NVDA - history/context 

In October 2009, Mohammed Nasheed, then-President of the Maldives and a longtime environmental and human rights activist, held the world's first underwater cabinet meeting to confront the refusal of world governments to reduce carbon emissions. He and his cabinet sat on the ocean floor in scuba gear, communicating with whiteboards and hand signals while signing a declaration calling for global action on climate change.

"If the Maldives cannot be saved today," he told journalists, "we do not feel there is much of a chance for the rest of the world."

Together with countless other actions, movements, and petitions, Nasheed's dramatic wake-up call helped build urgency around climate action. In 2015, governments signed the Paris Agreement at the UN, committing to limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and ideally to 1.5°C.

On February 21, 2012, five members of the feminist punk collective Pussy Riot entered Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour wearing bright neon balaclavas and dresses. They performed their "punk prayer" titled "Mother of God, Banish Putin" in front of the altar, dancing and calling on the Virgin Mary to "become a feminist" and rid Russia of Vladimir Putin. The performance, protesting the Russian Orthodox Church's close ties to Putin ahead of his 2012 re-election, lasted less than a minute before security guards escorted them out.

Three members—Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina, and Yekaterina Samutsevich—were arrested and charged with hooliganism. On August 17, 2012, all three were convicted of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" and sentenced to two years' imprisonment. Samutsevich was later released on appeal, while the other two served nearly two years in penal colonies.

The action sparked worldwide protests in cities including New York, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Madonna, Paul McCartney, and Amnesty International rallied to their defense. What began as a one-minute performance became a global symbol of resistance against authoritarianism, turning Pussy Riot into an enduring icon of artistic activism and the struggle for free expression.

Amnesty, Oxfam and other groups had been campaigning for a global Arms Trade Treaty for over a decade by 2012, seeking to prevent weapons sales to those who might use them to commit war crimes and genocide. But governments were resisting, not least because the global arms trade is worth well over $100 billion annually—current estimates suggest closer to $140-200 billion.

In June 2012, Amnesty organized a creative stunt: Darth Vader visited FN Herstal, a Belgian arms manufacturer, while the Joker visited Dassault in France. Both were equipped with hidden cameras. The companies refused to sell weapons to these fictional villains—yet the actions exposed an uncomfortable truth: weapons WERE being sold to real "bad guys" despite these refusals, and new rules were desperately needed.

The hidden camera videos went viral and the stunt caused official embarrassment, increasing momentum for change. Just over a year later, in April 2013, governments at the UN adopted the Arms Trade Treaty. It was ratified by enough states to enter into force in December 2014. Today, this is the same treaty frequently invoked by campaigners calling for arms embargoes on Israel during the Gaza conflict. (You can see Greenpeace's stance on Israel/Gaza and our action at the US Embassy here)

In 2014, residents and businesses in the small German town of Wunsiedel turned an annual neo-Nazi march into an "involuntary walkathon," where the marchers inadvertently raised approximately €10,000 for an anti-extremist organization called EXIT Deutschland, a program that helps individuals leave far-right extremist groups and build new lives.  

For years, neo-Nazis from across Europe marched through Wunsiedel every November to commemorate the death of Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler's deputy, who was once buried there. Traditional counter-protests had limited success in stopping the marches, so a local initiative called "Rechts gegen Rechts" (Right against Right) devised a creative new strategy.  

Here is how the plan worked:

• Sponsorship: Local residents, businesses, and anti-fascist groups secretly pledged to donate €10 to EXIT Deutschland for every meter the 250 neo-Nazi participants walked.

• Motivational Signage: The march route was adorned with cheerful, brightly colored "motivational" signs that mocked the participants and turned their grim parade into a mock sporting event. Slogans included "If only the Führer knew!" and "Final sprint instead of final victory".

• Mid-point Refreshments: Campaigners even set up a table of bananas under a sign that punned on the title of Hitler's autobiography, reading "Mein Mampf" (meaning "My munch").

• The Reveal: The marchers were largely unaware of the scheme until they crossed the "finish line," where they were met with confetti and a sign "thanking" them for their donation to the anti-extremist cause.

In 2014 an international artist collective, working with UK-based human rights group Reprieve and Pakistan’s Foundation for Fundamental Rights, installed a giant portrait in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan to protest the impersonal nature of US Predator drone strikes and the military slang term “bug splat” used by operators to describe human casualties. 

The 90 × 60 foot image depicted a young girl who had lost both her parents and two siblings in a drone attack, and was laid out in a field so that it would be visible from the air, challenging drone operators to see the human impact of their actions rather than anonymous targets. The artwork aimed to humanise civilian victims, spark empathy in drone operators, and catalyse broader debate about remote warfare and civilian harm. 

The Not a Bug Splat campaign was part of a wider global conversation about drone warfare and civilian protection. In July 2016, President Obama issued an executive order directing US agencies to take steps to reduce civilian casualties, including training personnel, improving surveillance and distinction capabilities, taking feasible precautions, and reviewing incidents where civilians were harmed. The order also required annual public reporting on strikes and assessed combatant and non-combatant deaths outside declared war zones, a reporting requirement later revoked under President Trump. 

In 2014, after a military coup in Thailand, gatherings of more than five people were banned, and hundreds of political opponents were arrested.

In response, anti-coup activists transformed mundane acts into symbols of resistance: reading books, eating sandwiches, and flashing the three-finger salute from The Hunger Games. 

Protesters gathered in small groups to silently read books like George Orwell's 1984, Unarmed Insurrection, and The Power of Non-Violent Means, titles that expressed their opposition without confrontation. 

Students handed out "sandwiches for democracy" in quiet picnics, while a 72-year-old woman was arrested for wearing a shirt reading "Respect my Vote". The junta warned that even liking anti-coup content on Facebook was a criminal offense.

People were arrested for eating sandwiches and reading books, and the salute from The Hunger Games was outlawed. These absurdly petty arrests exposed the regime's authoritarianism and sparked international condemnation. What began as whisper-quiet acts of defiance became powerful symbols that eventually contributed to Thailand's pro-democracy movement, which reignited in 2020.

In April 2016, transgender rights activist Sarah McBride used a simple everyday moment to make a powerful political statement to protest House Bill 2 (HB2), a controversial state law in North Carolina that barred transgender people from using public bathrooms that match their gender identity. 

While visiting to collect stories from transgender North Carolinians affected by the law, McBride entered a women’s restroom she was technically prohibited from using and posted a selfie of herself there on social media with a caption highlighting the absurdity and human impact of the policy, writing, “Here I am using a women’s restroom in North Carolina that I’m technically barred from being in… We are all just people. Trying to pee in peace.” 

The photo went viral and was widely shared as a vivid, personal critique of discriminatory bathroom laws, helping to shift public conversation from abstract policy debates to the lived realities of transgender people. It became one of the most high-profile moments in the broader movement against HB2 and bathroom discrimination, drawing support and solidarity while underscoring how mundane aspects of life are politicised under anti-trans legislation. 

Extinction Rebellion (XR) took part in many actions, this is just one of their most famous.

On April 15, 2019, Extinction Rebellion launched an 11-day "International Rebellion" in central London. Thousands of activists occupied five major landmarks—Waterloo Bridge, Oxford Circus, Marble Arch, Parliament Square, and briefly Piccadilly Circus—transforming them into protest camps with stages, trees, and kitchens.

Greta Thunberg addressed crowds at Marble Arch, urging them to "never stop fighting for this planet." Dame Emma Thompson joined protesters on the pink boat at Oxford Circus. Activists glued themselves to the entrances of the London Stock Exchange, disrupted the DLR at Canary Wharf, and caused over £6,000 in damage to Shell's headquarters to force a jury trial.

The Metropolitan Police made 1,130 arrests—the highest number in any single UK police operation at that time—involving roughly 10,000 officers at an estimated cost of £37 million.

Six days after the protests ended, Parliament declared a climate and environmental emergency on May 1, 2019, making the UK the first country to do so. However, XR noted that concrete action toward their net-zero 2025 goal remained limited.

In January 2023 XR announced a change of tactics in a post titled "We quit". 

Just Stop Oil (JSO) took part in many actions, this is just one of their most famous.

On 7 November 2022 dozens of JSO activists climbed onto gantries over London's orbital motorway, the M25. This resulted in police stopping the traffic, causing gridlock. The protests continued for four consecutive days, ending on 11 November, and involved 45 activists in total. 

JSO is a British environmental activist group focused on the issue of human-caused climate change. It was founded in February 2022 with the primary objective of convincing the UK government to stop licensing new oil and gas projects. Just Stop Oil has often received criticism for using illegal and disruptive tactics in its protests, such as vandalism and traffic obstruction, although the group is committed to non-violence. 

In March 2025, JSO announced its intention to disband and regroup using less adversarial campaign strategies. It was rebranded "Take Back Power" later that year.