We’ve done a lot in 2024
Across the North, people are doing amazing things – filling us with hope and energy that we can bring about change on the issues that matter to us all.
Grab a cuppa and have a read about what our Act Now community has been up to.
We’ve been taking on Citibank and winning
This year, we have been taking action against Citibank - who are the 2nd biggest funders of fossil fuels in the world and bankroll Israel’s purchase of weapons.
We leafleted outside W5 science museum to spread the word about their dirty sponsorship deal with Citibank to those they least want to know about it - their own customers. You can watch our video here.
After this successful action, over 1200 of you signed our petition calling on Belfast Pride to drop their sponsorship with Citibank and sent hundreds of emails to the committee. We delivered the petition to Belfast Pride offices. As a result, Citibank no longer sponsors Belfast Pride. This is a massive win for our campaign against Citibank!
We are so proud of our member-funded actions - and we want to do even more in 2025. Can you chip in a few quid to make our actions bigger and bolder?
Restored funding to the NI Children’s Hospice
Our member-led petition helped to force the Executive to reverse their funding cuts to the hospice. When we all come together in key moments, we can have a big impact.
Ulster Rugby dropped Kingspan sponsor
For the last 3 years Act Now members have supported Grenfell United’s call for Ulster Rugby to terminate its sponsorship agreement with Kingspan, the disgraced Irish insulation company whose product was used on Grenfell Tower. We signed petitions, and even funded a billboard action outside Ulster Rugby’s stadium on a key match day. The pressure worked - this year Ulster Rugby finally announced the termination of this partnership.
Childcare Strategy for NI
We reached out to campaigning group Melted Parents NI to see if we could support their campaign. As a result, Act Now lent its tools for a successful email to target action calling for a Childcare Strategy to be a Day 1 priority for the new NI Executive.
Gondola campaign
We have been working with local group Mourne Gateway Info Group to demand that the local council scrap the Mourne Gateway Project - which is a £50 million cable car they want to build running up the side of Slieve Donard. This project is deeply unpopular and would cause irreversible damage to some of the most cherished mountains on this island.
Over 6,400 of you signed their petition and we delivered it to the NI Assembly. We also lent our email action tool which allowed over 300 people to send emails to the National Trust demanding that they refuse giving the project a lease.
We were delighted to support Mourne Gateway Info Group with their campaign this week. We want to support even more groups next year - can you chip in to keep our cutting-edge tools free and accessible?
Increase fines for agricultural pollution
Because hundreds of you signed our petition over Stormont’s low fines for agricultural polluters and shared our social media posts, we applied some serious pressure onto
Minister for Environment Andrew Muir which led to him reversing a decision of the previous Minister and lifting the cap on fines.
General Election campaigns
When the General Election was unexpectedly announced in May, we sprang into actionHundreds of you encouraged friends and family to register to vote by taking our vote-tripling actions by making plans for election day.
Votes at 16 campaign
We’ve been collaborating with Politics in Action on their campaign to to lower the voting age to 16 in NI. 16 and 17 year olds in Scotland and Wales are allowed to vote in local and Parliamentary elections, while their peers in Northern Ireland cannot.
Politics in Action started a petition on our platform calling on the NI Executive to work towards this, and 17 year old Eva, a student from Belfast issued a personal call-to-action to back the change.
Open letter of solidarity with Belfast Islamic Centre
After the racist and Islamophobic violence that took place on Belfast’s streets in July, many of you wanted to show solidarity with our Muslim neighbours who were feeling vulnerable and frightened.
And you came out in force. Over 2700 of you signed our open letter of solidarity to the Belfast Islamic Centre, standing against the hate on the city’s streets. We delivered this open letter to the Belfast Islamic Centre with all the signatures (see more here). Thank you to BIC for all the fantastic work you do in the local community.
Our investigation into the Loyalist Communities Council
Paramilitary influence has no place in our politics, and In October, Act Now members chipped in to support our first Investigation - a series of FOI requests to make Stormont more transparent and expose the Loyalist Communities Council’s (LCC) influence (whose members include the UVF, UDA and Red Hand Commando paramilitary groups) on departments.
You can read more about our investigation here.
We want to do more investigative work in 2025 and keep Stormont transparent and accountable - can you chip in a few quid to help us do so?
Solidarity with Palestine
As Israel's genocidal onslaught continues, Act Now members continue to stand up and take action for Palestine. Thousands of you sent emails to First Minister Michelle O’Neill demanding that she boycotts the St. Patrick’s Day celebration at the White House, pledged to boycott Eurovision, took action against Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer to stop arms sales to Israel and more.
Invest NI funding arms companies linked to Israeli military
We exposed millions of pounds of public money going to NI-based arms companies linked to the Israeli military through a series of Freedom of Information requests. When we discovered this shocking information, we launched a people-powered campaign demanding that Economy Minister Conor Murphy come clean on this funding and whether the arms and components made in these NI-based factories are being used to slaughter Palestinians in Gaza. And our campaign made the news in the Belfast Telegraph.
We have big plans for this campaign in 2025 - we’re making big plans to uncover the truth about Invest NI, arms companies and Israel. Can you chip in to help us pay for it?
Pollution campaigns
It has been a big year for our campaigns for clean water. Our community joined the calls for the Earl of Shaftesbury to commit to giving Lough Neagh back to the people for free - and it worked.
The Act Now community had another big win with the Infrastructure Minister forced to intervene on a landfill site extension on the shores of Lough Neagh which is currently rescinded.
And last but definitely not least, Act Now members took on NI Water and demanded that the Stomont-owned agency stop pumping sewage into our bathing waters. Over 2500 of you signed our member’s petition and many chipped in to fund our sand art action which was shared all over social media, exposing NI Water’s failure to protect our waters.
Stormont campaigns
And of course, we’ve been keeping Stormont ministers' feet to the fire. After Gordon Lyons announced that he would have to cut winter fuel allowance due to the UK Government’s decision, hundreds of us quickly signed the petition calling on him to reinstate it.
Finance Minister Caoimhe Archibald has also experienced the full force of our people-powered movement. Over 1,300 of you have called on her to scrap rates exemption for big businesses like Coca-Cola and Moy Park. We have big plans for this campaign in 2025, so keep an eye out for more info!
Finally, we submitted our school uniform petition calling for caps and affordable uniforms for all. Our petition and report will appear in the results of the consultation, so keep your eyes peeled when that’s out.
If you have a burning issue you want to change, why not start your own campaign for free right now? You can start a petition here.
I hope you feel uplifted and excited about what we can achieve when we work together. From starting petitions, joining campaigns, and sharing our opinions there’s so much we are doing. But more of us need to double down to keep Act Now going and chip in every month. Can I count on you?
Fair play for being part of our community.