Manchester has been home to the Alternative Futures and Popular Protest conference for 30 years. Originally organised by Colin Barker in the 90s, it continues to inform how activists and academics all over the world understand and create change through social movements.
Second day of UCU strike action heralds beginning of new ‘Winter of discontent’
The University and College Union (UCU), the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU), UNISON and the National Union of Students (NUS) joined forces for a march on Friday 25 November, travelling along Oxford Road to hear impassioned speeches in Manchester’s St Peter’s Square. The Meteor joined the rally to talk to those involved.
UCU members vote for strike action in ‘historic’ ballot
University and College Union (UCU) members voted overwhelmingly for strike action last month, to increase pay and improve conditions (81.1%) and reverse cuts to pensions (84.9%) in ‘historic’ ballot. If the dispute remains unresolved, up to 70,000 workers across 150 universities will strike over three days at the end of November.
Malika Booker: ‘Museum for the countless Mothers of Black bodies dead in state custody’
Inspired by Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Malika Booker created this poem for inclusion in A Poetic Declaration, commissioned for the Ripples of Hope Festival at HOME in Manchester, in September.
School children across Greater Manchester are creating a new Poetic Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which will be unveiled online on 10 December – Human Rights Day.
Hulme residents oppose new student tower blocks and call for community facilities
Hulme residents took to the streets to make their opposition clear to more student tower blocks. “There is nothing else for older people here,” says Sally, who has lived in Hulme since 1969.
‘We’re going to stay here for as long as it takes’ – Ryebank Fields camp occupiers demand a development rethink
Setting up a protest camp in Ryebank Fields, campaigners are calling for Manchester Metropolitan University to rethink their plans to sell the land for development. The camp occupiers call for community control of the land to use as a recreational green space and a haven for wildlife.
Campaigners fear for the fate of these popular poplar trees near Ryebank Fields
Campaigners can’t get a clear answer from Trafford Council and Manchester Metropolitan University about which side of the border these trees lie. They fear the trees could be felled to accommodate a controversial proposed development on Ryebank Fields. Andrea Sandor discovers the location of the boundary is indeed under discussion.
Bytes won’t feed a family – the widening educational digital divide during Covid
The Covid crisis is driving a wedge into the digital divide in education due to the growth in online teaching during lockdowns.
Growing unemployment is producing more families that will have to decide whether to buy bytes online to aid their children’s education, or put food on the table.
Protestors blast Manchester Metropolitan University for attempting to fence off Ryebank Fields
Manchester Metropolitan University workmen attempted to put up permanent fencing around Ryebank Fields yesterday morning allegedly because of the presence of “potentially hazardous material”. Protestors argue hazardous material is buried deep underground, and that MMU’s planned development and resulting disturbance of the land is the real cause for concern.
Four international journalists, who graduated in Manchester, report on their Covid-19 lockdown experiences
Four International Students who graduated at Manchester Metropolitan University discuss the impact of Covid-19 around the world, finding many similarities and a shocking tendency for misinformation and conspiracy theories to spread faster than Covid-19. Four friends from four different countries all graduated as Journalists in Manchester. We may now be living worlds apart, but we […]