A reflection written by Clemence Hutin, who took part in our 2014 YFoEE Network Gathering in Lithuania, 23-27 April.
We will be back! we declared back in Warsaw last year, after walking out of the corporate captured UN climate talks.
And coming back means being very very busy- for all of us!
Every year, Young Friends of the Earth holds its annual network gathering in a different European country. The idea is to meet each other, to reflect on what’s been done in a year, and to make plans for the year to come. It’s also the opportunity to elect a steering group, the decision-making group for Young Friends of the Earth Europe.
This year, the gathering took place in Lithuania, in the small village of Lapiai, near the Baltic coast. 20 young people came from 12 countries: Norway, Malta, France, Germany, Ireland, the UK, Slovakia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Ukraine, Lithuania. The setting was absolutely perfect: log cabins in the Lithuanian countryside, fresh air, delicious food. Games, workshops, open-sessions, presentations, discussions… our days were very busy, but thanks to the warmth and sunshine, we mostly worked outdoors. In the evenings, we relaxed and got to know each other.
The road to Paris
Many events are coming up: we’re still working on the Climate Spring campaign, the Bonn sessions of the UN climate talks are coming up, the summer camp in Bulgaria is just around the corner… Important international events are also on our minds: Ban Ki-moon’s climate summit in New York this September, and the Lima talks in November, the final stepping stones before the big UN conference of 2015 in Paris. It feels like a countdown is in motion.
There’s excitement in the air: Paris is a big opportunity for the climate movement. It’s an opportunity to come together, to raise our voices, to show our strength, to demand change.
How do we make it as big as we can? That’s the challenge of the year ahead.
YFoEE has decided to focus on 2 key things. We want to focus on climate justice, on linking environmental issues with social ones. The other goal is to put grassroots struggles back on the front stage, to spread the stories of people, all over Europe, resisting destruction and putting forth the real solutions.
To achieve that, we need to build more synergy between our movements. We need to build bridges and megaphones, to make the invisible visible.
A very, very big thank you to the Young FoE Lithuania team for inviting us, and a big thank you to our incredible cooks, constantly feeding us, and to the organising team.
Onward!