FAQs
About Culture Declares
You can read our strategic plan, including our vision, mission and values. This was developed in a participatory process with active members throughout 2020. We followed this by developing a Communications plan and a Digital Strategy.
CDE is a voluntary movement with no formal structure. We are supported by the organisation Climate 2025 which exists to provide infrastructure and governance insights. We achieve our work through working groups, some of which meet more regularly than others, and new members are welcome. Funding from the Gulbenkian Foundation has allowed us to fund a co-ordinator 1 day a week, and support for communications strategy and social media.
Making a declaration of emergency is an independent decision of each individual or organisation, and can be done in any way that is right for you. It means announcing your concerns and acknowledging that these are shared by a growing mass of people. It does not mean committing to unachievable actions beyond your remit or limits. It does mean joining a supportive community, and feeding into it.
Some organisations have declared emergency with their own independent declaration but they haven’t signed up to our public list, or to sign up for news. This route is open to you, but we invite you to join us, so that we can achieve more together than each can do apart. As a movement, we challenge the sector to be as radical as possible, given the extremely dangerous and all-consuming nature of the crisis.
Our legal advice (in UK law) is that making a declaration of climate emergency is not a criminal act. Dozens of councils across the political spectrum, including the Greater London Authority, Bristol and Manchester have already declared: climateemergency.uk.
Individuals within an institution can be seen as breaking the law (e.g. if they carry out an ‘arrestable’ action as part of a response to making a declaration) but this does not implicate anyone else in the institution, or the institution itself.
We offer a range of ways that you can support your communities in the context of emergency. These do not include suggestions for disruptive actions, or Non Violent Direct Action (NVDA), as part of a declaration response. However, we acknowledge the validity of the many peaceful and creative forms of NVDA that are being used to make these demands, particularly where democratic routes are insufficient.
CDE arose from conversations between sector practitioners supportive of Extinction Rebellion (XR), who supported us in our founding stage. CDE has always been autonomous from XR, and joining our community is not an expression of support for XR.
We are a distributed movement with no physical base. Most declarers are based in the UK and our launch was in London, but you can sign up with us from anywhere in the world. You are invited to hold declaration events, or to join or form a local, regional or international hub, wherever you are.
Please do Declare with us and let us know what you plan so that we can share news with you, and amplify the growing movement.
Managing your Declaration
If you Declared before March 2022 follow the steps below to get a password.
- Find yourself or your organisation in our list of Declarers. Declarers are listed by alphabetically by first name or organisation name. Use the A-Z filters or try a Declarer name search.
- At the end of your Declarer page, find the invitation to get your password. If we do not have an email address for you, or it is duplicated, you will be invited to email us at culturedeclares@gmail.com and provide us with an up to date email address.
- Login to your dashboard using the email address you Declared with and your new password. For organisations, this email address will be the admin contact email address.
- If you have any problems please email us at culturedeclares@gmail.com.
If you Declared after March 2022 (when we relaunched our website) use the email address and password you set when you Declared. For organisations, this email address will be the admin contact email address. If you’ve forgotten your password use the lost password link on the login page to reset your password.
Once Declared you will be displayed in our list of Declarers. Declarers are listed by alphabetically by first name or organisation name. Use the A-Z filters or try a Declarer name search. Login and update your details at any stage. See the notes above on how to find your login details.
If you’ve created a password but can’t remember it, follow the instructions on the forgotten password page. Enter the username or email address you used when Declaring. For organisations, this email address will be the admin contact email address. An email will be sent to this address with instructions on how to reset your password. Please give it a few minutes for the email to arrive, and check your junk/spam folder. If you’re stuck please email culturedeclares@gmail.com.
If you Declared before March 2022 and haven’t set your password yet, please see the notes on how to get a password in the question above “Where do I find my login details?”
If you want to delete your Declaration, or need help removing a duplicate page, please email a request to culturedeclares@gmail.com. Once we’ve checked details with you, we will remove your Declaration.
Any more questions?
If you have any other questions or need help Declaring please get in contact or email us on culturedeclares@gmail.com.