GDAMS Organizer’s Packet

Global Day of Action on Military Spending

April 12, 2011
Organizer’s Packet
1. Read This First
2. Letter to Other Participants
3. Sample Press Release
4. Timetable
5. Fact Sheets & Information
a. Global Military Spending Factsheet
b. Global Military Spending vs. Millennium Development Goals
c. World Military Spending Graphic
6. Examples of Actions
7. Sample Flyer
8. Checklist

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www.demilitarize.org
 GDAMS Organizer’s Packet

1. Read This First

Thank you for volunteering to organize an action on our Global Day of Action on Military Spending, which
will take place on Tuesday, April 12, 2011. On that day, you will be part of actions taking placing all over the
world by people who are outraged at the amount of money spent on the military. Last year, the governments
spent over $1.53 trillion, and we expect the figure released by the Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute (SIPRI) this year to be even higher.

We’re organizing these actions on April 12, 2011 to coincide with the SIPRI report on global military
expenditures for 2010. This report usually gets a good amount of press attention, but we want to make sure
that global military spending – and the public outcry at this waste of money – becomes a really big story for
the global, national, and local media.

The media likes pictures. So we are going to provide the media with photo opportunities. Instead of running
the story of SIPRI’s report with a picture of a tank or a jet fighter, we want them to run pictures of people all
over the world protesting these huge expenditures.

In this organizer’s packet, we will provide you with some guidance and materials for an event you can hold on
April 12 that will attract the interest of the press. It contains a sample letter you can use to reach out to other
participants in your area, a sample press release, and a sample flyer. There’s also a timetable and a checklist
for you to organize your promotional outreach, and a one-pager with information on global military spending.
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To attract a crowd and the attention of the press, you’ll want to adapt this model to your country and your 
issue of focus. But we’re asking all of our event organizers to include the number for global military spending
in your activity. We will be able to provide you with that number approximately one week before April 12.
Until that time, you should use the 2009 figure of $1.53 trillion in your outreach. Please make sure to share
video, photos, or descriptions of your events with us at gdams2011@gmail.com.
We are at a critical crossroads. We must, as a planet, start spending our money on what we need – food, clean
water, clean energy, health care, and peacekeeping. We have the money. We just have to spend it sensibly. On
April 12, we will tell our governments and our militaries that we’ve had enough of guns and war.

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 GDAMS Organizer’s Packet

2. Letter to Other Participants

Location, Date

Dear ____________,

In 2009, global military spending surged to an all-time high of US $1.53 trillion. The United State was
responsible for nearly half that amount. And our country spent xxx billion.

Given the numerous crises facing the planet -- economic, environmental, health, diplomatic -- it is imperative
that we create a global movement to shift this money to human needs. We know that there are thousands of
organizations and millions of individuals who support this point of view. We need now to begin a serious
mobilizing effort to make it visible.

As part of this campaign, we are organizing an event as part of the Global Day of Action on Military
Spending for April 12. We will gather in [place, time], where we will [describe action]. On this day, people all
over the world will join together in joint actions to focus public, political, and media attention on the costs of
military spending and the need for new priorities. Such events will help us to build the international network
around this issue.

Please join us on April 12 so that we can make our voices heard, here in [country] and globally.

Sincerely,

Local organizer for the Global Day of Action on Military Spending

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 GDAMS Organizer’s Packet

3. Sample Press Release

MEDIA ADVISORY
12 April 2011

CONTACT: [Organizer’s name]

[Organizer’s phone number]
[Organizer’s email address]

[Group Name] Hosts Event for Global Day of Action on Military Spending

To raise awareness and citizen opposition to the disparity between ballooning global military spending and
under-funded global development [or other issue of interest], [Group Name] will host a [event type –
demonstration, sit-in, street theater action, etc.] to coincide with other actions around the world as part of a
larger Global Day of Action on Military Spending.

The event coincides with the release of 2010 global military expenditures published by the Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). It promises to be an excellent photo opportunity to
complement the release of SIPRI’S report.

WHAT:

WHO:

WHERE:

WHEN: April 12, 2011 at [time]

To learn more about the Global Day of Action on Military Spending and to read about other actions
happening all over the world, please visit http://www.demilitarize.org.

www.demilitarize.org
 GDAMS Organizer’s Packet

4. Timetable

December:

- Second newsletter goes out

- Use newsletter to promote GDAMS locally

January:

- Reach out to other organizations in your area for endorsements

- Begin soliciting “What I would do with $1.6 trillion” photos

Early February:

- Begin preparing background materials in native language

Late February:

- Hold a local meeting to start planning for the event

- Provide information to GDAMS organizers so that it can go on website

March:

- Arrange for necessary permits for the event; start putting together a press list for the press release

April:

- April 4: Meeting to rehearse April 12 event

- April 7: Short press release to press list – date, location, event

- April 11: Receive SIPRI global military expenditure numbers for 2010

Send full press release to press list

- April 12: GDAMS!


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 GDAMS Organizer’s Packet

5A. Global Military Spending Fact Sheet

Global military spending has topped $1.5 trillion dollars. It has increased 49% since 2000.

The United States accounts for 46.5% of the world total military spending. China makes up 6.6%, France
4.2%, the United Kingdom 3.8% and Russia 3.5% of the total world military spending.

From 1998 to 2001, the Unites States, the UK, and France earned more income from arm sales to developing
countries than they gave in aid. The US, the UK, France, Russia, and China make up 80% of conventional
arms exports. U.S. and European corporations received enormous tax breaks and even lend money to other
countries to purchase weapons from them. Therefore, tax-payers from these countries subsidize arms.
Developing countries are the main recipients of arm sales.

As a result of global financial and economic crisis many nations have cut back on public spending while
increasing military spending.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the massive increase in US military
spending has been one of the factors contributing to the deterioration of the US economy since 2001. Over
half of the US discretionary budget is used for national defense. The US military budget is $700 billion.

The UN Security Council -- the US, the UK, France, and Russia, and China – comprise the world’s top
military spenders. Though the UN was created after WWII to preserve peace through international
cooperation and collective security, the UN’s entire budget equals approximately 1.8% of total world military
spending. One year of global military spending could fund 700 years of UN operations.

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 GDAMS Organizer’s Packet

5B. Global Military Spending vs. Millennium Development Goals

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 GDAMS Organizer’s Packet

5C. World Military Spending Graphic

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 GDAMS Organizer’s Packet

6. Examples of Actions

Be creative! Here are a few ideas to get you started.

1. Bring together 160 people, each of whom represents $10 billion in military spending. Put them in a
formation of something obviously military (a bomb, a gun). At a signal from the organizer, the crowd
reforms as a peace sign.

2. Circle your ministry of defense with people carrying things that symbolize what we should be
spending our government budget on (flowers, food, bandages, clean water).

3. Create large signs that show what $1.6 trillion could be spent on instead (reducing the world’s carbon
footprint, eliminating world hunger, providing free education to all the world’s children).

4. Host an interactive public display that highlights disproportionate military spending. For example,
make a Tax Dollars Dartboard, with concentric circles proportionate to government budgets. Every
dart throw can represent a dollar spent.

5. Create a public display demonstrating the imbalance between military spending and other global
priorities. IPS used flags, as shown below:

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 GDAMS Organizer’s Packet

7. Sample Flyer

Please use the text fields on the attached page to fill in your organization’s information.

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 GDAMS Organizer’s Packet

8. Promotion Checklist

Outreach to Community/Participants

Seek local organization endorsements

Host Planning/Logistical Meeting

Email plans to gdams2011@gmail.com

Prepare materials: flyers, one-pager, signs, banners

Apply for relevant permits

Send press release to local media

Distribute flyers/raise awareness

Plan event rehearsal

Secure recording equipment for event

Send media of event to gdams2011@gmail.com

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