"People Make Glasgow"... I read that slogan for a long time before I ever set foot on Glasgow, on the profile image of a dear online compañero. After two very intense weeks of Glasgow, I can attest that the special depth and feeling of that city definitely comes from its people.
"People Make COP26"... is what I take, as a personal learning, from those two weeks. Way way larger than any Party, there was an amorphous, mycellial, vibrant, ever-changing superorganism composed of a flabbergasting diversity of interests, roles, self- and other-denominations, ages, colours, histories, ancestries... The energy of all the beings who turned their energy towards Glasgow, a more or less shared common interest in having a—really—better life that is not destructive, extractive, oppressing, colonising, allowed for the largest networking event I've ever experienced.
I was there—amongts other things—as The System Composter, not so interested in the declarations, the lobbyists, the new dates for how many degrees, the Blah Blah Blah both in the Blue Zone and out... I was mainly interested in the people. In what we are doing, regardless of the Conference of Parties. In how we are Composting the Systems. In how this confluence of different peoples can act as a massive catalyser for transformation. I listened, asked, witnessed. Inevitable pouring here and there my own stories and struggles and hopes.
In this series I'll be sharing some of the stories I heard, some of the struggles I witnessed, some of the amazing work so many people are doing. And a huge load of beauty. There will be videos, pictures, and my re-telling of the stories from those who wanted to remain anonymous but still be heard.
It's my intention to allow time for participants to share their reflections, and their own stories around the crises and possibilities of our time (Glasgow-related or not)... It will be emerging and guided by what each session brings!
The meetings will be recorded and publicly shared! If you turn your video off, you will not appear in the recordings.
Below are the dates... every session will most likely cover more than one of the suggested aspects... and of course they are all interconnected!
Expectations, Rage, Lobby, Agendas Thu Nov 18, 2021 20:00 - 21:30 (UK time!)
What did we bring to the COP26?
Some of us came expecting that "COP26 will fail", some of us expected some kind of "success". What does it mean for a Conference of Parties to fail or succeed?
What can we learn from the diversity of things we brought to these two weeks? What does it say of us, as individuals, as communities, as a global collective?...
And... What did we actually bring to the COP26?
If we would take the number of delegates as a measure of the size of the Parties taking part in the Conference, the largest by far would be the "Territory of Fossil Fuel Lobby". If we add all other delegates bringing an explicit profit-making agenda, I reckon that would be at least half of the world represented in the Conference. I hope this gives an idea of the extremely biased view of the official negotiations.
But what about the rest of us? I'm sure I brought at least one agenda. I know some of the groups I work with brought clear agendas. How does that influence our interactions and behaviour? How does that affect the overal outcomes?
What were / would have been your agendas at COP26?
Reveal, Repair Fri Nov 19 2021, 15:00 - 16:30 (UK time!)
What did we actually bring to the first two weeks of November in Glasgow? Beyond and outside the expectations fed by our institutions playacting at the Conference of Parties?
What are people, you, we doing that affects the collective crises of our times? How are people, nature, you, we affected by the way the systems that seem to rule our lives work—or don't work?
How are people, you, we repairing, regenerating, inquiring?
Harvest: Hope and Agency Mon Nov 22, 2021 17:00 - 18:30 and Wed Nov 24, 2021 19:00 - 20:30
Now What?! What are the threads, the sparks, the motions flowing from these two weeks of massive global and local networking?
Highlighting the serendipity of Hope actions in this momentous time in our lives. Stories of how touching our truth unfurls into Agency.
Joining Information for all sessions:
Meeting ID: 862 8522 1614 Passcode: manure
If joining from a phone connection
Meeting ID: 862 8522 1614 Passcode: 528451
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