What is globalNOISE
International activists involved in the Indignado and Occupy
movements have begun a campaign to create GlobalNoise, a worldwide
cacerolazo, or casserole march, on
Saturday, October 13th, 2012.
The hope is that local Occupations and Collectives will take up the
call to march, using the method of a casserole march to highlight
whatever issues are the most important to their community.
Historically, banging on a pot has been a universally understood
means to gain attention. From children to adults, we all know that a pot
or pan can be easily used as a makeshift drum or an alarm. With
#globalNOISE, it’s both. The casserole march has its origins as a means
to call attention to problems facing the community that the power
structure is not addressing, using a method that is hard to ignore. In
the past, this form of activism has been used to draw attention to
education reform, starvation, government corruption, inequality in
resources, and more.
It has been revived recently in the international Occupy and Spanish
Indignados movements, and most notably by the Student movement in
Canada. Since then, it has spread worldwide. It is from these historical
references and recent examples that the idea of a coordinated worldwide
cacerolazo emerged. An international showing of frustration and unrest
on a global scale that would be hard to ignore. A GlobalNoise.
How to make noise with kitchen equipment
The basic idea behind potbanging is simple. Using any cooking spoon
or utensil, you hit the bottom of an empty pot, a pan, or some similarly
shaped non-glass kitchen equipment. In our experience, metal or wooden
cooking spoons make the best drum sticks.
Alternative instruments
The goal of the GlobalNoise initiative is to draw attention to
itself, indeed that is the very idea behind a casserole march. And while
kitchen equipment may be the first choice, it is most certainly not the
only choice. Remember, the goal is to draw attention. If you don’t have
access to kitchen equipment, you can use whatever will make noise, even
actual instruments, like whistles, horns, vuvuzelas, or even drums. DIY
instruments or established noise makers don’t matter, just make noise.
You can even encourage drivers to join in with their horns as you pass
them on the march. In Spain, they call that “Pitodromo”.
As you can see there´s no limit to the imaginative way you choose to
make some noise. And if you have any interesting and fun ways in mind,
please share it with us. We love suggestions. post on
our facebook page, tweet at us (@potbanging), or
join the working group!
Size and Shape of a casserole march
A potbanging demonstration can be any size, from small to big. The
bigger the group the louder the noise, but even one person banging on a
pot makes a lot of noise.
The GlobalNoise working group encourages you to organize Cacerolazo
actions in your own city for October 13th 2012. (Due to events already
being planned and in progress in various assemblies, some groups and
collectives will have GlobalNoise actions over the course of that week.
So if the 13th is impossible for your group, try for another day in that
week.
Remember, potbanging marches are particularly suited for spontaneous
participation, especially if the attitude and tone of the march stays
festive and positive. Spectators quickly realize that they don’t need
anything more than a noise maker to join in.
Examples of potbanging actions
There have been many potbanging-protests worldwide over the last year
since the formation of the Ingdinado and Occupy movements. The reason
for unrest has ranged from the student debt crisis to the shortage of
resources, while the method of expressing the frustration has been the
same.
There was a large casserole march against inflation in Argentina earlier
this year.
Reuters reported
that “Several thousand Argentines protested against the government… by
banging pots and pans in front of the presidential palace in Buenos
Aires.” In Seattle, the “noise making” from the
Student Debt Noise Brigade takes place once a week. In addition, as reported by
Global Montreal,
the Montreal casserole marches inspired solidarity demonstrations
worldwide. Even back in October 2010 Oldenburg, Germany held the ‘
Krach schlagen statt Kohldampf schieben‘ demonstration demanding living wages and fair access to resources.
A worldwide globalNOISE is coming
In June of 2012, activists from many different countries, social
justice movements, and networks began planning a nonviolent worldwide
day of action connected solely by this most noticeable of protest
methods, the cacerolazo. The collected activists formed a working group,
and the following proposal was created.
Each collective or general assembly interested in participating is
encouraged to identify what local or regional issues most adversely
affect their communities and then join the world in a casserole march.
We feel using the power of our collective mass can create a sound of our
world population calling out for change that will be hard to ignore.
The globalNOISE working group has called for Saturday October 13th to be
the day of action where we as flood the streets and towns with the
distinctive noise of potbanging.
As of late August, members of the Indignado and Occupy movements from
many cities, including London, Brussels, Chicago, Madrid, Paris,
Hamburg, and Perth, have endorsed this proposal and/or begun planning a
globalNOISE casserole action. And
the list is growing daily.
Get involved!
It’s easy to help make globalNOISE a success. You can simply share
the idea of globalNOISE with your family, your friends, on facebook,
over twitter, and other social networks. Consider sharing the official
facebook page and twitter account, or using the hashtag #globalNOISE.
Contact your local general assembly or activist collectives to begin
planning creating an event in your area.
More information
can be found on the website:
www.globalnoise.net
While we may be separated by physical space, we are all united in our
struggle. Help us make sure that on October 13th, in every town, in
every city, on every continent, the world will hear the sound of change.
We will make a globalNOISE!
