CLIMATE JUSTICE AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURES

An annual event of the Meeting Rivers programme of Pipal Tree, Bangalore (India) and Dialogues en Humanit?, Lyon (France)

CLIMATE JUSTICE AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURES

 Wednesday, 15^th February evening to Sunday, 19^th February evening 2012
Venue: Fireflies Inter-religious Ashram, Bangalore-India

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Dear Friends,

 It gives us great pleasure to announce the February Dialogues 2012 event. The focus will be on Climate Justice and Sustainable Futures. We are hoping to build on the experience of previous Dialogues.

 Each year that goes by alerts us to the fact that we must spread awareness of the climate crisis and act with a sense of urgency.

 These Dialogues will bring together social movements, NGOs, unions of farmers and indigenous peoples, religious leaders and policy makers. About 75 participants will come from all over the world, with half from India.

ORIENTATIONS AND OBJECTIVES:

• The potential for alternative movements to become stronger is now very real. The Arab spring, the protests on Wall Street and the anger of communities all over the world bear witness to a new context that is potentially full of promise. Social movements and other civil society organizations urgently need to usher in a new paradigm of sustainable ?development?.
  

• At this event there will be presentations from different community and religious traditions, including perspectives of secular spirituality. All these reflections will attempt to evolve fresh action-reflection praxis based on a critical understanding of community values and spiritual and religious practices that foster hope and give inner strength in the fight for climate justice.
  

• With the alarming rise of agribusiness, small farmers? movements are evolving strategies to confront and innovate simultaneously, especially on just food sovereignty options that include low carbon farming, adaptation measures and climate justice policies. Farmers? movements will share their experiences of fighting agribusiness and renewing small farmers? movements in a new context of rising food prices and wildly unpredictable weather patterns. There will also be an attempt to focus on efforts to define what climate justice would mean to struggling small farmers.
  

• Innovative alternative sustainable development options are emerging from adivasi (tribal) struggles within and outside forests. What does this mean for a new paradigm of development? We also hope to focus on the displacement challenges which forest communities are facing, including concerns with reforestation efforts as part of a carbon sink/mitigation strategy.
  

• This conference will bring together significant social movements, NGOs and other civil society actors who have a vision of energy equity for the poor and a just alternative energy policy. How to popularize these perspectives and strategies will be explored.
  

• We hope to deepen reflections related to transforming governance and institutions for Climate Justice. In the years to come, both internal and international migration related to climate change will become huge issues. There is great urgency to put in place national and international laws and institutions around these issues with the participation of vulnerable communities.

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MUSIC FESTIVAL

 The reflections of the February Dialogues 2012 will end on Sunday, 19^th February morning, where a declaration emerging from the Dialogues will be shared among the participants.

 The same will be read out to the audience of the annual Fireflies Festival of Music which will be held on 19^th February from 12 noon to 10:00 pm. (Participants are requested to remain till the end of the festival as the best groups will perform after 7:00 pm)

ACCOMMODATION

 We will take care of board and lodge of participants from 15^th February to 20^th February.

PARTICIPATION

 As we can only accommodate a limited number of participants, please inform us well in advance. For new participants to the February Dialogues may we request you to send us a short note of your involvement in the issues mentioned above.

With many warm regards,

Siddhartha