Green Left goes International.
Today’s International Ecosocialist meeting on the outskirts of Paris launched a new international. Sixty participants agreed to launch the International to fight for planetary survival and global justice, in the words of one of the organisers Ian Angus to ‘make the greens redder and the reds greener’.
Individuals from socialist currents in Green Parties in France, the UK, Belgium, Australia, socialist resistance, the alliance for green socialism, solidarity (US), the Danish Red Green Party, Greek ecosocialists took part along with the strongest ecosocialist network in Brazil, numbering many thousands including left PT and PV people and indigenous peoples from the Amazon/ landless movement Sem Terra, The Brazillians have contacts with ecosocialist activists in seven other Latin American countries including Venezuela and Cuba.
Individuals from the US, Cyprus, Italy, Switzerland also took part.
Apologies came from the Nepalese Green Party, China, Zimbabwe, Palestine, Poland and the Australian Green Left as well as messages of support from the great eco feminist Maria Mies and former Green MEP Frieder Otto Wolf.
Regional, global and countrywide meetings will follow, a web site will be up soon and the idea is to get diverse people in diverse political organisations to campaign in practical ways for ecology and socialism.
Two British participants found they lived within a couple of hundred yards apart in Camden…..lots of similar network links were made
It was inspiring day, all credit for Joel Kovel and Michael Lowy for writing the ecosocialist manifesto which will be redrafted and the organising work of Ian Angus.
I was relected on to the 12 person committee along with Sarah Farrow and Jane Ennis also from Green Left. Sean and Sally Thompson also came from GL.
Sarah and I are back home but the organising continues tomorrow in the French National Assembly in a room booked by supporters from Les Verts…..a fair few people from the LCR which Michael Lowy belongs came as well today.
It was William Morris made flesh, very very positive day but the test will be in terms of practical action.
There will be another global meeting in Brazil in 2009 which I will join by video being no fly!
And a European meeting in Greece in Feb…
In fact we are trying to maximise contact and minimise flying…
3 comments:
How can one get involved in the international eco-movement?
ecosocialist, I mean.
where are you based? a lot going on in the UK, Australia, Peru but give me some geography and I will dig out some contacts
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