REPORTS FROM MONTHLY MEETINGS

September, notes from Holly Jorgenson

 

Climate Coordinators  9/3/23

 

Highlights of Unified Goal workshop.  All in one-sentence statements so it could be interpreted into French,

 

Chioma:  impactful, good reminder.  Focus.  Encouraged us to appreciate ourselves.  Work on our isolation and separation.  Connect with one another since this isn’t something to do alone.   Work on isolation Gave us time to discharge on what’s in our way of taking action. Dealt with the same issues we’ve been working on:  racism and isolation.  On something else I didn’t get—some workshop maybe.

 

Ruth:  When in the grip of distress recordings, it’s hard to take in new info or change our minds.    In order to get important info across to people, we need to make human contact with them. 

 

How often in climate work we think we just need to give them info and then they’ll change.  Helpful reminder that it’s not how things work.  Reach them in a human way.

 

Carolyn:  We must decide that we want everything.  All of it.  She led two small middle class topic groups. Tim asked us to decide to not be separate.  As a result, she has had good conversations with reactionary neighbors. 

 

Jan:  She’s gotten a lot of discharge from I do not agree to be separated.  I will not be separated.  Really trying to connect with everybody.  We really are more powerful than our patterns and we can choose that perspective.

 

Hawa:  Leadership is thinking.  Part of changing the world is learning how to lead people.  What recordings make you stop leading people.  Notice people that you don’t normally.  Say hi to people.  Keep contacting people.

 

Diane:  The importance of building a large movement.  We don’t have enough people with us, so we have to reach more broadly.  In particular, we have to have the working class with us to accomplish real change.  Have to have the people who have the power to stop and make change, and that’s the working class.  Work on reaching the working class and how to work together with them. 

 

Jane:  As we work on our past, we have to take on the present.  He asked us how each of us to challenge our distresses and do more than they would want us to do. 

 

Questions about our role as a CC?  How do we engage new people?  Same cycle—come and go, including with young people?

 

Quote from Diane, Tim.

Discouragement plays a key role in keeping movements not moving.  One way of connecting may be joining them in their org before we tell them what to do.  Be consistent.  Keep the events constant and communicate they’ll be welcome.

 

Diane:  people learn new ideas best when they are with a group box people that they already know and like, feel comfortable with. 

 

Work with churches, unions, parents group where people are already a part of, and feel at home in.  IF somebody’s church isn’t yet talking about climate change and you’re a member of the church, you can talk to the leader and see if you can do it there and talk to members.

 

There are international orgs who are a part of cC and you can put them in connection with it.  There are international orgs of every kind addressing the climate emergency, that we can help groups connect with.

 

There are many Int’l C orgs who would love to have a chapter in Nigeria.  If you invite young people who’d like to join an int’l group, like Fridays for Future or Sunrise might love to help people start a group in any part of the world.

 

Is that what you are asking about?

 

Most people join RC through a personal relationship.   Somebody they know who’s interested, they have a session with them and share what they want to know. 

 

How to speed that up by doing events in the context of climate change  to introduce more people more quickly.

 

Offer a regular climate circle on the CE.  Make a write up, regular time, invite friends, come as often as want.  From there, people who get how powerful a session is, invite them to join your classes.  Events with a booth, introduce people, offer what we know to people. 

 

Booklet “Tools for Climate Organizing” is very useful.  SAL could provide you with many copies to help you. 

 

Hokameto, Togo

 

Appreciate the summary of the workshop and the time here.  Someone with another org asked if SAL could join with others,  Yes, join with similar goals.  There will always be a reference person who’s in charge of SAL.  Chioma, for you.

 

Increase amt of work done in RC onCC.  Listening circles are SAL, not the job of CC.  But in some parts of Africa, the impacts of CC are a key issue for their RC community.  Lot of work on CC in Chroma’s region.

 

Some have taken on public projects as well as leading in RC.  That’s not happening in very many regions of RC.  Most of our goals is to still increase the numbers of RC’ers to put their attention there. 

 

In most of our regions, we need to make sure ongoing classes, workshops address CC.  Discharge.  If a region has a lot of work goin on, we may want to use this as a tool for growing the community.  Offering listening Circles more broadly in the community may be useful, but it has to be thoughtful. 

 

Attacks: there have been attacks on RC within the climate movement.  One theme has been that RC;ers come into the orgs to recruit to RC.  We’ve had RC’ers come into groups so excited about RC, they enthusiastically, without relationships and trust, that it’s been a mistake.    So RC has been attacked in several places.  It was a mistake but don’t deserve to be attacked and/

 

Attacks: first thing to ask:  Tell me where you learned that.  Personally engage with them. 

Is this your personal experience or based on something you heard or read?  If heard or read, I’d like you to base your opinions on your personal experience rather then what you find on the internet.  I ask that you verify what you read with your own experience before you repeat it. 

There are thousands of co-c working on the climate worldwide.  We do a lot of important work of

If you talk about us, you undermine the work we do.  Could we please talk about this and come to some understanding b/c I don’t want you talking about cc without your experience.

 

D doesn’t want us to do this alone,  Please let us know, strategize, pull in other helpers. 

Good chat statement:

 

1.  Do you have personal experience with RC that you are basing your evaluation and feedback on?  If so, what is your experience? If it is information on the internet, I ask that you verify what you have read (or heard) with your own experience before you repeat it.

 

2.    Have you looked at the work that we do--either in RC or Sustaining All Life (our project on climate change)?  I would be glad to share written materials or videos with you, or links to our websites, or bring you to one of our events.  I would like your judgment to be based on your own experience.  Not everyone likes the close personal work that we do, and that is fine, but that should not be the basis for criticism of us. 

 

3.    We have a strong commitment to ending the climate emergency and thousands of our members are engaged in this work. You are doing the work of our opposition by voicing what I think is unfair criticism of us, instead of acknowledging the work we do to end the climate emergency. All of our opposition benefits when we are divided and tear one another down.  Can we talk this through and try to come to an understanding? 

 

Appreciations:

It was a learning class. 

Many times we’re met with questions like the attacks.  Catholics like to come up with differences.

Good to be the host.  Gives a different experience—understands much more closely the connection difficulties are.  All the people in the disabilities group from Tim’s workshop are attending; we’re significant in the climate movement.

The chance to do a mini with people I hadn’t before—from Sweden and Nigeria.  The specifics about how to handle different situations. 

 

Thanks G for interpreting
 
*****************************************

March and April

Janet’s Report

I gave an update on the updated guideline on PGM and I, and the need for the distinction between the two. Talking about “Indigenous and Global Majority people” together blurs the distinction between these two groups of people and confuses people about how we can achieve the liberation of both groups. "Native and Indigenous people” will now be one term, and "Global Majority people" the other.

We also got an opportunity as a group that is targeted by racism, and also the worst impacted by the Climate Crisis get an opportunity to:

  1. Check in on how we are doing around racism.
  2. Hear how it’s going for us towards implementing the unified goal as either Native and Indigenous people and/or Global Majority people.
  3. Remember to keep working on discouragement and powerlessness as we are having to face bad news more regularly now.

Diane’s Report

I met with the white people.  I asked them to look at a few issues:

  1. Is there a Global Majority or Native/Indigenous person they partner with in their work.  Because of racism and genocide, it is important that we always have GM and NI thinking steering this work with us.
  2. If not, are there any GM or NI people who can consult with you from time to time.
  3.  If not, part of your work will be engaging with those in your community who are working on ending racism and genocide.  

*We also talked and discharged about our struggles with racism, especially the ways racism was impacting our work.  

 

February 5, 2023

More good ideas:

Offer climate support groups to your constituency, with 2 focuses, working inside RC with constituency and working in wide world

Meet with your buddy

Focus on your constituency

Work toward a Regional workshop on the United Goal/climate emergency annually

Get people working early on what is in the way of engaging

Discharging on the impacts of climate change in my country

Involve young people and schools

Brainstorm with climate coordinators in sister Regions

Lead topic groups at workshops

Post to the environment list about our activities

Meet monthly with ARPs and key climate activists

As a white person, consulting with and coordinating with IPGM leader

Focusing on 5 questions over 7 weeks.  1.  Something going well in your life right now; 2. What’s a powerful move you have made in your life—recently or generally;  3. What specifically are you most scared of when the climate crisis is mentioned?; 4. What action would you take if you dared?; 5. What is the early material that could stop you if you let it? ; 6. Closing circle-next step you will take about the climate crisis.

Hold a monthly class on the Unified Goal

Team of people, each going after others to have sessions and invite to climate gathering

Gather a group of your constituency leaders.

Meet with other climate coordinators regularly

Hold a support group weekly for 6 weeks

Separate group for “turned off” activists, for people new to activism, for current activists

Work on supporting Indigenous people—starting with a few hour group, then a day, then a weekend.

Encourage new leadership

January 12, 2023

Report on first 2 Climate Emergency Coordinators meetings.

Thanks to everyone who came, and we look forward to seeing those who haven't been able to attend yet.  Thank you all for taking on this role.

The role of the coordinator is as big as you want, any or all of these things:

  1. Make sure the work on the Unified Goal is happening in your Region.
  2. Think of all the things that could be done in a Community to move the work on the climate emergency and the Unified Goal forward. Ask the ARP, RRP, and other leaders what ideas they have?
  3. What would be helpful for people to support their counseling and constituency work regarding climate change, both in and out of RC.
  4. Who could lead what well? In consultation with Reference People, encourage people to lead, or lead events yourself.
  5. What has worked that we should do again?
  6. What could we try that we haven’t?
  7. Encourage people who are already involved in climate work and bring new people to the work
  8. Build connections, get people working together in groups

There were many great ideas exchanged.  Here are some:

  • Get a buddy
  • Write a letter to your region, introducing yourself and your role
  • Devote a month to the Unified Goal
  • Counsel all the leaders on what they have to face to take on this goal
  • A series of classes on climate change
  • Meet with the RRP to get their thoughts
  • Get people reading and discharging on the Unified Goal
  • Get the existing group of people leading on climate together to think about who else we could get leading, and get an organizer for that group
  • Work on being allies to indigenous people
  • Get each teacher to lead a class on the Unified Goal
  • Lead a quarterly group to think about next steps and set up climate buddies
  • Build a stronger relationship with the ILRP
  • Learn the history of this work in the Region
  • Listening to teachers about what they have done
  • Experiment with taking action outside RC
  • Get intergenerational work going
  • Get younger people involved
  • Organizing support for RCers who play big roles in climate outside of RC
  • Bring the perspective on keeping our attention in Present Time to our work on climate
  • Prioritize connection and doing this work together
  • A monthly climate activist support group
  • Form a group of people committed to discharge and take action around the Unified Goal
  • Use the Wygelian format group on what should happen with the Unified Goal
  • Climate change series of classes with each class taught by a different person to develop leadership
  • Reorganize all classes and support groups around the Unified Goal. 
  • Hold think and listens on Unified Goal
  • Ask people to do things, not just suggest
  • Get people together at the Regional workshop
  • Start environmental club in the school
  • Hold listening projects at climate demonstrations
  • Every class in the region to at least do a climate moment
  • Hold half of every class on the climate emergency
  • Lead workshop on the climate emergency
  • Lead a climate group where people bring along other people who haven’t done RC
  • Emphasize taking action together
  • Involve others in reforestation project
  • Expand reforestation into education and awareness raising
  • Organize a workshop for elders and climate
  • Work with leaders to keep up our momentum on climate

Thanks again to everyone who attended.

Love,

Diane

 

RAPPORTS DES RÉUNIONS MENSUELLES

mars et avril

Rapport de Janet

J'ai fait le point sur la mise à jour de la ligne directrice sur les PGM et l, et sur la nécessité de faire la distinction entre les deux. Le fait de parler à la fois des " peuples autochtones et de la majorité mondiale " brouille la distinction entre ces deux groupes de personnes et crée de la confusion quant à la manière dont nous pouvons parvenir à la libération de ces deux groupes. Les "peuples autochtones et indigènes" seront désormais un terme, et les "peuples de la majorité mondiale" l'autre.

En tant que groupe ciblé par le racisme, et aussi en tant que groupe le plus touché par la crise climatique, nous avons eu l'occasion de.. :

  1. Faire le point sur nos actions en matière de racisme.
  2. Entendre comment cela se passe pour nous en ce qui concerne la mise en œuvre de l'objectif unifié en tant que peuple autochtone et indigène et/ou en tant que peuple de la majorité mondiale.
  3. Se rappeler de continuer à travailler sur le découragement et l'impuissance car nous devons faire face à de mauvaises nouvelles plus régulièrement maintenant.

Rapport de Diane

J'ai rencontré les Blancs.  Je leur ai demandé de se pencher sur quelques questions

  1. Y a-t-il une majorité mondiale ou une personne autochtone avec laquelle ils s'associent dans leur travail ? En raison du racisme et du génocide, il est important que nous ayons toujours un GM et un NI qui pensent à diriger ce travail avec nous.
  2. Si ce n'est pas le cas, y a-t-il des personnes de la GM ou des NI qui peuvent vous consulter de temps en temps ?
  3. Si ce n'est pas le cas, une partie de votre travail consistera à vous engager auprès de ceux qui, dans votre communauté, travaillent à mettre fin au racisme et au génocide.

*Nous avons également parlé de nos luttes contre le racisme, en particulier de l'impact du racisme sur notre travail, et nous nous en sommes déchargés. 

 

5 février 2023

D'autres bonnes idées :

Proposez des groupes de soutien climatique à vos électeurs, avec deux points de vue : travailler à l'intérieur du CR avec les électeurs et travailler dans le monde entier.

Rencontrez votre camarade

Concentrez-vous sur votre circonscription

Travailler à l'organisation d'un atelier régional annuel sur l'objectif des Nations Unies et l'urgence climatique.

Faites travailler les gens très tôt sur ce qui les empêche de s'engager.

Décharge sur les impacts du changement climatique dans mon pays

Impliquer les jeunes et les écoles

Remue-méninges avec les coordinateurs climat des régions sœurs

Animer des groupes thématiques lors des ateliers

Publier sur la liste de l'environnement des informations sur nos activités

Rencontrer chaque mois les ARP et les principaux militants pour le climat

En tant que personne blanche, consulter et coordonner avec le responsable de l'IPGM.

Se concentrer sur 5 questions pendant 7 semaines.  1.  Quelque chose qui va bien dans votre vie en ce moment ; 2. Quel est un geste fort que vous avez fait dans votre vie - récemment ou de manière générale ; 3. De quoi avez-vous le plus peur lorsque l'on évoque la crise climatique ? 4. Quelle action prendriez-vous si vous osiez ? 5. Quel est le premier élément qui pourrait vous arrêter si vous le laissez faire ? 6. Cercle de clôture - prochaine étape que vous prendrez concernant la crise climatique.

Organisez un cours mensuel sur l'objectif unifié

Équipe de personnes, chacune allant chercher les autres pour organiser des sessions et les inviter au rassemblement sur le climat.

Rassemblez un groupe de leaders de votre circonscription.

Rencontrez régulièrement d'autres coordinateurs pour le climat

Organisez un groupe de soutien hebdomadaire pendant 6 semaines

Groupes distincts pour les militants qui ont cessé de militer, pour les nouveaux militants et pour les militants actuels.


Travaillez sur le soutien des populations autochtones - en commençant par un groupe de quelques heures, puis une journée, puis un week-end.

Encouragez les nouveaux dirigeants

12 janvier 2023
Rapport sur les 2 premières réunions des coordinateurs d'urgence climatique.

Merci à tous ceux qui sont venus, et nous avons hâte de voir ceux qui n'ont pas encore pu venir.  Merci à tous d'avoir accepté de jouer ce rôle.

Le rôle du coordinateur est aussi grand que vous le souhaitez, une ou plusieurs de ces choses :

  1. Assurez-vous que le travail sur l'objectif unifié se déroule dans votre région.
  2. Pensez à toutes les choses qui pourraient être faites dans une
  3. Communauté pour faire avancer le travail sur l'urgence climatique et l'objectif unifié. Demandez à l'ARP, au RRP et aux autres leaders quelles sont leurs idées ?
  4. Qu'est-ce qui serait utile aux gens pour soutenir leur travail de conseil et de circonscription concernant le changement climatique, à la fois dans et hors du CR.
  5. Qui pourrait bien diriger quoi ? En consultation avec les personnes de référence, encouragez les gens à diriger, ou dirigez vous-même les événements.
  6. Qu'est-ce qui a marché et que nous devrions refaire ?
  7. Que pourrions-nous essayer que nous n'avons pas encore fait
  8. Encouragez les personnes qui sont déjà impliquées dans le travail sur le climat et amenez de nouvelles personnes à ce travail.
  9. Créer des liens, faire travailler les gens ensemble dans des groupes

De nombreuses idées intéressantes ont été échangées.  En voici quelques-unes :

* Trouvez un copain
* Conseillez tous les responsables sur ce qu'ils doivent affronter pour atteindre cet objectif.
* Organiser une série de cours sur le changement climatique
* Rencontrer le RRP pour recueillir leurs avis
* Faire en sorte que les gens lisent et se déchargent sur l'objectif unifié.
* Réunir le groupe existant de leaders sur le climat pour réfléchir à qui d'autre pourrait être leader, et trouver un organisateur pour ce groupe.
* Travailler à être des alliés des peuples indigènes
* Demander à chaque enseignant de diriger une classe sur l'objectif unifié.
* Diriger un groupe trimestriel pour réfléchir aux prochaines étapes et mettre en place des copains pour le climat.
* Renforcer les relations avec l'ILRP
* Apprendre l'histoire de ce travail dans la région
* Écouter les enseignants sur ce qu'ils ont fait
* Expérimenter des actions en dehors du CR
* Mettre en place un travail intergénérationnel
* Faire participer les jeunes
* Organiser un soutien pour les membres de la CR qui jouent un rôle important dans le climat en dehors de la CR.
* Apporter la perspective de maintenir notre attention dans le temps présent à notre travail sur le climat.
* Donner la priorité à la connexion et à la réalisation de ce travail ensemble
* Un groupe de soutien mensuel pour les activistes climatiques
* Former un groupe de personnes qui s'engagent à se décharger et à agir autour de l'objectif unifié.
* Utiliser le groupe de format Wygelian sur ce qui devrait se passer avec l'objectif unifié.
* Série de cours sur le changement climatique, chaque cours étant donné par une personne différente pour développer le leadership.
* Réorganiser toutes les classes et les groupes de soutien autour de l'objectif unifié. 
* Organisez des séances de réflexion et d'écoute sur l'objectif unifié
* Demander aux gens de faire des choses, pas seulement de suggérer
* Réunir les gens lors de l'atelier régional
* Créez un club environnemental à l'école.
* Organisez des projets d'écoute lors des manifestations sur le climat.
* Chaque classe de la région doit au moins organiser un moment sur le climat.
* Organiser la moitié de chaque classe sur l'urgence climatique
* Animer un atelier sur l'urgence climatique
* Animer un groupe sur le climat où les gens amènent d'autres personnes qui n'ont pas fait de RC.
* Insistez sur la nécessité d'agir ensemble
* Impliquer d'autres personnes dans le projet de reforestation
* Étendre le reboisement à l'éducation et à la sensibilisation.
* Organiser un atelier sur les aînés et le climat
* Travailler avec les leaders pour maintenir notre élan sur le climat.

Merci encore à tous ceux qui ont participé.

Merci beaucoup,

Diane


Last modified: 2023-09-05 01:28:07+00