News / We The Curious
ACORN take over science centre in demonstration
Union ACORN occupied science centre We The Curious on Saturday as part of a protest against the centre hosting an insurer linked to Israeli companies.
There were more than 80 members of ACORN involved, including parents and their children.
The group say they were made aware by staff members that We The Curious had allowed for AXA insurers to use their events space for a conference.
is needed now More than ever
AXA insurers have continuously been condemned by protesters for investing in companies that sell weapons to Israel.
ACORN took control of the entrances and let families enter for free
In an email to the centres’ CEO Donna Speed, the group said they were “outraged” that they were “supporting arms companies selling weapons to Israel, while Israel commits genocide against Palestinians.”
The group also cited a plaque in the museum that “celebrated Leonardo UK as a sponsor,” despite Leonardo UK making “F35 fighter jet parts that have been sold to Israel and used in Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza.”
The group went into the centre and demanded that as a result of these ties, visitors would enter the centre for free that day.
Blocking some of the entrances they say that more than 480 visitors were able to visit for free.
Avon and Somerset Police were called to the centre at 1.47pm.
A spokesperson said that: “Officers attended to enable a peaceful protest and found a group of about 40 people gathered.”
Protesters gathered outside.
James Baldwin of ACORN said: “The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe; and I am beginning to suspect that whoever is incapable of recognising this may be incapable of morality.
“We will not rest or stand by while you continue to work with arms companies that are complicit in the mass murder of Palestinian children.
“We will use all our power to expose your unethical and immoral behaviour, until you reassess your position.
“We, the people of Bristol, are capable of morality, and it is time to show us that you can be.”
The group have demanded the following from We The Curious:
- Stop taking funds from all arms companies, including in particular those profiting from Israel’s genocide in Palestine
- Donate the money you received from Leonardo UK to a charity supporting Palestinians, such as Medical Aid for Palestinians
- State publicly that you are refusing to take funds from arms companies, and calling on other institutions in our city to do the same
- Sign up to Bristol Apartheid Free Zone
We The Curious closed early and protesters left at 3.45pm.
They are hoping to discuss their demands in a meeting with Donna Speed in August.
We The Curious said in a statement on their website: “We weren’t aware of the protest and free entry demand by ACORN, our ultimate priority is keeping our visitors and staff safe.
“As of 3.30pm today, we closed our venue for the rest of the day to ensure that everyone was kept safe.
“Our chief executive, Donna Speed has spoken with an ACORN representative to talk through their letter and demands, she’ll be meeting with them along with some of our trustees to work through the conversation together.
“To give more context, the funding in question relates to historic funding of the Tinkering Space exhibit area in 2016, which is when we last received funding from Leonardo.
“Following questions around this subject in June through X, we removed the funder plaque referencing this company whilst we conduct a review of our gift acceptance and ethics policy.
“This policy has been in place since 2019 and is already currently under review with our staff and board, to make sure it’s up to date and takes into account the economic and geopolitical environment.
“Any future funding offers will be assessed with the current geopolitical landscape in mind, working alongside the ongoing review.
“Any return of funding would need to be considered by our Board, in line with Charity Commission guidelines (especially as it was in 2016, so funds already spent in furthering our mission) – so this’d also form part of the wider gift acceptance policy review.
“Following our August board meeting, we’ll publish our gift acceptance policy. We’ll publish more updates on this as we have them.”
All photos: ACORN
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