Niet-Winkeldag 1998:
International Buy Nothing Day in Belgium

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From:    [email protected] (Netwerk Vlaanderen v.z.w.) 


Date:    Thu, 3 Dec 1998 10:49:30 +0100 (CET) 


Subject: bnd actions in belgium 

It was the first year we organised actions in belgium. During the year we mainly spread the information to all ngo's and looked for action-partners. Our experience was that most people liked the idea, but weren't ready for action yet. The success of our own actions this year may change this. We did streettheatres in the main shopping streets in three cities: Antwerps, Ghent and Leuven.

To our surprise the press really freaked out on the bnd-actions. We were on national radio several times, on national television and in all the newspapers, on beforehand and afterwards.

The action in ghent was wonderful ; a variety of little pieces of theatre, all over the shopping street. we had a marketplace where we sold the product 'nothing' for a lot of money, there was a consumption-slave (on a pile of waste) in a cage who was crying for more, a public seller of happiness ('2 cm of career for only 200 fr ! 3 kilogram of peace for 500 ! ...), 8 consumption-sheep with a 'buy more!' board, who were encouraging everyone to buy more and more, some people who were dragging loads of full bags on their backs and who rushed from one shop to another, shouting 'I want more!', a squatted shop where we installed a museum of 'contemporary archeology', full of waste from consumptiongoods, a little space where people could sit down and drink coffee and eat cake and discuss bnd , ... There must have been over 40 activists (and thousands of shopping people). We had some good actors amongst us, so it was a lot of fun !! We are looking forward to next years' actions.

inez
Netwerk Vlaanderen
(alternative economy and fundraising for grassroot-organisations)

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