Upcoming webinar: Climate Justice and Peace

Do you remember our webinar earlier this year, where we co-organized a 2-day conference to discuss the future of civic organizing in the context of the global pandemic?

We are back now with a follow-up to the exchanges we first had in April.

“Peace is like a little bird – the more you try to get a grip on it, the quicker it flies away.” This old saying implies that peace is neither a fixed category you can define by statistics like economic wealth nor a visible entity like climate change. For peace is attached to the very essence of the human being. Thus, peace is a multidimensional phenomenon and when we say today that peace is in a big crisis we don´t only talk about the absence of war, but about the economic, ecological, social, cultural crisis which above all has led us in an unaccountable crisis of democracy.

That’s why we feel especially nowadays the urgent need for a multidimensional response to this crisis which has ended up by putting in danger the world-peace from different angles. Authoritarian neoliberal regimes have taken control of the power structures of a world shaken by pandemics, solitary confinements and economic disasters.

We want to invite you to join us online for a conference which is going to take place online on December 5th and 6th, 2020 on the 10th anniversary of thePrague Spring 2 network.
This time the following questions are going to be raised:

How can we organize a campaign in all parts of Europe for an eco-social transformation and disarmament and a Nuke Free Europe and Climate Justice?
How can communities strengthen each other across borders finding ways to build trust and resilience through local food production and stronger solidarity economies?
How can we dismantle authoritarian, military, trade and financial international regimes that support the continuation of racist colonial and neocolonial oppression and where and what can be the contribution of our organizations like trade unions, peasant and Human Rights organizations to peace and democracy?
Because it is clear that there cannot be any democracy without peace, no peace without democracy and no peace on Earth without peace with Earth.

COME AND JOIN US FOR A BETTER WORLD!

Register here. Zoom link will be sent by email.

Organized by: Prague Spring 2 – European network against right-wing extremism and populism – together with UNITED for Intercultural Action, transform! europe, Activist for Peace, Sweden, Alliance for Labour and Solidarity (Spojenectví práce a solidarity – SpaS), Czechia, International Young Naturefriends (IYNF), Young European Environmentalists (YEE), Organizers for the Left (A Szervezök A Baloldalért – SzAB) and ATTAC Hungary.
Programme:
Saturday, 5th December
Central and Eastern European perspectives on Peace, Climate and Equality
13:00 – 13:15 Registration of participants, welcome and organisational remarks
13:15 – 15:00 Rise of Wars and Military Spending and Climate Crises, how to address growing environmental concerns and conflicts in the CEE region. Chair: Igor Gotlib
Belarus: Valeriy Derkach, Alexander Oparin
Ukraine: Yury Dergunov (Donetsk), Andrey Kochetov (Lugansk), Nina Potarska (Kiev)
Southern Caucasus: Bahruz Samedov (Azerbaijan), Aram Amirbekian (Armenia)
Poland: Nina Sankari, feminist
Action proposals.
15:00 – 15:15 coffee break
15:15 – 15:40 “Budapest cuisine” – Hungarian cabaretists (video special performance for European Spring with subtitles)
15:40 – 17:25 Social justice, ecological solutions to the climate crisis and building peace in the CEE region, chair Vera Zalka
Bálint Josa, UNITED, Europe/Hungary
Nelli Gishyan, No Hate Speech network, Armenia
Igor Gotlib, Russia
Ágnes Gagyi, Adjunct Professor ELTE Univ. Budapest, Hungary
Mirek Prokeš, Alliance for Labour and Solidarity (SPaS Czechia) and WSF Int’l Council
general debate
17:25 – 17:30 Cultural ending
Sunday, 6th December
All-European mobilization for Peace, Climate and Equality
09:30 – 10:15 Registration of participants, welcome
Jewish partisan song
introductory remarks, Neringa Tumenaite, Tord Björk, Mirek Prokeš
presentations of action proposals:
Eco-social transformation through universal disarmament and World Social Forum 2021, Leo Gabriel (Prague Spring 2 and WSF Int’l Council, Austria)
Nuke-free Europe and other peace movements and initiatives. Kristine Karch (No to NATO)
Mock COP 26 youth climate initiative and Coalition COP26,
Altersummit, Mirek Prokeš, (SPaS Czechia)
International People’s Assembly
Stop repression and Western biased history (Tord Björk, Activists for Peace) and György Droppa (SzAB)
Central and Eastern European action proposals from previous day
Other action proposals
10:15 – 11:45 Towards an ecosocial peace movement. Chair: Bálint Josa
Asad Rehman, War on want, UK (tbc)
Amos Wallgren, climate justice activist, Finland
Károly György, MASzSz Hungarian trade union
Kristine Karch, No to NATO, Germany
Sina Franz, Int’l Young Naturefriends, (tbc)
11:45 – 12:00 coffee break
12:00 – 13:30 General debate on the European and WSF process chair: Leo Gabriel
Neringa Tumenaité, UNITED for Intercultural Action, Lithuania
Alexander Buzgalin, Alternativy, Russia
Marko Ulvila, Finnish Social Forum
13:30 – 14:00 Conclusions, closing ceremony