Shoot Nations is an annual, global photography project including a competition, workshops and exhibitions on various continents. Each year focusses on a different global issue and the photographs produced are presented to the United Nations in New York.

Have your Say
This year’s theme is CITY LIVING. Whether living in the country, town or big city, we want to build a global picture of what urban environments mean to young people aged 11 – 25.

It doesn’t matter what sort of camera you have – phone camera, high-end digital, point-and-shoot, show us your view of city life. The best 48 images will be presented to the United Nations in New York on International Youth Day to represent youth opinion on this global issue.

Prizes
Win an all expenses paid trip to New York, digital SLR cameras, designer maps and National Geographic subscriptions, plus the chance to have your photo presented to the UN and included in the exhibition tour of seven global cities.

More info
shootnations.org
facebook.com/shootnations
twitter.com/shoot_nations

Related posts:

1. An Invite from the IYDU
2. Freshers 2010
3. Driving the Social Action agenda in 2010

Come to Georgia in June. Meet the President, campaign for freedom and explore the country. Food, drink,  internal  travel and sightseeing are free!

As a member of International Young Democrat Union, our organisation is entitled to send our youth activists to the IYDU Freedom Forum in Georgia, from 24 to 27 June. The Freedom Forum is a three day programme made up of political briefings, receptions, panel discussions and debates focused on democracy and political freedom. This year’s Freedom Forum will be hosted by the youth movement of the ruling United National Movement and speakers will include government ministers, representatives of international democracy foundations and the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili.  The programme will be divided into four distinct sessions – democracy, civil society, economic and personal freedom and security.  The focus will be on the recent experience of Georgia and the South Caucasus but will also be looking more widely at global developments in economic and personal freedom. All youth members of our organisation can attend the Freedom Forum.

IYDU events are always lots of fun and a great opportunity to network with like minded people from around the world. All meals are included and there will be also be cultural and sightseeing visits as part of the programme at no extra cost. There is a limited number of spaces available for this event and they are filling up fast, so be sure to register as soon as possible by visiting the IYDU website. If you have any questions about this programme, you can contact  the  IYDU Executive Secretary by e-mailing james.marriott@hoyre.no.

IYDU is the global alliance of centre right political youth organizations and connected youth organisations united by a common desire for greater freedom and less government. It’s members include 80 organizations from 50 countries and IYDU is recognised as the official youth network of the International Democrat Union.

Want to receive updates from IYDU about this and other events? Why not join the mailing list at IYDU or sign up to the Facebook group.

Related posts:

1. IYDU Council Meeting in Berlin, Germany
2. YBF Activist Training Conference 2009
3. The Student Life Tours are back

Back in October Eric Pickles launched the online shop on Conservatives.com:

Always wanted a ‘Honk for Change’ car sticker but never known where to get one? Ever wondered where you can buy an official Conservative baby-grow? Desperate to get your hands on a snazzy Conservative T-shirt?

Well chums, your prayers have just been answered – for today I’m delighted to announce the launch of the online Conservative Shop.

There’s a huge range of great stuff for you to buy, from traditional Party staples like diaries and umbrellas, to fun stocking-fillers like fridge magnets and posters, to mega-stylish T-shirts, sweatshirts and ties.

All proceeds go to the Party, so as well as getting yourself some great Conservative-branded goodies, you’ll also be helping our campaign to win the next election.

All Conservative 2010 diaries are now half-price, so cut the cost of Christmas by ordering yours from the Party shop today www.conservatives.com/shop.

And don’t forget that the Party Shop is the perfect place to pick up Christmas cards and last-minute presents for all the Conservatives in your life.

Visit the Party Shop now www.conservatives.com/shop

Related posts:

1. London CF Calls 4 Change @ Xmas
2. Supporting a good cause at Christmas
3. Young people turn to the Conservative Party for change

Name: Paul Nizhinsky
Role: Vice Chairman (Membership) for South Yorkshire CF

What makes you a Conservative?

Three reasons – family, freedom & free trade. All these things are under threat from socialism.

What are you currently working on?

I’m currently working on a website called Tory TV (www.tory-tv.com) that collects otherwise-lost TV shows with Conservative themes and stores them online. BBC’s drama ‘Margaret’ has already clocked up nearly 600 views since I uploaded it 3 months ago. I’ve also just started contributing to The Conservative Blog (theconservativeblog.wordpress.com) which gives expression to my love of writing, ideas and generally arguing a point.

Who is your political hero?

It’s a cliché, but I’ve always identified with Winston Churchill, particularly in his younger days. I actually watch ‘The Gathering Storm’ whenever I need to pick myself up. He was very stubborn but very driven and with a fiercely independent mind. However he was also an outsider and prone to the odd bouts of depression now and then, both of which I can identify with.

When do you think the next General Election will be?

As late as is constitutionally possible! Margaret Thatcher used to say that when she retired from politics she would set up a business called ‘Rent-a-Spine’. I imagine Gordon Brown would be a frequent customer!

Why should people get involved with organisations like Conservative Future?

If you believe in something then it’s your moral duty to do something about it. In Conservative Future you can actively fight for those principles through campaigning while also getting drunk and going to lots of meals with new friends. Not that these should be done at the same time of course!.

Related posts:

1. Student Life update from Paul Wells

A message from the ippr relating to an event they are hosting at Party Conference – they want feedback from CF members:

I’m Carey Oppenheim, Co-Director of the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr), the UK’s leading progressive think tank. You may have been to one of our events before, this will our fourth year at Conservative Party Conference.

Recognising that the debate dominating Conference this year is the future of politics itself as well as the economy, ippr is hosting a key event at each of the three main conferences where leading figures will discuss the way forward and implications for the General Election.

To open up the debate, ippr and Conservative Future are asking party activists for their ideas and opinions on how politics needs to change and the big issues facing the party and country. We will put your views directly to the politicians at our events. We feel this is particularly important in a climate where political trust has been badly battered. So we need to bring people into the heart of the debate. In this instance that means party members and others, not just the people who usually attend conference or the people on our panel. We want to include your views directly in the discussion.

IPPR believes that there are three key issues facing the Conservative Party at conference this year:

1. The debate about public spending cuts has exploded. If the government identifies priorities for cuts in the Pre-Budget Report, the spotlight will be on the Conservatives to show more of your hand. Can David Cameron convince the general public that Britain’s frontline services are safe with the Conservatives?
2. Does the Conservative Party have the new progressive ideas in politics? What are the favoured battlegrounds for the Election? Is the key to electoral success winning over voters who once voted for Tony Blair? What can David Cameron learn, if anything, from the Thatcher years?
3. What would a Conservative Government mean for Britain’s role and standing in Europe and the wider world? Will the Conservatives condemn Britain to isolation in Europe or can we create a Europe that is both more connected to the public and more effective?

These will be among the key issues in what promises to be a key event for the Conservative Party as you gear up for the general election of 2010. I hope you will contribute to the debate:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=7qw3FUXdVus5Bee9wDl5nw_3d_3d

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Over the years, the folks at Conservative Campaign Headquarters have produced a number of great T-shirts for Conservative supporters to wear. But now we want YOU to tell us what should go on our T-shirts.

We’re running a competition where one lucky person will see their idea for a Conservative T-shirt made up and sold at the Party Stand at this year’s Conference.

You don’t need to be a design guru to enter – just send us a suggestion for a funny slogan or a good image.

So get your thinking cap on and email your suggestions to tshirt@conservatives.com before Wednesday 9th September. For more information, read my blog post about the competition.

Good luck!

Eric Pickles

Related posts:

1. Shop For Change

Our friends at The Adam Smith Institute also put a strong focus on encouraging young people to become engaged within politics, as such, organise a varied program of events for students. Most recently launched is their essay competition, ‘Young Writer on Liberty 2009′:

To enter you will have to write three different articles on the subject of:

The Three Greatest Threats to Liberty in 21st Century Britain

The title of each article is entirely up to you.

1ST PRIZE:
- £500 cash prize
- 3 articles published on www.adamsmith.org/blog
- 3 books on the subject of liberty
- 2 weeks work experience at the ASI
- Invitation to the prize giving on our Summer Boat Party

2ND PRIZE:
- £250 cash prize
- 2 articles published on www.adamsmith.org/blog
- 2 books on the subject of liberty
- Invitation to the prize giving on our Summer Boat Party

3RD PRIZE:
- £100 cash prize
- 1 article published on www.adamsmith.org/blog
- 1 book on the subject of liberty
- Invitation to the prize giving on our Summer Boat Party

To enter:
- you have to be under 19 years of age at the time of entry.
- all articles must be under 400 words.
- the entry must reach us by the deadline of 15th June 2009

Please email andrew@adamsmith.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information

Related posts:

1. Enter our T-shirt competition

On April 11th 1979 Margaret Thatcher launched her election manifesto - Alistair Cooke wrote about this for the Blue Blog and it deserves to be reproduced (included were documents you can see below):

‘It was the first time’, Margaret Thatcher wrote later, ‘that the Conservative Party had ever fought so clearly on the theme that it was ”time for a change”.

Exactly fifty-five years earlier Stanley Baldwin had announced a great programme of change that was to relieve the hardship so long endured by millions of working- class families.

In 1979 Mrs Thatcher set out a programme with an even more ambitious aim: to reverse national decline which, during the previous ten years, had spiralled out of control.

Her manifesto for victory, launched on 11 April 1979, focused above all on two fundamental issues: taxation and irresponsible trade union power. There could be no national recovery without a successful resolution of these twin problems which had dragged Britain down.

To anyone who did not live through the dismal pre-Thatcher years it must seem almost inconceivable that a marginal tax rate of nearly 40 per cent once applied to incomes of £2,500 a year, just £50 a week — with a top rate of 83 per cent on earned income of £26, 000, and 98 per cent on investment income. Mrs T put the removal of these extraordinary punitive tax rates, previously unknown in our peace-time history, at the heart of her manifesto—for no greater disincentive to the creation of wealth, and the jobs it brings, could be imagined. Truly crippling taxation would be banished from Britain.

Her manifesto was no less clear that the stranglehold of militant trade unionism would be broken. This was almost entirely due to Margaret Thatcher personally. For years she had argued with lily-livered colleagues who were totally against firm action to restore order to industrial relations. At the start of 1979 she finally routed them, and specific commitments were added to the manifesto, then in draft. Secondary picketing would be outlawed, secret ballots introduced for union elections and the abuses of the closed shop removed.

Mrs T did not propose sweeping changes elsewhere. The manifesto’s short passages on the NHS and the social services simply promised to sustain and improve them. Only the National Freight Corporation was earmarked for privatisation. This showed Mrs T’s acute political instincts. The Labour Party wanted to try and portray her as a kind of furious axewoman in whose hands nothing would be safe. So she deliberately fought the election with a limited number of pledges to lay the foundations for national recovery. In any case until economic decline had been reversed it would be premature to announce wider plans for reform. They would come in due course.

Launching the manifesto at Conservative Central Office on this day thirty years ago, Mrs T emphasised that ‘ the whole strategy is that we must create extra wealth, produce more goods and services and increase the size of the national cake before we decide how that extra shall be sliced up. Everything in the manifesto is directed towards what we have been unsuccessful at in the last four or five years, creating the extra production, increasing the size of the national cake’.

The press the following day applauded her. Even The Guardian joined in with a leading article praising her ‘manifesto for freedom: the freedom of the individual to make his own choices instead of meekly accepting what the State decrees for him’. It had identified the central theme of Thatcherism as it was to unfold during the ensuing election campaign and beyond.

Minutes from the Shadow Cabinet meeting held immediately after Labour lost the vote of no confidence

Margaret Thatcher’s foreword to the manifesto

Transcript of ‘Campaign Report’ with David Dimbleby on the day of the manifesto launch

Related posts:

1. 5 min Q&A with…Paul Nizhinsky

Nic Conner took part in the pro capitalism protest yesterday outside the Bank of England. Below is an account of the day:

You have to give it to the Anarchists and Communists, this protesting lark is hard work. When I got up this morning I had no idea what was install as this would be my first protest. After my morning shower I popped on my suit, picked up my copy of Hayek’s Road to Serfdom and headed to Reading train station to get the train into London.

When I finally arrived at the Bank of England; after getting lost in the city, I found my fellow Pro-Free Market Capitalists. At the start it was just us, the media and some happy dancing hippies, so we reserved a lot of press attention. We had numerous photos taken and interviews with the worlds press, which was a good chance for us to use our YBF media training. I am not holding my breath though to see any of it broadcast as it looks like the UK press has taken a different editorial slant on todays G20 demonstration, but do look out in the papers to see our message getting out there.

Whilst we where chatting to Tim Montgomerie of Conservative Home, who came out in a suit, a sudden barrage of noise filled the air and like if to appear from thin air the protest was upon us. At this time we where standing on a island in the middle of the roads which was joined to the entrance of the Bank of England (museum, but don’t tell the protesters as they seemed to think it was the Bank itself) in the center of the island was the statue of the great conservative PM Wellington.

We headed to the edge of the island to the great crowd control barriers they put up. I stood with banner and Hayek in hand ready to stand up for Freedom, Liberty and the Great British way but only the media walking with the march seemed to notice. After that side filled up the other side of the island became full so we ran over there. There we met our first form of conflict. People where shouting to us “Capitalism is not working” but they soon were on their way after telling them that their Sony camera, the clothes they are wearing and the march they are on are all because of capitalism and the freedom which comes with capitalism.

We started getting people coming over and asking what we were doing or why we were supporting capitalism, we got into some excellent debates! The hard liners we never win over but after explaining our stance to people we began to win over the crowd; so much so we had a chap in Che Guevara tee shirt come over and hold up our banner.

Image: Tim Aker and Nic Connor (right) at the protest

It’s been said one of the biggest problem with right wing politics is that it is not explained to people so people don’t understand what we stand for. We told them we would like to get the Government’s nose out of economics and bring in an independent Bank of England with the power of regulation it had century’s before New Labour. It seems that the majority of the people we spoke to agreed with us and like us they do not understand why they did not fix the roof during the sunny days.

After listening to music from Billy Braggs; including Red Flag, (I found out from a radio interview on the way home he was bring out a new album and in true communist style was out to promote his album to make more millions) we decide to leave. Walking through the crowds we did not experience any agro. We found ourselves at the police barricades where ‘no one may leave’. We waited for 3 hours amongst the protesters, journalists and innocent bystanders. One poor lady thought to make use of the area being pedestrianized to cut through to an interview but when she got to the other side she was not aloud to leave. For the next 3 hours we chatted to the protesters, converting Communists to our way of thinking. People tried to make a run for it by running through the police line but they just ended up get arrested. A communist chap started chanting ‘Sorry I care about my children, Sorry I care about my country, Sorry I did not take a wee before coming here’ after the police would not let him throw to go to the WC.

We finally got out and went home past anti-capitalists in Starbucks. It was a great day and we did not have any bother. I must say the violent protesting the BBC are reporting was non existent from what I saw and looking at the footage of the RBS trashing (which is ironic as it is now state owned) you see 6 trouble makers surrounded by a press pack egging them on. We mange to convert some lefties to sound thinking and got our message out. We saw some real extremists like a group who had banners saying “MI5 was behind 7/7′ and people calling for the abolition of money.

Today we were a non party political group, just some individuals who joined up under the common idea of freedom and pro free market capitalism. We had a fun and productive day. If you are keen to join us on a counter protest one day I know the Freedom Association is looking to do more so keep your eyes open for future events.

Image: Tim Montgomerie

No related posts.

Ahead of the upcoming G20 conference this week the Atlas Network have started a Free Trade petition:

In cooperation with the International Policy Network and a worldwide group of think tanks, we are circulating this petition to combat recent moves toward harmful economic nationalism.  I urge you to sign it.  It is not yet a public effort, but please do share it with your colleagues, friends, and professional contacts.  The first unveiling of this petition will be April 1st before the G20 meetings in London.  It is a part of a much broader campaign that will be mobilized around the world to alert the public to the dangers of attempts to block trade and to revive positive efforts toward increasing freedom of trade.  We will have a series of videos on the benefits of trade, booklets, public events, and much more, available in a multitude of languages.

Besides English, this petition  is now  available in over 30 languages.  (Please see below).  We are working toward an authentically worldwide effort on behalf of freedom of trade.  Your help toward that end will be greatly appreciated.

If you would like more information, please contact my colleague David Archer.

Click here to Sign the Petition

Free Trade Is the Best Policy

The specter of protectionism is rising. It is always a dangerous and foolish policy, but it is especially dangerous at a time of economic crisis, when it threatens to damage the world economy. Protectionism’s peculiar premise is that national prosperity is increased when government grants monopoly power to domestic producers. As centuries of economic reasoning, historical experience, and empirical studies have repeatedly shown, that premise is dead wrong. Protectionism creates poverty, not prosperity. Protectionism doesn’t even “protect” domestic jobs or industries; it destroys them, by harming export industries and industries that rely on imports to make their goods. Raising the local prices of steel by “protecting” local steel companies just raises the cost of producing cars and the many other goods made with steel. Protectionism is a fool’s game.

But the fact that protectionism destroys wealth is not its worst consequence. Protectionism destroys peace. That is justification enough for all people of good will, all friends of civilization, to speak out loudly and forcefully against economic nationalism, an ideology of conflict, based on ignorance and carried into practice by protectionism.

Two hundred and fifty years ago, Montesquieu observed that “Peace is the natural effect of trade. Two nations who differ with each other become reciprocally dependent; for if one has an interest in buying, the other has an interest in selling; and thus their union is founded on their mutual necessities.”
Trade’s most valuable product is peace. Trade promotes peace, in part, by uniting different peoples in a common culture of commerce – a daily process of learning others’ languages, social norms, laws, expectations, wants, and talents.

Trade promotes peace by encouraging people to build bonds of mutually beneficial cooperation. Just as trade unites the economic interests of Paris and Lyon, of Boston and Seattle, of Calcutta and Mumbai, trade also unites the economic interests of Paris and Portland, of Boston and Berlin, of Calcutta and Copenhagen – of the peoples of all nations who trade with each other.

A great deal of rigorous empirical research supports the proposition that trade promotes peace.
Perhaps the most tragic example of what happens when that insight is ignored is World War II.

International trade collapsed by 70 percent between 1929 and 1932, in no small part because of America’s 1930 Smoot-Hawley tariff and the retaliatory tariffs of other nations. Economist Martin Wolf notes that “this collapse in trade was a huge spur to the search for autarky and Lebensraum, most of all for Germany and Japan.”

The most ghastly and deadly wars in human history soon followed.

By reducing war, trade saves lives.

Trade saves lives also by increasing prosperity and extending it to more and more people. The evidence that freer trade promotes prosperity is simply overwhelming. Prosperity enables ordinary men and women to lead longer and healthier lives.

And with longer, healthier lives lived more peacefully, people integrated into the global economy have more time to enjoy the vast array of cultural experiences brought to them by free trade. Culture is enriched by contributions from around the world, made possible by free trade in goods and in ideas.
Without a doubt, free trade increases material prosperity. But its greatest gift is not easily measured with money. That greatest gift is lives that are freer, fuller, and far less likely to be scalded or destroyed by the atrocities of war.

Accordingly, we the undersigned join together in a plea to the governments of all nations to resist the calls of the short-sighted and the greedy to raise higher the barriers to trade. In addition, we call on them to tear down current protectionist barriers to free trade. To each government, we say: let your citizens enjoy not only the fruits of your own fields, factories, and genius, but also those of the entire globe. The rewards will be greater prosperity, richer lives, and enjoyment of the blessings of peace.

Click here to Sign the Petition

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