Featured affiliate: NESEHNUTÍ

Each month, we feature a different WRI affiliate. This month it is the Independent Social Ecological Movement - NESEHNUTÍ in the the Czech Republic. They say:

We were accepted as a War Resisters International affiliate in 2016, so we are pretty new in the network. We are a social and environmental non-governmental organization from the Czech Republic, settled in the city of Brno. This month we are celebrating our 20th anniversary!

The goal of our environmental and human rights activities is to show that it is possible to change society for the better, increasing respect for people, animals and nature, and that such change must come from the grassroots. For this reason, we support engaged people who care about what is happening around them and who consider responsibility for life on our planet an integral part of their personal freedom.

In NESEHNUTI we are organized in a non-hierarchical structure. Teams are working on several topics which are crucial to us. In WRI we are following the issue of arms trade and militarisation of youth. Below you can see how different we are but still working together to make the world better place:

Civic Eye

We strive for an active civil society and municipalities in the Czech Republic, with an administration open to dialogue with citizens. We strive for municipalities that think about their future and development in a strategic way, taking into account the quality of life of their citizens, public space and the environment. We are trying to develop participation by using different methods of participation and in the online form by using participatory websites.

The Initiative Way

We assist civic initiatives, not-for-profit organizations, independent journalists and human rights activists in South Caucasus, the Ukraine and other Еastern European countries. We share with them best practices from the Czech Republic, especially running campaigns aimed at systemic changes in society. We want people in these (post)conflict zones to live a free civic life and their rights to be respected.

Together Towards Diversity

We support dialogue between different cultures, building a community of local inhabitants and newcomers through community events and a Buddying program. We support the newcomers’ own initiatives and participation because we believe that the need to belong somewhere is an important factor in any person’s inclusion, and so is the need to be useful, to be heard and to be respected. In accordance with these principles, we create a space where friendly relationships can be built between the locals and the newcomers in the city of Brno.

Women’s Rights Are Human Rights

We say NO to sexism in advertising and public space. We organise an anti-award called Sexist Piggy and Equal Pay Day to highlight inequality between men and women in various areas of life. We study gendered aspects of migration and support gender equality in the education.

Arms or Human Rights?

We monitor Czech arms exports. Our goal is to stop Czech support of dictators, military junta governments, armed conflict escalation or repressive regimes, or countries from where arms are re-exported in the form of Czech arms exports. We want Czech foreign policy to be responsible, transparent and focused on human rights rather than on economic interests. We have been opposing the IDET arms fair since our foundation. We are standing against the militarisation of youth.

Supporting Animal Rights

We focus on farm animals in intensive industrial livestock production. We would like to improve the living conditions of animals and mitigate their suffering. We promote alternative forms of nutrition which are not based on animal products.

Connect with NESEHNUTÍ: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Youtube