[Cja] [climate09-int] The Future of CJA ; dissolve or find a new course

Tue Aug 24 18:38:09 UTC 2010

errggh, hang-on, what happened to climate change ? its pretty foolish to
think that the issue, problem has gone away !

its understanble that there is burn-out, but its foolish to shut-down
whatever networks where created just before the Cancun climate circus
starts-up

pass the baton, get out of the way, transfer ownership to new foci... but
dont dismantle, rest, nurture and prepare for Cancun

its gearing up for a late and hot summer/Fall of discontent and activist
networks are needed

as to uniting around a cause, forget values and words, we need radical
democracy

take the cue from systems change not climate change and return to a global
justice agenda

I am concerned klimaforum is too quiet ? is it working away behind the
scenes ? is it preparing a big tent on the scale of Copenhagen ?

I think the lesson of Klimaforum09 was that there needs to be something like
a climate social forum running in parallel

also, far more radical activist to grassroots activism

see Liberation Permaculture from oakland
http://permaculture.tv/liberation-permaculture-design-course/

or Tony Andersen from Klimaforum09
http://permaculture.tv/activist-to-grassroots/

I will try to post more of Tony's Klimaforum talk, more about Liberation
permaculture...

http://news.climatesocialforum.org/

On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 10:36 AM, Anna Harris <anna at shsh.co.uk> wrote:

> Hi Mark,
>
> I agree with you to keep CJA going and find a common banner to unite under
> at a local, international and global level, and as Bert says '*we must
> begin with the issues that are the core of our lives - housing, food,
> healthcare, transport, childcare, 'education' - and begin a process of
> strategising how people can assume common control of these fundamental life
> processes'.*
>
> Only one criticism of the 'Values' you propose to unite us - Secularism
>
> *In one sense, secularism may assert the right to be free from religious
> rule and teachings, and the right to freedom from governmental imposition of
> religion upon the people within a state that is neutral on matters of
> belief.  In another sense, it refers to the view that human activities and
> decisions, especially political ones, should be based on evidence and fact
> unbiased by religious influence. *Wikipedia*
>
> *Many of us feel a spiritual dimension enriching our lives, and I see no
> reason why that  should be excluded* *if we choose share it. Can we define
> that value as *the right to freedom from governmental imposition of
> religion upon the people* and so avoid an 'ism'?
>
> Anna
>
>
>
> On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 11:30 AM, Mark Barrett <
> marknbarrett at googlemail.com> wrote:
>
>> Dear CJA
>>
>> Unfortunately I shan't be able to make the international climate meeting -
>> which as I understand it is a CJA one? - this weekend in Holland. Anyhow, in
>> terms of future course, this is what I was going to suggest there, if I had
>> been able to afford the journey.
>>
>> I would like to suggest CJA definitely does not dissolve (well, at least,
>> not in the sense intended) but rather takes full advantage of its amazingly
>> diverse international reach and radicalism. Definitely we should stay
>> together and we should develop itself strategically as a global network,
>> but I think we should widen our appeal while also staying true to our
>> radicalism.
>>
>> With this in mind I strongly believe we should be uniting under one banner
>> that goes beyond, but includes Climate Justice. The sanctity of the
>> environment requires a localisation of political economy, while at the same
>> time globalisation requires a grassroots movement for democratisation /
>> people power with which to transform the increasingly hegemonic forces of
>> state and capitalism. We should set our sights there and put it into the
>> environmental and wider context in one move.
>>
>> Therefore we should accept that the seizure, or reclaimation of power by
>> the people in each and every neighbourhood, workplace and/or other
>> institutions across the world is, and always has been the aim of the global
>> justice movement, and we should therefore be brave, and purposefully put
>> ourselves as a group on the line with that express medium to long term aim.
>>
>> It may seem like an impossible task but what other alternative is there,
>> and what other network is remotely in a position to work toward that? We may
>> seem dispersed, but we will have allies (aswell as enemies, and those who
>> are unsure of what side to be on) in each and every community - those
>> believing in community, people power and equality, aswell as environmental
>> guardianship are everywhere and we need to join the dots for people to see
>> these are all of a piece.
>>
>> So it may seem like an enormous and impossibly ambitious task, but just by
>> making it clear what we stand for, and getting started on it we will be
>> moving forward together and magical things will happen, inshallah.
>>
>> Therefore, we should get our politics in order (see below for some
>> suggestions drafted by myself and colleagues in the UK below) and then start
>> organising at whatever scale we feel appropriate to our local conditions
>> (township, city, nation, local neighbourhood) Peoples Assemblies (or whateve
>> you want to call them, for want of a better word, Soviets.. :-) ) and
>> actually begin that process of collective united struggle for the
>> democratisation and ecologification of globalisation. By communicating to
>> each other our successes, failures, needs and what we have to offer - via
>> emails, video blogs, skype conference calls, actual meetings we can then
>> begin to build a genuine solidarity, and really use this and othe
>> international lists, and web services to the amazing purpose to which they
>> lend themselves...
>>
>> These are extraordinary (and dangerous) times in which anything is
>> possible. Country-wide, worldwide, Europe wide, if we work strategically and
>> do not allow ourselves to dissipate we really can do this now. If not now,
>> when? If not us, who?
>>
>> Here in London and the UK some of us have been working on the idea of
>> uniting under the banner of Peoples Assemblies. After occupying Parliament
>> Square for 3 months as "Democracy Village" (with Peoples Assemblies,
>> discussions, decisions and direct actions takling place every day) we were
>> eventually evicted by the Mayor of London. Here a lot of the energy was put
>> into the campaign to get the troops out of Afghanistan, but also the camp
>> was an eco-village, and we were consciously linked, and spoke about in the
>> media, the International community of climate justice activists and the call
>> for PAs that had come, albeit shakily from CJA. Since our eviction the
>> authorities have boarded up the whole of Parliament Square, but Democracy
>> Village Peoples Assembly has been meeting in Victoria Tower Gardens and we
>> are now planning a Democracy Rally and Peoples Assembly in Trafalgar Square
>> in October. We are also calling on the growing domestic anti-cuts alliance
>> to see the importance of decentralised organising in communities, Peoples
>> Assembly structures as both a way of helping one another (and the
>> environment) in the community, resistance to state-capitalist solutions and
>> building the new society all in one go.
>>
>> Here are some of the thoughts on PAs, and the idea of Democracy
>> Village, including political ideology that have been put forward in the UK.
>> For an iconic symbol that can be recognised and replicated (and also drawn
>> upon according to local conditions) some people are suggesting blank
>> placards
>>
>> A. http://www.aworldtowin.net/frontline/BuildPeoplesAssemblies.html
>> B. Peoples Assemblies and the world we believe they can bring about
>>
>> Values:
>>
>> Equality - each person is able to speak and be listened to -  there is no
>> elite platform
>> Difference - we learn from each other's perspectives; we may disagree, but
>> we listen to one another respectfully and our views become refined through
>> the experience
>> Solidarity - we are together because we believe in the existence of a
>> common agenda. In spite of our differences, we pursue and find consensus
>> over ideas and shared actions
>> Sharing - we believe in a society in which sharing and co-operation trump
>> competition. We freely share food and other gifts at our meetings
>> Secularity - we respect and are happy to learn from different belief
>> systems but are committed to the ideal of secularism
>> Ecology - we believe in a new, really democratic society with a very
>> low/zero carbon footprint
>> Self-determination - we struggle for a new kind of freedom based on
>> community nurturing true individuality, and vice versa - "It takes a village
>> to bring up a child"
>>
>> Democratic Processes:
>> (1) Peoples Assemblies make decisions horizontally
>> (2) Peoples Assemblies are interested to learn about, try out and embody
>> new democratic practices
>>
>> Core Aims:
>> (1) Real Democracy - PAs should find ways to campaign for a really
>> ecological, democratic society at local, national and global levels
>> (2) Decentralisation - to bring this about sovereignty should be vested at
>> the neighbourhood / community / workplace level
>> (3) Internationalism - PA communities link up in solidarity and support
>> across the world
>> (4) Ideals - we are interested to bring about a world based on a
>> Reclaimation of the Commons, Truth, Peace, Sustainability, Justice and
>> Compassion above all things and we are willing to fight non-violently to
>> this end
>> (5) Peoples Assembly movement - to bring these aims about we are calling
>> for a movement based on the idea of Peoples Assemblies
>>
>> Ideology:
>> (1) local, democratic not private or state led provision of public
>> services (the real third way)
>> (2) really democratic, people powered globalisation not capitalist or
>> state-led (the real third international)
>> (3) a new appropriate political economy to match
>> C.
>> http://gco2e.blogspot.com/2010/08/geoarchy-goal-of-peoples-assmeblies.html
>> D. http://www.peopleincommon.org/archive/C421.html
>>
>> Up the global revolution
>>
>> Mark
>>
>> On 24 August 2010 10:49, Peter / GroenFront! <peter at groenfront.nl> wrote:
>>
>>> Dear friends,
>>>
>>> The next meeting op Climate Justice Action should, in my view , have just
>>> one agenda point. Dissolve the network of not.
>>>
>>> Climate Justice Action was formed to mobilise for Copenhagen. In 2009 it
>>> was a lively, planet wide network that was powerfull enough to make a stand
>>> in the streets of Copenhagen. In all the stress and rush to prepare for that
>>> event, we forgot to think about the future of the network itself. As a
>>> result many people dropped out after the Copenhagen summit. Discussions at
>>> the last two meetings have focused on finding a cause to keep the network
>>> alive. The standard recipe of global day of actions was brought up.  But
>>> that's not enough to keep people motivated and keep the network alive.
>>> The meeting in bonn only had 30 people, the next meeting in Holland looks
>>> to be even smaller. Tasks taken up  in Bonn haven't been done.
>>>
>>> Apperently the time and energy to keep the network alive isn't there any
>>> more. Most likely because the network is missing a concrete common goal. A
>>> battle to prepare for.
>>> I think it is time to face facts, and dissolve CJA as it is at this
>>> moment.
>>>
>>> I would be good to keep the mailing list up, to make contacts easier, or
>>> maybey organize a conference on Climate justice in Europe. But to keep
>>> dragging the burden of an international network would be a mistake. It will
>>> drain the time and energy needed elsewhere, and give people the false hope
>>> that we are able to mobilise large amounts of activist for future actions.
>>>
>>> I ofcourse hope to be mistaken, and see lot's of angry people at the next
>>> meeting to oppose my proposal. If not come over to have a drink at the
>>> campfire. I hope anyway to see you all on the barricades , somewhere,
>>> sometime.
>>>
>>> Peter Polder
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> skype:peterpolder
>>> www.groenfront.nl
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> "We hear men speaking for us of new laws strong and sweet /Yet is there no
>> man speaketh as we speak in the street.”
>>
>>
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