Have a questions about protest? Ask an expert!

15 January 2021

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The Burnet News Club gives you a chance to ask questions of experts on protest, and this term is no different!

WE AWARD STARS FOR THE BEST QUESTIONS ABOUT PROTEST- asking fantastic questions and listening to an expert's view are great examples of how to earn stars for our speaking and listening skills. We then pick 5 questions for each expert and publish their answers for you to see (see an example here!).

So, who have we got for you?

Peter Tatchell has been campaigning for human rights, democracy, LGBT+ freedom and global justice since 1967. The Sunday Times newspaper describes him as a “a national hero” and The Independent calls him “one of the most influential gay men of this century”. Read more about him here, and watch the video below where Peter talks about his groundbreaking work for LGBT+ rights (recorded in 2016). We're now running a competition to ask questions to Peter Tatchell - submit your entry here!

Kajal Odedra is an author and activist. Her book "Do Something; activism for everyone" is described as a "step by step guide to making positive change". Kajal is also UK Executive Director of Change.org who help more than 200 million people in 196 countries are creating change in their communities through petitions.

Robin Boardman is a co-founder of Extinction Rebellion - one of the protest groups you are learning about in your sessions. Robin has been a part of a number of civil disobedience campaigns in the UK, including a hunger strike against Heathrow airport expansion and coordinating the mass rebellion in London that led to the UK declaring a climate emergency in May 2019.  See him interviewed on Sky News here.

Khady Gueye is a community organiser and activist; student and director of the Local Equality Commission, which supports black and ethnic minority groups in rural areas. in 2020 Khady has organised a Black Lives Matter protest even in the face of opposition from the local council - watch the video below. Warning - the video contains very strong language, but bleeped out, and personal accounts of racial abuse.

Monique Bouffle of Liberty. Monique is part of the team which gives the public legal human rights advice, and produce "know your rights" guides - which cover protest rights among other things. Monique was also the driving force behind the "know your rights" bust cards we have produced since June for people attending Black Lives Matter protests. Physical cards have been handed to thousands of protestors across the country, and you can see the digital version here.

Rob Harrison is co-founder and co-editor at Ethical Consumer.

Ethical Consumer provides the information and tools on the background to things people buy. For example, if a company tests on animals, or contributes significantly to climate change. This lets customers know if their shopping choices are having a good or bad impact on the world. Rob is keen to answer your questions about boycotts and how people can make a change by refusing to buy certain products. See Rob talk in the video below!

Add your question below, telling us who would you like to ask, for example:

I would like to ask a question to ...............

My question is.............

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