CAAT - Events and News

[CAAT logo] [1]

24th August 2024

Dear Friends,

As the summer is coming to an end and we turn our minds to planning for the
rest of the year, I thought it would be a good time to write about a few
highlights – both coming and going.

First, something about us. Our small team currently consists of just seven
members of staff, with the assistance of a few part-time specialists (HR,
tech, etc.), engaged on a freelance basis, and the volunteer non-staff
members of our Steering Committee.

Each member of the staff team concentrates on a dedicated area of our work,
and we all collaborate in keeping the organisational parts of CAAT
functioning effectively. There is (always) so much to do, and sometimes it
approaches the overwhelming; we have no slack or wriggle room.

I’ve written towards the bottom of this email a bit about our funding,
which I think you will find interesting.

[Advertisement for Sam's lecture with photos of panellists] [2]

1. CAAT’S NEW REPORT LAUNCH IN LONDON: WEDNESDAY, 18TH SEPTEMBER; 7 -
8.30PM

Dr Sam Perlo-Freeman, CAAT’s Research Coordinator, will present his
report_ From revolving door to open-plan office: the ever-closer union
between the UK government and the arms industry_ looking at the channels of
influence the arms trade continues to exert in the “corridors of
power”.

The event will be moderated by B. Arneson, Director of the Arms Trade
Program at the World Peace Foundation. Panellists include: Ara Marcen
Naval, Head of Advocacy at Transparency International Defence & Security;
Dan Sabbagh, Defence & Security Editor, _The Guardian_; and Andrew
Feinstein, Executive Director, Shadow World Investigations.

The launch will be a hybrid event, i.e. in-person in Whitechapel and
online. Do read all about it, and register your attendance (it’s free) by
following this LINK [2] to our website.

REPORT LAUNCH
REGISTRATION & INFO

2. CAAT SCOTLAND ALL-DAY GATHERING IN GLASGOW: SATURDAY, 26TH OCTOBER; ALL
DAY - SAVE THE DATE

Emma is organising a gathering for CAAT supporters in Glasgow on Saturday,
26th October. This will be a chance to meet members of our team, hear from
local supporters and join a series of workshops. A good learning and social
opportunity. We’ll send round more information and joining details
shortly.

3. CAAT’S LOCAL GROUPS

Many of you reading this will be part of one of our local groups, found
throughout the UK. Perhaps you got involved in CAAT through one. Or you may
be interested in finding one near you.

The recent activities of local groups have been essential in making it
clear that local people don’t like armaments manufacturers or arms fairs
on their patch. And, if you’ve been following us on social media,
you’ll know that some have upped sticks and moved on (perhaps to be
greeted by another local group). If you’re interested in finding out more
about a group near you, please drop me a line in the first instance and
I’ll forward it to the most relevant person. My email address is:
[email protected]

4. LSE LIBRARY EXHIBITION: CLOSING ON SUNDAY, 15TH SEPTEMBER

Following the deposit of the CAAT archives at the LSE Library (they should
be fully searchable and accessible later this year), we were invited to
take part in the exhibition _A Say in the End of the World_, curated by PhD
student, Gareth Bryant. A selection of our archives is displayed alongside
those of CND and – for an interesting comparison – Lady Olga
Maitland’s Women and Families for Defence.

The exhibition will close on 15th September, so do go and have a look soon.
Follow the LINK [3] to our website to read more about it.

EXHIBITION DETAILS [3]

5. CAAT’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY LECTURE – RECORDING ON YOUTUBE

Sam gave the CAAT 50th Anniversary lecture on Wednesday, 19th June, by
invitation of the LSE Library. While his lecture _Campaign Against Arms
Trade at 50: Adapting resistance to a changing world_ was recorded,
unfortunately the camera was pointed elsewhere. The good news is that it
does make very good and informative _listening_. You can access the
recording on YouTube by clicking HERE [4] 

_And “in other news”, as they say on the television:_

6. MASSIVE ATTACK – CONCERT IN BRISTOL: SUNDAY, 25TH AUGUST

Our friends and supporters Massive Attack are giving their first concert
since 2019 in Clifton Downs in Bristol tomorrow. One fascinating thing
about this concert is that they have made it as environmentally friendly as
possible, the gig is powered solely by batteries and there will be no
parking - to encourage the audience to use public transport; electric
shuttle buses are also provided. The food will be vegan with all packaging
compostable. They have made the national news.

CAAT was invited to have a presence but, owing to last-minute illness, we
have had to withdraw. We wish them all the best, and I hope they’ll
perform again before too long.

_Now that word about…_

7. FUNDRAISING

Much of this you may know already, but it’s important to make sure all
our supporters are aware of how we are funded to carry out the work we do.

_CAAT only exists through receiving grants and individual donations. _

_O_ur website says “without our supporters, there would be no CAAT.”
This is true.

We receive grants from supportive organisations including The Tolkien Trust
and The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust to carry out work, such as
education and research, classed as charitable (CAAT isn’t a charity; we
are able to receive funds directed through a third-party charity, which
holds and releases them to us for our charitable activities).

Individual donations enable us to carry out our core work – _campaigning
against the arms trade_. Without them we couldn’t operate as you would
expect us to do. According to the law, this work is not classed as
charitable.

Individual donations come in two ways.

First, as spontaneous or one-off donations. These generally come in
reaction to CAAT News, a report of an action on social media, or by
responding to an email such as this one. I’m glad to see that these have
increased in the first half of this year, and we are most grateful.

MAKE A ONE-OFF DONATION [5]

Secondly, and most essential for our operations and longer-term planning,
are the regular donations we receive – monthly, quarterly or annually –
by DIRECT DEBIT.

These are planned payments from our supporters who commit to giving a
regular amount they can afford and include in their personal budget.

_The amount we receive from this regular giving has fallen over the last
couple of years._

I suppose this is no surprise, as the country continues to suffer from the
squeeze that is the cost of living crisis. At the moment, this fall is
about the same as the increase in one-off donations.

But we are concerned about CAAT's future stability, particularly as we get
round to planning and setting our budget for 2025.

We’re asking you – if you don’t already – to think if you could
make a monthly DIRECT DEBIT to CAAT, if it's something that fits your
budget. If you think it is, then please use the button below to complete
the form online. You can email me personally if you’d like to discuss
this or, indeed, any aspect of giving financially to support CAAT –
[email protected]

SET UP A DIRECT DEBIT [6]

There are, of course, many ways you can support CAAT that don’t involve
money, all of these are essential.

I’ll end with a big thank you to all our supporters, however you choose
to continue your support for us. You keep us campaigning.

With all best wishes for a good Bank Holiday weekend,

_CHARLES, AND ALL OF THE TEAM AT CAAT_

[Image of a small protest blocking an arms factory.] [7]

Events

Our events are the building-blocks to activating our supporters and
campaigners. We continuously build our knowledge on the arms trade and its
intersecting issues. Our exciting regular programme of events has something
for you.

EVENTS [7]

[Recent image of chaotic scenes of hospital in Gaza with a young injured
child being carried in.] [8]

Donate

CAAT would not exist without you. Each new supporter helps us to strengthen
our call to end the international arms trade and build on our many
successes in the journey to a world where no one profits from death and
destruction.

DONATE [8]

[Image of the Houses of Parliament] [9]

News

All the latest from Campaign Against Arms Trade, across the country and
near you, including press releases, the CAAT Blog, articles from the CAAT
News magazine, and info on local actions.

NEWS [9]

Campaign Against Arms Trade

Unit 1.9, The Green House,
244 - 254 Cambridge Heath Road,
London
E2 9DA

Tel: 020 7281 0297

Web: www.caat.org.uk [1]

Email: [email protected]

Unsubscribe [10]

 [Facebook] [11]  [X / Twitter] [12]  [Instagram] [13]  [Youtube]
[14]



Links:
------
[1] [link removed]
[2] [link removed]
[3] [link removed]
[4] [link removed]
[5] [link removed]
[6] [link removed]
[7] [link removed]
[8] [link removed]
[9] [link removed]
[10] [link removed]
[11] [link removed]
[12] [link removed]
[13] [link removed]
[14] [link removed]