West Africa continuing to strengthen and build the movement
GPS team Ghana had their first in person meeting on the 23rd May. Although the team had met each other before as most of them scheduled their visas interviews at the Turkish Embassy for the same day, it was the first official meeting to discuss the Global Power Shift and their planning process. Team participants had met in Accra not only because of the location being rather central for those who travelled from cities such as Kasoa and Tema, but seeing as this is where the embassy is located. Participants were eager to get started with their phase 1 and dove right into the country mapping for after the opening prayer. Team members stepped up and volunteered to collect information that is needed for the exercise from various sources such as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI). Others had suggested contacting KASA (an umbrella CSO on Environment rand Climate Change issues in Ghana).
Participants meet face-to-face in Accra
On the road to Istanbul
By Landry Ninteretse Eight days. This was the duration of our stay in Kampala where GPS participants from Burundi and Rwanda and myself had gone mid-May with a dual purpose: first apply for our visas for Turkey where will be held the very expected Global Power Shift conference and also initiate meetings and discussions between participants from Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. The journey from Bujumbura to Kampala is long. Very long. 16 hours of bus travel! Personally, I am used to such a trip, having traveled on this road more than a dozen times. This Sunday morning as we departed, I was worried about my colleagues. Two of them were taking this road for the very first time. Surprisingly, there was little pain at the arrival. Although a little tired, participants were joyful and excited to finally meet the Ugandan participants. One of them, Aaron, also 350 organiser in Kampala came to pick us at the bus station. Aaron had arranged accommodation for the ladies near Makerere University and offered us accommodation at his place, a fraternal gesture much appreciated!
Rich and varied ways of conducting the country mapping were exchanged during meetings in Kampala
Nigeria’s first face-to-face meeting for Global Power Shift
Report compiled by the Nigerian GPS team The 14th May saw the kick off of the first face-to-face meeting in Abuja, where participants not only got a chance to meet each other in person, but, were also being interviewed as part of their visa processing requirements. The team meeting was geared towards familiarization of team members and promoting synergy and effective interaction for proper knowledge sharing on the purpose of GPS and how best to broaden the networks towards mobilization, organize and develop specific start up strategies that will confront the climate change crisis and for social justice. The meeting opened with a prayer with 8 participants in attendance. Next was a brief formal introduction of team members, sharing organizational and or personal experiences on strategic climate change advocacy/campaigns and networks. The agenda covered a few aspects such as the review of the GPS information pack where participants discussed their general understanding to broaden and deepen actions, organizing; and mobilizing movements to confront the climate change crisis while advocating for social justice.
Team participants in discussion about the Global Power Shift
A determined GPS East African team
By Genny Ndayisenga Kampala, Uganda- Tuesday 14th of May-The first regional meeting to prepare the GPS took place on Tuesday May 14, 2013 at Serene Hotel in Kikoni. Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda attending the GPS as a team were all represented at the meeting. The delegations from Burundi and Rwanda arrived Sunday night not only to take part in this meeting, but also for the process of visa applications for the trip to Turkey. There is no Turkish embassy neither in Burundi nor in Rwanda. We then took the road to Kampala -16 hours road trip – and at the arrival we were all exhausted. But as far as I’m concerned, I was not worried about tiredness. I couldn’t wait to see the great commercial city Kampala. The city is too noisy with a high traffic of cars and motorcycles that run at full speed without worrying about accidents that could happen. In short it is a very hectic city!
The country mapping exercise was mainly discussed during this meeting in Kampala
African teams starting shifting power
On Tuesday the 30th April, physical meetings kicked-off in Africa-Arab world with the Kenya meeting in Nairobi as part of preparations of GPS – phase 1. Here Caroline and Valentine, Kenyan participants share the highlights of that gathering while we are waiting for more news and stories from the rest of teams soon.
Were we excited to meet? Yes. Tens of emails and two Skype calls later, it was a first of many meetings to come. Obviously energized to start up, we were lucky enough to host two attendees (These are not part of the participants going to Turkey, but key allies in the national climate movement.) After brief introductions, the meeting kicked off.
The discourse ensued firstly tackling the overall climate-related challenges faced in Kenya including inter alia; severe droughts, information gap, limited access to energy, little progress on green economy, youth involvement in climate activism and corporate engagement.
GPS Kenya participants and allies during their first face-to-face meeting in Nairobi
Participants then had the opportunity to express what they felt needed to be done by the different groups and stakeholders. Issues with the youth which emerged were: need for information and participation, mobilization and systematical organization in order to amplify effectiveness in the climate work. Read the rest of this entry »
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