# Tim Gee

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{{Infobox Christian leader
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'''Tim Gee''' is the general secretary of [Friends World Committee for Consultation](/source/Friends_World_Committee_for_Consultation), the international organisation of [Quakers](/source/Quakers) worldwide. He is also a writer and faith-based activist in the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom), who popularised the concept of [counterpower](/source/counterpower), and has written about [pacifism](/source/pacifism) and the [Occupy movement](/source/Occupy_movement).

==Personal life==

===Early life===
Gee was born in [Stockport](/source/Stockport), United Kingdom in the mid-1980s.<ref>{{cite news|last=Williams|first=Andrew|title=Social change sometimes happens in unpredictable ways|url=http://mancunion.com/2011/11/28/social-change-sometimes-happens-in-strange-and-perhaps-unpredictable-ways/|newspaper=The Mancunion|date=28 November 2011}}</ref>

===Education===
Gee attended [Aquinas College, Stockport](/source/Aquinas_College%2C_Stockport),<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Mouth and Peace|issue=76|pages=12|url=http://jpshrewsbury.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/mp76-winter-2011-12.pdf|author=Justice and Peace Commissions of the dioceses of Shrewsbury and Liverpool|title=Counterpower - Making Change Happen|editor1-first=Marian|editor1-last=Thompson|location=Manchester}}</ref> a [Roman Catholic](/source/Roman_Catholic) [sixth form college](/source/sixth_form_college) in [Stockport](/source/Stockport), United Kingdom. During this time he was actively involved in the campaign against the [Iraq War](/source/Iraq_War).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sinclair|first1=Ian|title=The march that shook Blair: 10 years on|url=https://zcomm.org/znetarticle/the-march-that-shook-blair-10-years-on-by-ian-sinclair/|website=ZCommunications|access-date=13 February 2015}}</ref>

He went on to study politics at the [University of Edinburgh](/source/University_of_Edinburgh) where he graduated with an [MA degree](/source/Master_of_Arts_(Scotland)) in 2009<ref name="NI">{{cite web|title=Tim Gee|url=http://newint.org/contributors/tim-gee/|publisher=New Internationalist}}</ref><ref name="edit">{{cite journal|last=McCracken|first=Edd|title=Forging the Fairtrade way|journal=Edit: The Alumni Magazine of the University of Edinburgh|issue=Summer 2014|pages=8–11|year=2014|location=Edinburgh}}</ref> While at the university he was a part of its [People and Planet](/source/People_and_Planet) group, promoting [Fairtrade](/source/Fairtrade),<ref>{{cite web|title=Edinburgh Uni P&P have marked Fairtrade Fortnight by launching a You Tube video to inspire more Fairtrade universities|url=http://peopleandplanet.org/navid3694|publisher=People and Planet|date=27 February 2007|access-date=13 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429020907/http://peopleandplanet.org/navid3694|archive-date=29 April 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and was elected the Vice President (Services) of the [Edinburgh University Students Association](/source/Edinburgh_University_Students_Association). In 2005 he was elected to the Board of Directors of [NUS Services Ltd](/source/NUS_Services_Ltd).<ref name="edit" />

==Writing career==
Gee's first book, ''Counterpower: Making Change Happen'' was published in 2011,<ref>{{cite book|last=Gee|first=Tim|title=Counter power : making change happen|date=2011|publisher=World Changing|location=Oxford|isbn=978-1780260327}}</ref> in which he puts forward a theory of how governments and elite groups exercise power, and argues that others can use ''counterpower'' to counter this.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Newton|first=Mark|title=Counterpower: Making Change Happen (book review)|journal=The Ecologist|date=17 November 2011|url=http://www.theecologist.org/reviews/books/1135297/counterpower_making_change_happen.html}}</ref> He puts forward a model in which this ''counterpower'' is splits into three categories: ''idea counterpower'', ''economic counterpower'', and ''physical counterpower''. ''Counterpower'' was shortlisted for the [Bread and Roses Award](/source/Bread_and_Roses_Award) in 2012.<ref>{{cite news|last=Flood|first=Alison|title=New prize for radical writing announces shortlist|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/mar/06/bread-and-roses-shortlist-announced|newspaper=The Guardian|date=6 March 2012}}</ref>

His second book, ''You Can't Evict an Idea: What Can We Learn From Occupy?'' was published in 2013<ref>{{cite book|last=Gee|first=Tim|title=You can't evict an idea: What can we learn from Occupy?|date=2013|publisher=Housmans Books|location=London|isbn=9780852832745}}</ref> as an e-book and in physical form.<ref>{{cite web|title="You can't evict an idea" by Tim Gee|url=http://www.housmans.com/occupy.php|publisher=Housman's Books}}</ref>

His third book is ''Why I am a Pacifist'', published by the Christian Alternative imprint from John Hunt publishers.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=WHY I AM A PACIFIST a call for a more nonviolent world.|last=GEE, TIM.|date=2019|publisher=CHRISTIAN ALTERNATIVE|isbn=9781789040173|location=[S.l.]|oclc=1113411120}}</ref>

Gee has also published in the [New Internationalist](/source/New_Internationalist),<ref name="NI" /> [Scottish Left Review](/source/Scottish_Left_Review)<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gee|first1=Tim|title=Is Poverty History Yet?|journal=Scottish Left Review|date=2008|volume=47|pages=20–21|url=http://www.scottishleftreview.org/li/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=156&Itemid=29}}</ref> and writes a blog for [The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/profile/tim-gee|website=The Guardian|title=Tim Gee &#124; the Guardian}}</ref>

Gee was amongst a group of prominent authors and writers who campaigned against a ban on sending books to prisoners in the United Kingdom<ref>{{cite news|title=Prominent British writers campaign against ban on books for prisoners|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/10722215/Prominent-British-writers-campaign-against-ban-on-books-for-prisoners.html|date=26 Mar 2014}}</ref>

Gee documented the buildup to the eviction of the [Calais Jungle](/source/Calais_Jungle) refugee camp in 2016 for [The Tablet](/source/The_Tablet), as the Writer in Residence at the Maria Skobtsova [Catholic Worker House](/source/Catholic_Worker_Movement).<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gee|first1=Tim|title=A walk through the Calais Jungle - how humanity is surviving against the odds|url=http://www.thetablet.co.uk/blogs/1/939/a-walk-through-the-calais-jungle-how-humanity-is-surviving-against-the-odds-|work=The Tablet|date=21 October 2016}}</ref>

==Political experience==

===Student politics===
Gee was the Vice President Services (VPS) of [Edinburgh University Students Association](/source/Edinburgh_University_Students_Association). He sat on the board of the [National Union of Students](/source/National_Union_of_Students_Scotland)' commercial arm, [NUSSL](/source/NUSSL).<ref name=TG4VPS>{{cite web|last1=Gee|first1=Tim|title=Tim Gee for VPS|url=http://timgeeforvps.webs.com/experience.htm}}{{Dead link|date=June 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}</ref>  He seconded a motion for the University of Edinburgh to revoke the honorary degree it had bestowed on [Robert Mugabe](/source/Robert_Mugabe),<ref name=TG4VPS /> and was involved in the campaign for the University to become a [Fairtrade University](/source/Fairtrade_University).<ref>{{cite news|title=University gets top marks to retain Fairtrade status|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/education/university-gets-top-marks-to-retain-fairtrade-status-1-994396|newspaper=The Scotsman|date=4 August 2006}}</ref>

===Superglue Three===
In 2010, Gee was part of a group, dubbed '''The Superglue Three''',<ref name="Superglue 3 Scotsman 2">{{cite news|title='Superglue 3' admonished for RBS demo|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/superglue-3-admonished-for-rbs-demo-1-1491331|newspaper=The Scotsman|date=17 February 2011}}</ref> accused of committing a [breach of the peace](/source/breach_of_the_peace) at a branch of the [Royal Bank of Scotland](/source/Royal_Bank_of_Scotland) in Edinburgh by gluing themselves to each other and the entrance door of the premises.<ref>{{cite news|title=Climate change protesters appear in Edinburgh court|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-11077167|newspaper=BBC News|date=24 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Court told of RBS glue protest|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/court-told-of-rbs-glue-protest-1-1498931|newspaper=The Scotsman|date=28 January 2011}}</ref> Gee was [admonished](/source/admonition) of a [breach of the peace](/source/breach_of_the_peace), with no financial penalty<ref name="Superglue 3 Scotsman 2" />

In a statement originally published in [The Scotsman](/source/The_Scotsman), Gee linked his action with the [Royal Bank of Scotland](/source/Royal_Bank_of_Scotland)'s financing of [tar sands](/source/tar_sands) extraction in [Alberta](/source/Alberta), Canada, and stated that as 84% of the Royal Bank of Scotland was at that time publicly owned, UK tax payers should have a say in what projects are funded.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gee|first1=Tim|title=Why I superglued myself to the Royal Bank of Scotland|url=http://brightgreenscotland.org/index.php/2010/09/why-i-superglued-myself-to-the-royal-bank-of-scotland/|website=Bright Green Scotland}}</ref> Responding to this, Andrew Cave, Head of Group Sustainability at the [Royal Bank of Scotland](/source/Royal_Bank_of_Scotland), said that he and Gee agreed on a number of points, including that the Royal Bank of Scotland needs to be more accountable and that society should transition to a [low-carbon economy](/source/low-carbon_economy): however he said they disagreed on how this should happen.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cave|first1=Andrew|title=RBS has much in common with protesters|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/andrew-cave-rbs-has-much-in-common-with-protesters-1-808136|work=The Scotsman|date=1 September 2010}}</ref>

===Bond (British Overseas NGOs for Development)===
Gee worked for [Bond (for international development)](/source/Bond_(for_international_development)) as Campaigns Communications Officer, co-ordinating the 2009 [Put People First](/source/2009_G-20_London_summit_protests) campaign and 2008 [Stand Up and Take Action against Poverty and Inequality](/source/Global_Call_to_Action_Against_Poverty) campaign.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sheila McKechnie Foundation: Judges - Global Action|url=http://www.smk.org.uk/judges-global-action/}}{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

===Faith-based campaigning on climate action===
In 2015, moving from political campaigning to faith-based activism, Gee was the Campaign Strategy Lead at the UK Christian development organisation, [Christian Aid](/source/Christian_Aid),<ref>{{cite web|title=Faith in Politics Programme|url=http://www.christianaid.org.uk/images/faith-in-politics-programme-feb2015.pdf|publisher=Christian Aid|access-date=8 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304121643/http://www.christianaid.org.uk/images/faith-in-politics-programme-feb2015.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> where he was part of the faith-based organising team working together with Muslims and Jews for action on climate change.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jews, Muslims and Christians stand shoulder to shoulder in call for climate action - Christian Aid|url=http://www.christianaid.org.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/november_2015/jews-muslims-and-christians-stand-shoulder-to-shoulder-in-call-for-climate-action.aspx|website=www.christianaid.org.uk|access-date=8 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312122913/http://www.christianaid.org.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/november_2015/jews-muslims-and-christians-stand-shoulder-to-shoulder-in-call-for-climate-action.aspx|archive-date=12 March 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In 2016, Gee led the [Big Church Switch](/source/Big_Church_Switch), encouraging British churches to switch to a renewable energy provider.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Harvey|first1=Chelsea|title=What these Christians are giving up for Lent: Fossil fuels|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/02/10/what-these-christians-are-giving-up-for-lent-fossil-fuels/|newspaper=Washington Post|date=10 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Gee|first1=Tim|title=Protecting God's Creation: churches commit to the green energy transition|url=http://www.theecologist.org/campaigning/2987511/protecting_gods_creation_churches_commit_to_the_green_energy_transition.html|work=The Ecologist|date=19 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Clark|first1=Pilita|title=Churches put their faith in green energy|url=https://www.ft.com/content/3909aeee-6f96-11e6-a0c9-1365ce54b926|work=Financial Times|date=1 September 2016}}</ref>

==Religious views==
Gee is a [Quaker](/source/Quaker), and in 2011 appeared on a poster advertising the [Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain](/source/Britain_Yearly_Meeting).<ref>{{cite web|last=Gee|first=Tim|title=Making peace a way of life|url=http://newint.org/blog/2012/10/05/peace-action-quakerism/|publisher=New Internationalist|date=5 October 2012}}</ref> Gee delivered prepared ministry on the subject of "movement building" to [Britain Yearly Meeting](/source/Britain_Yearly_Meeting), the national annual meeting of Quakers in Britain, in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gee|first1=Tim|title=Movement Building|url=https://quakers-production.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/store/20b861c01e82b782a2d26cb6fb9a7fdce124634f684c3e94bc5c8ca322cd|publisher=Britain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)}}</ref> Gee built on this further when he was invited by the ''George Gorman Memorial Fund''[https://ggmf.weebly.com/] to deliver the ''George Gorman Lecture'' at [Britain Yearly Meeting](/source/Britain_Yearly_Meeting) in 2017, exploring themes of power, diversity, and the spiritual root of political action within the [Religious Society of Friends](/source/Religious_Society_of_Friends).<ref>{{cite news|last1=Smallman|first1=Elinor|title=The George Gorman Lecture: Movement building from stillness|url=https://thefriend.org/article/the-george-gorman-lecture-movement-building-from-stillness|work=The Friend|date=10 August 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Quakers in Britain|title=Gorman Lecture given by Tim Gee at Yearly Meeting Gathering 2017|url=https://vimeo.com/228055246|publisher=Vimeo|date=August 2, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Hall|first1=Laurence|title=Movement Building from Stillness|url=http://theyoungquaker.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/TYQ-Oct17-FINAL-for-website.pdf|work=The Young Quaker|issue=16|date=October 2017|page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Memorial Lecture|url=https://ggmf.weebly.com/memorial-lecture.html|website=The George Gorman Memorial Fund}}</ref> He has been involved in promoting [Britain Yearly Meeting](/source/Britain_Yearly_Meeting)'s ''Sanctuary Everywhere'' programme in response to forced migration.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gee|first1=Tim|title=Why it is time to build a culture of sanctuary|url=http://www.quaker.org.uk/blog/why-it-is-time-to-build-a-culture-of-sanctuary|website=Quakers|publisher=Britain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Gee|first1=Tim|title=Why rejecting a person seeking sanctuary is a rejection of Christian values|url=https://www.quaker.org.uk/blog/sanctuary-and-christian-values|website=Quakers|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Should Bath Quakers become a Sanctuary Meeting?|url=https://bathquakers.org/2017/08/23/should-bath-quakers-become-a-sanctuary-meeting/|website=Bath Quaker Meeting|date=23 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Being a sanctuary meeting East Cheshire Quakers|url=http://eastcheshirequakers.org.uk/area_meeting/event/being_a_sanctuary_meeting|website=eastcheshirequakers.org.uk|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Quaker Week meeting: Creating Sanctuary|url=http://banburyeveshamquakers.org.uk/images/stratford%20quakers%20newsletter%20august%202017.pdf|work=Stratford-upon-Avon Quakers Newsletter|date=August 2017|pages=1–2}}</ref>

==Bibliography==

===Books===

Gee, T (2011) ''Counterpower: making change happen'' New Internationalist Publishing: Oxford, UK [http://newint.org/books/politics/counterpower/]

Gee, T (2013) ''You can't evict an idea: What can we learn from Occupy?'' Housmans: London, UK [http://www.housmans.com/occupy.php]

Gee, T (2019) ''Why I am a Pacifist: A call for a more nonviolent world. John Hunt'': London, UK<ref name=":0" />

Gee, T (2022) "Open for Liberation - an activist reads the bible"

===Chapters===

Gee, T (2012)  The children of the children of the revolution.  In: Coatman, C. & Shrubsole, G. [Ed] ''Regeneration'' Lawrence & Wisehart: London, UK 109-116 [https://web.archive.org/web/20131217085941/http://www.lwbooks.co.uk/ebooks/Regeneration.pdf]

===Articles===

Gee, T (2008) Is Poverty History Yet? ''Scottish Left Review'' (47) 20-21 [http://www.scottishleftreview.org/li/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=156&Itemid=29]

Gee, T (2008) Will Red and Green Ever be Seen?  ''Scottish Left Review'' (46) 18-19 [http://www.scottishleftreview.org/li/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=143&Itemid=29]

Gee, T (2013) You cannot be free if you are poor ''Peace News'' (2562) [http://peacenews.info/node/7372/you-cannot-be-free-if-you-are-poor]

Gee, T (2013) The battle for Mandela's legacy is only beginning  ''The Independent'' 3 July 2013 [https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-battle-for-mandela-s-legacy-is-only-beginning-8683473.html]

Gee, T (2014) Yasuni: a cautionary tale ''New Internationalist'' (471) 38-40 [http://newint.org/features/2014/04/01/yasuni-ecuador-cautionary-tale/]

===Lectures===
The 2025 [Backhouse Lecture](/source/Backhouse_Lecture): ''The seed is in all: A journey through the Quaker world''.<ref>{{YouTube|noXJtu7ZKnM}}</ref> (Melbourne, Australia)

===Film===
Tim produced the film "[http://londonminingnetwork.org/2018/08/film-marikanas-precious-metal/%20film Marikana's Precious Metal]", a 2018 film marking the sixth anniversary of the South African [Marikana massacre](/source/Marikana_massacre), when striking mine workers were fired on by security forces. Seventeen workers died.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gee, Tim}}
Category:1980s births
Category:Living people
Category:People from Stockport
Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Category:British writers
Category:Occupy movement
Category:Pacifism
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:21st-century British writers

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tim Gee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Gee) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Gee?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.