15 May 2007 - International
— Here's the challenge - on May 27th, join
other whale defenders in a global gathering
to support the whales - by taking to the
streets for the Big Blue March. It's a simple
task - make contact with other whale defenders,
and get together in your city or town wearing
a blue t-shirt to form a Sea of People!
You can join Big Blue marches planned from
Amsterdam to Buenos Aires - or organise
your own event. Some people aim to march
down a major street, others to hold a family
"fun day." In other places, whale
events with food, music and guest speakers
are happening. People are even having whale
parties at their house! Run, dance, swim,
skate - do whatever you gotta do, just do
it blue!
Why May 27th? While the Big Blue March
takes place, the International Whaling Commission
Meeting (IWC) will be in session in Anchorage,
Alaska. At the IWC, diplomats from around
the world make crucial decisions on the
fate of whales throughout in our oceans.
At last year's meeting, 33 countries -
led by pro-whaling Japan - voted in favour
of the "St. Kitts Declaration,"
essentially an attempt to restart commercial
whaling, which has been banned since 1986.
Since then, whale defenders - like you
- have been busy, helping to motivate countries
around the world to protect the whales.
Really busy! Recent months have seen several
countries joining or rejoining, like Peru,
Cyprus, Slovenia, Croatia, Costa Rica and
Ecuador - or even swapping sides to vote
for the whales, like Nicaragua.
A short time ago, Ecuador decided to rejoin
the IWC - and to vote for the whales. Last
year, Nicaragua was one of the countries
voting for commercial whaling - now they're
on the whales' side. The decisions of these
governments have been massively influenced
by people who signed petitions, sent emails
and artwork to the government of Ecuador,
or turned up on the doorstep of Nicaraguan
embassies with huge cut-out whale flukes
to form a symbolic "whale graveyard."
In Iceland, where the whaling ban has been
ignored, the government is now in a quandary
over the future of whaling, following sustained
pressure - more than 70,000 people have
signed a pledge promising to visit Iceland
if the government stops whaling. With every
tourist worth about US$1,169 to Iceland's
economy, is it any wonder that the government
is pausing for thought?
Activism works, folks - so let's show the
world that we want the whales protected.
Here's list of Big Blue March cities so
far - but we need more. Can you help?
Anchorage (Alaska)
Valparaiso (Chile)
Queensland (Australia)
Madrid (Spain)
Lisbon (Portgual)
Mexico City (Mexico)
Bogota and Cali (Colombia)
Amsterdam (Netherlands)
San Pablo (Brazil)
Quito (Ecuador)
Caracas (Venezuela)
Buenos Aires Rosario Mendoza and Cordoba
(Argentina)
San Jose (Costa Rica)
Find out more about events in your city,
or start your own Big Blue March
Join the Fickr Big Blue March Group and
post your photos!
Get organised - use Whale Defender Robbiebow's
Big Blue Day Blog to publish your event.
Post it at protest.net too!
