Watch

….a film about women partisans in Italy during the Second World War.“We Weren’t Given Anything For Free”. A fascinating documentary that interviews former Italian partisan Annita “Laila” Malavasi, who was active in the battle for Italy’s liberation from fascism. Laila and her two comrades, Gina “Sonia” Moncigoli and Pierina “Iva” Bonilauri talk about their time in the Resistenza and what it meant to them and many other women. Sadly you can only watch this clip see
But if you want to show the film contact the film maker : eric.esser@makeshiftmovies.info

Also have a look at The European Resistance Archive which was set up to interview women and men who took part in the antifascist resistance in Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Austria, France, Italy and Germany during the Second World War. It made me aware of how many women were involved in the resistance and how little we know about their lives.

Be inspired

Mary Quaile

……..at the Mary Quaile day on 21 March. We can learn a lot from trade unionist Mary and on this day we will commemorate her life and also look at some of the campaigns going on now that are inspiring. The day will be part of the Wonder Women festival and International Womens Day. Our event will remind people of the real message of IWD which was about changing women and men’s lives and achieving a fairer society. Themes will include; the history of IWD, trade unionism today, the Scottish Independence campaign and the role of women, the rise of Podemos in Spain and here, and socialist feminism today. Further info see

Look and learn…..

..about direct action. It is building workers and particularly the Blacklisting Campaign which has led the fight against large companies with millions of pounds of public money trying to undermine rights at work.Watch this film about the way in which they challenged poor health and safety at the Crossrail site in London see

Find out about

…working for MULE magazine. Interested in local journalism? Want to get experience as a writer and editor? MULE is looking for people to regularly contribute to the website and join the editorial team. They are offering a free 10-week community journalism course starting in March to train people in weekly sessions. The editor of the Salford Star is running the training, so its going to be good!

The info evening at Subrosa Manchester is for people to find out more about MULE and get more details about the course. Everyone and anyone is welcome on 24 February 7-9pm at 27 Lloyd Street South, M14 7HS. Any questions or if you’re interested in applying to the course, email editor@manchestermule.com.