“It is too late to be pessimistic” – Friday, June 23, 2017 CRID and One Planet held a day for reflection and exchange on the topic “alternatives for solidarity transitions, from the local to the international. 75 people attended this meeting, which had the format of a seminar, representing 69 organisations and many different forms of the alternatives.
In the opening round table, hosted by David Eloy, journalist and host of Citizen Reporter, Patrick Viveret, philosopher and president of the Sol Movement, in response to questions about the future of the struggles, quoted this statement by Matthieu Ricard.
“It’s too late to be pessimistic” that indeed is the general feeling of the contributors: there is an urgency felt by not only the present movement activists, but beyond by a growing number of citizens who are organizing to stem the flow of consumerist propaganda generated by the advertising industry and organize local life in response to ecological and social of this early century issues. Amélie Canonne, responsible for advocacy in Emmaus international and previously Coordinator of campaigns against bilateral agreements and pointed out that anti-transatlantic treaties campaigns have highlighted the pernicious nature of these agreements and enabled new mobilizations.
“There was a real dynamic, with more than 1,000 communities in France who were reported “out of TAFTA”. However, they are not yet able to materialize this position in their actions, because the systemic issues are still very difficult to integrate in the long term for these local actors.” For more information, there is a faithful report of this meeting here.
