Look at what pressure groups are, and some examples of famous pressure groups

2. What we’ll do in this lesson: • Look at what pressure groups are, and some examples of famous pressure groups • Design a class pressure group against the clock! • Present your campaign ideas to the ‘MP’ (your teacher) to see if they’d vote for it

3. What is a pressure group? ‘a group of people who try to influence the government and ordinary people’s opinions in order to achieve the action they want, for example a change in a law’. - Oxford English Dictionary

4. Can you name any pressure groups?

5. Amnesty ‘work to protect women, men and children wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied’

6. Greenpeace ‘defend the natural world and promote peace’

7. CND (the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) works to get rid of nuclear weapons

8. What is a nuclear weapon?

9. 6th August 1945: The atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima

10. How many nuclear weapons are there in the world? = nearly 14,500 in total

11. What tactics do CND use to try and get rid of nuclear weapons?

12. Marches

13. ‘Lobby’politicians

14. Publicity stunts

15. Petitions

16. Non-Violent Direct Action

17. (Social) Media

18. LGBT+ rights? Gender Equality? Environment? Animal testing? WHAT WOULD YOUR PRESSURE GROUP CAMPAIGN ON? Nuclear weapons? Anti-Racism? Anti-bullying?

19. WHAT WE WANT TO ACHIEVE

20. NAME YOUR PRESSURE GROUP

21. YOUR TASK: • Your teacher is an MP • You have a ‘week’ to create your campaign (5 minutes per day) • Convince your teacher to vote for your pressure group!

22. INTRODUCING… The Chair Will lead the campaign The Vice-Chair Will help lead the campaign

23. INTRODUCING… LOBBYING MPs • Will make a postcard for people to send

24. INTRODUCING… STALLS AND PETITIONS • Will create a petition for people to sign

25. INTRODUCING… PRESS DESK • Will tell the media what is happening

26. INTRODUCING… PLACARDS AND DESIGN • Will make a poster or placard to promote the campaign

27. INTRODUCING… MARCHES AND RALLIES • Will organise a march and a rally

28. INTRODUCING… MEDIA STUNTS • Will make a stunt to attract attention

29. MONDAYGet your head around the campaign

30. TUESDAYHave you got the money you need from the Treasurer?

31. WEDNESDAYCampaigns Meeting (1 representative from each group)

32. THURSDAYDid you want to book the Chair for your action?

33. FRIDAYVote Day – final preparations!

34. INTRODUCE EACH GROUP The Chair The Vice-Chair

35. FEEDBACK LOBBYING MPs • Share your postcard

36. FEEDBACK STALLS AND PETITIONS • Share your petition

37. FEEDBACK PRESS DESK • Share your press release and/or tweets

38. FEEDBACK PLACARDS AND DESIGN • Share your placard and/or poster

39. FEEDBACK MARCHES AND RALLIES • Share your march plans and rally speech

40. FEEDBACK MEDIA STUNTS • Share or act out your stunt

41. VOTE TIME!

42. OVER TO THE PRESS DESK MP, how will you vote?

43. DISCUSSIONS • WHAT WENT WELL? WAS ANYTHING DIFFICULT OR FRUSTRATING? • WOULD ANY OF THE GROUPS WORK ON THEIR OWN (E.G. JUST A PETITION, OR JUST A MEDIA STUNT)? • WHICH ACTIONS WOULD YOU BE PREPARED TO DO? WHICH WOULD YOU NOT DO, AND WHY?

44. ‘Power concedes nothing without a demand’ – Frederick Douglas, New York, 1857 Frederick Douglass was born a slave in Maryland in 1818. He escaped, and became a leader of the abolitionist movement (the campaign against slavery). He was famous for his powerful speeches and writings. He later became a US Ambassador to Haiti.

45. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” - attributed to the anthropologist Margaret Mead Raymond June ; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode ; cropped

46. How much do you know about your MP? www.theyworkforyou.com

47. How can you contact your representative? www.writetothem.com/