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Local groups

Manchester Amnesty had a busy February!

They kicked off the month with an Acoustic Amnesty Fundraiser in aid of Amnesty and Medical Aid for Palestinians at which they heard a complete cover of Marvin Gaye's 1971 Album ''What's going on?''
 

On 10 February the Press Freedom subgroup led by Lima (a group member) held a craftivism session and produced artworks in support of the final appeal against the extradition of Julian Assange.

At their February monthly meeting, the group took a screenshot of the members holding up orange hearts and messages in support of Together With Refugees ''Fair Begins Here'' campaign which was then posted on social media on 14 February. The group also signed an open letter to people seeking refuge in Manchester.

On 21 February, at the People's History Museum, primary school aged children and their parents came to do art-blocking of images onto preloved tee-shirts, to raise awareness of climate rights. Manchester Amnesty had a stall and encouraged children to take a badge and a rights passport (and their parents to join the group). The group was impressed by the children's knowledge on climate and its impact on human rights.

During February, the group also continued with their weekly vigils in Manchester City Centre for Palestine and Israel, each attended by 40-80 people, and have also continued to have the boards on which passersby can post messages on pink hearts.

Amnesty's local groups have participated in various acts of solidarity for Gaza, here are some of them:

Helen Robertshaw, chair of the Stockport Group was a guest speaker at an event called "a prayer for Palestine" at the beginning of March.

The event was one of a series in the South Manchester area organised by a friendship group of Muslim women wanting to build bridges with the Christian community. She made a presentation on Israeli Apartheid against Palestinians and was part of a discussion on practical ways we can raise this and the situation in Gaza as an issue with our MPs and in the community.

Since Christmas Eve a group of local people have been gathering in Diss Market Place each weekend to hold a silent vigil for Palestine and Israel. Their placards do the speaking and call for an immediate ceasefire, an end to the siege, an end to the occupation and an end to Israeli apartheid. Initiated by a Diss Amnesty member, these vigils have the full support of the Diss Group, many of whom attend each week.  

The Isle of Man group had an impressive turnout at their demo urging the Chief Minister of the Isle of Man, Alfred Cannan to back calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. The group had over 120 people turning up in support! It was reported by the BBC, ITV, and local papers, IOM Today and Gef IOM news. The group will continue this important local campaign urging the Chief Minister to issue a statement. Keep up to date with their campaign on their facebook page.

The North Norfolk group has been organising Peace Vigils in Cromer, Norfolk, over the last few months, on the weekends when there were no major marches in London etc. The vigils have been well-supported and received by the passing public. The group also gained a couple of new members, eager to join the vigils and to learn more about the local chapter's work!

July sees the 50th anniversary of the founding of Ipswich Amnesty Group.  Humah rights poem were read during a special service at The Unitarians.

The group was joined by Ipswich Mayor Cllr Elango Elavalakan, himself a Sri Lankan refugee and members of other faith groups. Afterwards he planted a commemorative rose and plaque. 

Each year, our groups take part in Prides across the UK.

Members of the Glasgow West group took part in the Pride March and Rally, which was held in Glasgow on 20 July.

Many thousands joined in the event as the march wound its way through the city centre, culminating in a large scale music event and stalls at the historic Barras area of the East End. Members held a stall and raised awareness of the work of Amnesty UK and encouraged attendees to sign current petitions. A number of people signed up to the Group’s mailing list and almost £110 was raised in donations, which will be used to support the Group’s campaigning activities.

Ely group had a stall at the 5th Pride in Ely on 3 August. According to the BBC over 6,000 people came. The group collected over 70 signatures for the Equal Rights in Ukraine petition, 60 people signed the letter for Pierina Nochetti, and a photo of the new local MP appeared in the Ely Standard wearing an Amnesty rainbow sticker on her chest!

The Kent Network has had a very busy summer of events and local stalls. This included attending Folkestone Pride and Margate Pride.

Student Groups

Amnesty student activists have done some brilliant campaigning this year, particularly through their dedication to the End Israeli Apartheid campaign. Over 10 Amnesty societies across the country were heavily involved in the encampments on their university campuses, drawing attention to the ongoing struggles of the Palestinian people and the complicity of UK universities in the genocide and ongoing apartheid.

At Queen's University Belfast, the Amnesty society worked closely with the 3D (Decolonise, Demilitarise and Democratise) campaign to demand immediate divestment from companies complicit in Israel's genocide. After a series of discussions, Queen’s agreed to start the process of divesting from arms companies and also develop a chancellor’s charter which every future chancellor would have to abide by.

In Durham, Amnesty student activists have launched a brilliant campaign called Safe Education, dedicated to addressing the culture and inadequate responses to harassment and sexual violence on university campuses. The group have had a really successful first year of campaigning, from their campaign being covered on the BBC, to creating their own anti-spiking campaign action that they ran across the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. 

For Write for Rights, Amnesty societies across the UK came together to host their very own letter-writing competition. Societies in universities such as Birmingham, Warwick, Nottingham and more competed to see which society could write the most letters for the 2024 Write for Rights cases. This was a creative and brilliant event that brought together student activists across the UK to support Amnesty's biggest campaign. 

In 2025, further education (FE) colleges joined the Amnesty Student Action Network! Whilst historically student groups have been based in universities, over the last year we have begun to more purposefully enter FE colleges and have been delighted to welcome a few colleges to our list of active students groups. We can't wait to see what other colleges join the movement this year!