“Togetherness.”
“Sunshine.”
“Community care.”
“That we are powerful.”
These are some of the responses participants shared on what they were grateful for as they were leaving the Reclaiming Climate Justice Summit, which we had the pleasure of hosting by the Danish coast in the third week of October.
Over the course of 3 days, 23 participants from Spain, Italy, Norway, Belgium, Greenland, the United Kingdom, France, Denmark and elsewhere across Europe gathered to share experiences, strategise, and express their shared vision for climate justice through conversation, art, and movement.
From the opening session, which critically interrogated Denmark’s reputation as a global leader in sustainability and climate action, and a breakout conversation on how systemic racial and environmental inequalities have an impact on the education system, employment and the economy, to a collaborative workshop on building a climate movement that centres the voices, experiences, and leadership of communities most affected by the climate crisis: a connecting thread running through the gathering was the question of how we can redistribute power, making the climate space more diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
Of course, the sessions included an exploration of how the courts can be used tactically and strategically for the climate justice movement.
We were lucky to have sunny weather, which made our surroundings in Tisvilde, Denmark even more beautiful. We took time for a long walk through the forest’s autumn colours and along the beach, and were able to watch the sunset by the coast after a rich day of programming.
We looked at the challenging side of activism, including through a somatic “composting trauma” workshop, which used the metaphor of composting to explore how we handle traumas, and a workshop on how we can creatively express ecological mourning – the emotional and psychological grief that people experience due to climate change and the destruction of ecosystems – through art and literature.
Art and creativity were a central feature of our time together, with music, film, song, poetry, being shared throughout. Musician Deodato Siquir had us all dancing together, and we got creative with pencils and crayons in our session on the last day to vision board a climate-just future.
We are thankful for the support of the French, Turkish, and International Sign Language interpreters who helped make the gathering more accessible, to Gilberto Morishaw for supporting the hosting of the Summit and bringing good cheer throughout the event, and to the wonderful team at Kildegaard for the hospitality and delicious food.
The Reclaiming Climate Justice Summit was convened in response to a need, repeatedly shared with us by BIPOC climate activists, to have space to connect, share, and build collective power. A space to make it possible for community-led climate justice organisations and movements to ensure that an intersectional approach becomes central to the current climate debate and policy.
The summit is part of Systemic Justice’s initiative to build BIPOC power in the climate movement, which aims to build a shared vision of true climate justice. Beyond the summit, this includes our BIPOC Climate Justice podcast and speaker series.
What will happen next will be up to the participants, who left the summit with a host of new ideas, connections and reflections on what true climate justice looks like. We look forward to sharing more of their vision and next steps with you over the coming period: watch this space!