The greatest change has always been driven by movements of people organising from the ground up – from local level battles to facing global crises – to challenge the status quo and raise the ceiling of social progression.
It’s the bonds we share as a collective and how we harness that power that shapes our ability to create change in our communities, the regions we live in, and as a global team of eight billion.
Over the past six months, Greenpeace has been collaborating with young activists, influencers, scientists, and journalists, to co-create a space that showcases the interconnectedness of the work they do.
From activism in the Amazon, to the links between climate and health, we have been producing a series of live online Roundtable discussions that explore themes of diversity, solidarity, intersectionality, depolarisation, and intergenerationality.
“Human rights activists are equally environmental activists. There is a whole link, you cannot separate them…”-Priscilla Nyaaba, Executive Director of Youth Harvest Foundation Ghana, Climate & Health panel
Check out what we have done so far!
Activism in the Amazon
Watch this conversation about what it’s like to be an activist in the Amazon – one of the most biodiverse but threatened places on Earth. Hosted by Greenpeace Brazil’s Cristiane Mazzetti, this discussion features Samela Sateré Mawé of Fridays For Future; Lívia Pinaso from Polluters Out; and community leader Angela Mendes, the daughter of renowned rubber tapper, trade union leader, and environmentalist Chico Mendes. During this Roundtable, the panel explores the challenges of defending the forest and their communities from a wide range of existential threats, the history and progression of the environmental movement in the Amazon, and why protecting the world’s largest rainforest is essential for us all.
Activist burnout, resilience, and wellbeing
Being an activist today comes with many challenges, especially in a world where the COVID-19 pandemic has left us in an uncertain and dynamic scenario. Hosted by environmental and human rights activist Helena Bennett, we hear from actor Bonnie Wright; UK-based climate justice activist Daze Aghaji; founder of Climate Strike, Thailand Lynn Ocharoenchai; and Paul Gorski, founder of the Equity Literacy Institute and EdChange. The group shares personal stories about their own challenges with resilience and burnout as members of the climate movement, and the techniques they have used to work through them, both individually and collectively.
Intergenerational activism
We hear from a global panel of activists about why intergenerational collaboration within the climate movement is vital to its success. Hosted by environmental and human rights activist Helena Bennett; this discussion between actor Lucy Lawless from New Zealand, Fridays For Future’s Lourdes Zair from Argentina, political activist Stanley Mbatha from South Africa, and founding member of Parents For Future UK, Rowan Ryrie, looks at how activism has evolved and changed over the years. Against the backdrop of the climate crisis and growing awareness about the links between environmental and social justice issues, this conversation focuses on how alliances that form across generations and beliefs, culture and race, are vital in creating a fairer and more resilient system that puts people and planet first.
Health in the climate crisis
In collaboration with Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), we look at how the climate crisis exacerbates health and humanitarian concerns in parts of the world where people lack access to healthcare and struggle to meet basic human needs. Hosted by MSF Executive Director Avril Benoît, this Roundtable features Monique Kamat, President of MSF South Asia Regional association; Marcelo Salazar, Executive Coordinator of Health In Harmony Brazil; Priscilla Nyaaba, Executive Director of Youth Harvest Foundation Ghana, and Anushka Bhaskar, member of the Intersectional Environmentalist Council and founder of Avritah. During the discussion, this group of experts and implementers showcase the work of those organizing in the most vulnerable regions of the world to demand social justice and a better quality of life for their communities – sometimes at the risk of their own lives and well-being.
Watch this space, because we have more Roundtable discussions to come. If you or a group you work with is interested in getting involved as a participant, or if you’ve got a topic you think would be valuable to cover, then get in touch – we’re always on the lookout for new opportunities to collaborate!
Call on Christopher Luxon to set up a billion dollar fund to transition New Zealand away from industrial to regenerative agriculture.
