we carry out mass civil disobedience is hugely powerful in ensuring we are met with a peaceful response.

The coverage of arrests has also dominated much of the narrative. We appreciate therefore that there are reasonable concerns from parents about the likelihood of arrest. Our experience is that the probability of arrest of those not wishing to be arrested is very low/negligible and that you will be given the chance to walk away by before any arrests are made. In our experience, the act of observing arrests has not been distressing. Of course, that is not to say we can guarantee this will always be the case. If arrests start to be made nearby, there will be multiple opportunities to step away. We will prioritise the safety of families and will be relaying messages about whether it’s a good time to step away - the wider site will also be sharing communications. Our site, “The Future is Here” is located by St. James Park and has a very porous boundary allowing multiple exit routes.

In April, the peacefulness of the protesters was met 100% by a peaceful police response. There were over 1,000 arrests, and not one injury was sustained either to protestor or to policeman/woman. This is an incredible testament to the commitment to a non-violent movement.

Clearly, there are no assumptions being made that October will be exactly the same as April. The police are now more prepared for our tactics. There has been a change of Prime Minister. There have been even more upheavals recently with regard to Brexit. This is the context for October.

Behind the scenes, there is a skilled and experienced team at work, liaising with the metropolitan police about our planned actions. Police Liaison Co-ordinators will be at every site, every day. We have our own dedicated Police Liaison volunteer for the Family Site and we will be in constant communication and sharing any key updates about what to expect, what is happening on the ground etc. The feedback right now is that there is no reason to expect a different or more heavy-handed response by the police to the protestors.

If you have any further concerns or want more information, please email extinctionrebellionfamilies@gmail.com detailing the nature of your enquiry.

That’s it for now. A lot of effort is going into making this an effective, empowering and impactful rebellion. And for the team at XR Families, making it a fun, nourishing, joyful and enriching experience. Our children have had an amazing time at actions - the memories we are taking away have been in some ways unexpected, in the amount of joy and love we have experienced.

Come along and see for yourself. Rebellion needs you. We can’t wait to meet you.

With love and rage,

 Extinction Rebellion Families