Medact North East Meeting
2022-07-06 20:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London) | Zoom
Medact North East is an active local group based around Newcastle, Sunderland, Tynemouth and across the North East.

The group meets at the same time every two weeks. Each meeting is facilitated by a different person and they welcome new members! The time is used to discuss current campaigns and anything else relevant. Some past campaigns and activities include:

Working with Newcastle City Council to endorse the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Writing to the Foreign Secretary requesting that British children in Syrian refugee camps be returned to Britain.

Giving talks on planetary health at the Royal Victoria infirmary.

Contacting Newcastle City Council to find out which energy supplier they use.

For more information or to join a meeting, get in touch via northeast@medact.org. Sign up to the North East group’s mailing list –

Securitisation of Health group meeting
2022-07-12 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
**Postponed: new date TBA**
A number of policing and counter-extremism measures are embedded by the government into UK health services, at times requiring health workers to work closely with the police and other security agencies.
These measures risk undermining therapeutic relationships, confidentiality and trust in practitioners – as well as drawing health services and workers into becoming an arm of policing and counter-terror agencies.
Through research and campaigns, Medact aims to shift understandings of ‘security’, from typically “hard” measures (border enforcement, a punitive criminal justice system, counter-terror measures) and advocate for collective and human security, health and wellbeing. Read more about our work on Securitisation.
The Securitisation of Health group is for health workers interested in working on these issues through campaigning, lobbying and research. New members are welcome! If you have any questions, please email Reem Abu-Hayyeh.

Patients Not Passports National Network Meeting
2022-07-12 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Patients Not Passports National Network Meetings are for local and national campaigners.
Are you interested in PNP and keen to get involved at a local or national level? Register for our next New Joiners meeting.
If you’ve already attended a New Joiners meeting and would like to join one of our national working groups, you can do that here.
Any questions about PNP? Get in touch with our Campaigns Officer Sarah Lasoye.

Economic Justice & Health group meeting
2022-07-18 19:00 - 20:30
The Economic Justice & Health group meet regularly on Zoom to discuss current and future campaigns, plan events, work on strategy and share knowledge. The group is open to all and welcomes new members. Questions? Email EJ&H campaigner Jordi.
[Registration has now closed]

Economic Justice & Health: Welfare & Health Workshop
2022-07-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
Healthcare workers are in a unique position to witness how contact with the welfare system can be harmful to people’s physical and mental health.

Healing Justice London’s Deaths by Welfare Project investigates deaths linked to welfare reform and the violence of state austerity. Deaths by Welfare is led by China Mills and co-created with John Pring (Disability News Service). The knowledge and leadership of disabled people fighting fatal reforms is central to this work.

The Deaths by Welfare Project and Medact are working together to better understand how healthcare workers bear witness to the harms of the welfare system; navigate complicity in a system that is often disempowering and enraging; and how they practice, or dream of practising, allyship with those with lived experience.

Register

This workshop is for you if you…

are a healthcare worker who witnesses the impact of the welfare state on people’s health

are navigating feelings of complicity with a system that doesn’t leave you many other options

want to think more about, or share existing practices of, allyship

This will be an exploratory space for sharing, discussion and collective learning, which aims to:

identify and understand the kinds of resources that healthcare workers know about and/or need to support people in their contact with the welfare system

think collectively about what allyship might, and does, look like

Please read before registering…

Everything about the project is distressing, so we’ve spent a lot of time creating processes for supporting people to engage – co-designed and informed by the expertise of people with lived experience.

However, the session will likely be triggering for different people in different ways, especially depending on how folks are positioned in relation to the welfare system, their experiences of cumulative harm, trauma, and distress.

We want to honour the legitimacy of your self-knowledge (that you know yourself best) while also understanding how the violence of the system shows up in so many ways (in our bodies, and our emotions) both every day and sometimes unexpectedly. We would like you to participate in a way that honours how you’re feeling and that prioritises care. There will be other opportunities to connect with us if now isn’t right for you. Please do what’s right for you at this time.

Please find some resources available here:

HJL aftercare menu

The GEN Grief toolkit

HJL’s events including monthly grief circle, weekly breath circle and restorative yoga

Registrations are limited to 30 people. Please only register if you are able to attend. Once capacity has been reached, you will be waitlisted and contacted if a space becomes available.

[Registration has now closed]

Medact Research Network Quarterly Meeting
2022-09-07 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The Medact Research Network Quarterly is a space for us to come together, share our work, discuss new projects, or delve into deep discussion about research that has caught your interest. We aim to collectively develop our thought and research practices.
Our network meets ONLINE every three months, and is a great way to connect with others interested in activism-oriented research. If you’re looking for a way to get involved in new projects, the quarterly meeting is a good place to start.
At the 7 September meeting, we will:

hear from Dr Jo Dobbin, a member of the Migrant Solidarity Group, about research into contingency accommodation and charging in primary care
hear from Dr Hil Aked, Medact’s Research and Policy Manager, about the research network’s upcoming project ‘Criminalising Distress’ and how you can get involved

Interested? Register below! Feel free to get in touch with Hil if you have any questions.
[Registration has now closed]

Economic Justice & Health group meeting
2022-09-12 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-09-26 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-10-10 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-10-24 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-07 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-21 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-12-05 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom

Medact North East Meeting
2022-09-14 20:00 - 21:00, 2022-09-28 20:00 - 21:00

Medact Groups Check-in
2022-10-03 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
This is a space for people active in Medact local or issue groups to connect, to share collective learning from our organising—the challenges and successes and how we can support each other moving forward.
We would love one or more people from each group to come if possible, and the group representative doesn’t need to be a coordinator: anyone who is involved is welcome!
As part of the check in, we would love for each group to spend two minutes sharing a few highlights from the last few months, any challenges you’ve had, and any plans you have coming up.
If you have any questions or would like to chat through anything, do get in touch with Ben Eder: beneder@medact.org
[Registration has now closed]

Nuclear Weapons Group strategy session
2022-10-06 18:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Medact’s Nuclear Weapons Group will meet to reflect on activities and achievements from the 12 months, consolidate the group’s structure, and decide on the group’s campaign strategy for the next 6 months. Register below to receive the meeting link. Questions? Email Sarah Lasoye: sarahlasoye@medact.org
[Registration has now closed]

Patients not Passports New Joiners Meeting October 2022
2022-10-06 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Want to get involved in the Patients Not Passports campaign?

The best way to get up to speed with the campaign and get connected with work going on across the country is to come to our next New Joiners meeting. To win, we need everyone working together to oppose NHS charging—you don’t need to work in healthcare to be involved!

In the meeting we’ll explore how NHS charging works, how we can fight back, hear from some of the groups working on the Patients Not Passports campaign, and explore the different ways you can get involved.

If you can’t make the next New Joiners meeting, don’t worry as you can see and register for dates for future meetings below. We can also make time for a quick phone call with you or connect you directly with your local group – get in touch by emailing sarahlasoye@medact.org.

If you have time, you could:

check out How NHS staff are fighting back against the ‘hostile environment’ for an overview of the campaign,

watch this brilliant video from DocsNotCops on NHS Charging and the fight for Universal Healthcare, or

listen to this excellent podcast Internal Borders in Britain: Still We Rise Podcast – exploring the development and use of internal borders in Britain, and their particular harms on minoritised communities.

[Registration has now closed]

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Health for a Green New Deal: Prescription for Climate Justice
2022-10-27 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Last year, health workers across the UK started running climate clinics to engage their communities and put pressure on MPs to oppose new fossil fuels and support the Green New Deal Bill.
Almost a year since COP26, the government has approved new oil fields with up to 40 in the pipeline. At the same time, energy companies have recorded profits, whilst people are having to choose between heating and eating.
This year, we are going to build the pressure – join us online for the October Big Meeting of the Health for a Green New Deal campaign, where we will be coming together to:

Hear updates from local groups
Launch our brand new ‘Prescription for Climate Justice’ action guide
Practice persuasive conversations
Share plans around COP 27 Global Day of Action & the People’s Health Tribunal

Whether you’ve been organising with us all along or are brand new to H4GND, the Big Meetings are the perfect opportunity to hear what’s been happening, what we have planned and how you can get involved. If you have any questions about this event or the campaign, please email Rob (robabrams@medact.org) or Ben (beneder@medact.org).
[Registration has now closed]

Securitisation of Health group meeting
2022-11-14 18:00 - 19:30, 2022-11-23 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-01-17 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom
What is the securitisation of health?
A number of policing and counter-extremism measures are embedded by the government into UK health services, which at times requiring health workers to work closely with the police and other security agencies.
These measures risk undermining therapeutic relationships, confidentiality and trust in practitioners – as well as drawing health services and workers into becoming an arm of policing and counter-terror agencies.
Through research and campaigns, Medact aims to shift understandings of ‘security’, from typically “hard” measures (border enforcement, a punitive criminal justice system, counter-terror measures) and advocate for collective and human security, health and wellbeing. Read more about our work on Securitisation.
About the group
The Securitisation of Health group is for health workers interested in working on these issues through campaigning, lobbying and research. New members are welcome! If you have any questions or concerns about attending, please email our Campaign Lead Sarah Lasoye at sarahlasoye@medact.org
[Registration has now closed]

Healthy Prescription for a Green New Deal: From Advocacy to Action (Live @ COP27)
2022-11-17 13:30 - 14:45
Stream begins: 13:30 (UK) / 15:30 (Egypt)
Stream ends: 14:45 (UK) / 16:45 (Egypt)
Join us live from the COP27 climate talks in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt as Medact members bring together a panel of activists from the global movement for health and climate justice to discuss the need for a transformative Green New Deal that centres the health of people and planet!
Bookmark the livestream link
Our speakers include:

Asad Rehman: War on Want, UK
Omar Elmawi: Stop EACOP, Kenya
Erika Arteaga Cruz: People’s Health Movement, Extractive Industries Circle, Ecuador
Jon Bonifacio: Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, Philippines

Chairing the discussion will be Dr Abi Deivanayagam, member of Medact and Race & Health.
Register to receive a reminder with the link to the livestream on the day!
[Registration has now closed]

Nuclear Weapons Group Meeting
2022-11-22 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-01-10 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom
Medact’s Nuclear Weapons Group represents the longest standing aspect of Medact’s work to address war, armed violence and conflict as global threats to health.
We will meet to provide an update on our ongoing work, and discuss the current global political landscape as related to nuclear weapons and disarmament. Register below to receive the meeting link.
Questions? Email Sarah Lasoye: sarahlasoye@medact.org
[Registration has now closed]

Health for a Green New Deal: Welcome Call
2022-11-24 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Health for a Green New Deal is building a grassroots campaign for a just and green society, one that prioritises the health of people and planet. All those who work in or study health are welcome to join us and help build the movement!
Interested in getting involved in Health for a Green New Deal? Join us for our welcome call to find out everything you need to know about our plan to build unstoppable social pressure for a transformative Green New Deal.
[Registration has now closed]

Medact Research Network Quarterly Meeting
2022-11-30 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The Medact Research Network Quarterly is a space for us to come together, share our work, discuss new projects, or delve into deep discussion about research that has caught your interest. We aim to collectively develop our thought and research practices.
Our network meets every 3 months, and is a great way to connect with others interested in research in this area.
At this meeting we’re pleased to host Dr. Ryan Essex, research fellow at the University of Greenwich. Ryan will present new research into health workers’ non-violent resistance based on surveys and interviews with Medact members.
We’ll also hear updates on our new project Criminalising Distress from both members of the research team and members of the StopSIM campaign group who sit on its steering committee. Register below to ensure you automatically receive the video link for the meeting!
As always, we invite you to share your work with the group! This could be talking briefly about a research project you’ve recently completed or are currently working on, or a paper you’ve seen that you’d like to share and discuss with the group. It’s a great opportunity to explain a new idea and connect with other researchers keen to collaborate on your project.
Interested? Get in touch with Hil and include a few details of what you’d like to talk about at a future meeting!
[Registration has now closed]

Economic Justice & Health group meeting
2023-01-16 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-01-30 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The Economic Justice & Health group meet regularly to discuss current and future campaigns, plan events, work on strategy and share knowledge. The group is open to all and welcomes new members. Questions? Email our EJ&H campaign lead Jordi.
[Registration has now closed]

IPPNW European Regional Meeting
2023-01-20 - 2023-01-22 | St. Ansgar-Haus, Schmilinskystr. 78, Hamburg, 20099, Germany
The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War are a non-partisan global federation of medical organisations dedicated to research, education, and advocacy relevant to the prevention of nuclear war. Medact is the UK’s affiliate to IPPNW.
The next European Regional Meeting is taking place from Friday Jan 20th to Sunday Jan 22nd at St. Ansgar-Haus in Hamburg, Germany. Many sessions will also be held online for remote joiners.
At the event, IPPNW members will exchange ideas on how to prevent a nuclear war in Europe and to advance the nuclear ban in Europe, discuss how we can deal with the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and offer workshops on skills sharing on media work, social media and political advocacy with experienced campaigners. At this European regional meeting, there will be also be an election for IPPNW’s European Vice-Presidency again.
Further information and event programme
Download the event programme as a PDF
Register to attend
