Alternatiba, Village of Alternatives

Alternatiba is a framework to mobilize society to face the challenges of climate change. Numerous Alternatiba events, which provide hundreds of alternatives in order to raise people's awareness and to stimulate behaviour change, have been or will be organized in over sixty different French and European cities. Additionally, these initiatives aim to put pressure on politicians, especially with the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Paris Conference or COP21, which will take place in December 2015 in Le Bourget, Seine-Saint-Denis

History

The first Alternatiba, village of Alternatives, took place in Bayonne on October 5 and 6, 2013. It was initiated by the Basque environmental organization Bizi!,[1] and reunited over 12.000 people. Following the Copenhagen Summit failure in 2009, they felt it was time to show "European citizens that everything cannot be expected from political decisions at a higher level. We should start at the base, right where we live, with practical initiatives: eco-construction, short distribution chain, renewable energies, organic food, and local money… A list that should certainly not be restrictive in order to create a European citizen dynamic.[2]”

In a festive and friendly atmosphere, the visitors were able to discover that "solutions exist; they are already put into effect by thousands of associations, local communities and individuals. Even better: these alternatives contribute to a more pleasant society where solidarity, justice and people matter.[3]”

The first village hosted 50 conferences and 15 thematic areas with workshops and stands, as well as a vast number of artistic and educational activities. 90 organizations supported the event "such as Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, SUD solidaires, Attac, Biocoop, the Nicolas-Hulot Foundation as well as a thousand volunteers."[4][5] Stéphane Hessel became the sponsor of the event in 2012, followed by his wife Christiane Hessel after his death. She concluded the event with a speech calling for the construction of 10, 100, 1 000 Alternatibas all over the world.[6]

On February 22, 2014, in Nantes, hundreds of people rallied for the first Alternatiba meeting on a European level.[7] The initiators of the Bayonne Alternatiba presented the guidelines and emphasized the main principles. In the wake of this event, a European framework for Alternatiba was created.[8]

A Charter describing the shared values and common principles of all the Alternatibas was defined on October 6, 2013[9] and then revised after successive debates of the Alternatiba committees.

During the summer of 2014, the Nantes Alternatiba committee proposed to create an "Alternatiba" anthem,[10] recorded by a collective from Nantes with professional and amateur musicians.[11]

Method and tools

The accumulated experience gained by Bizi ! during the construction of the first Alternatiba is reflected in the similar organizational methods of the different Alternatiba collectives. The cross-sectoral commissions decide on the location of the event; organize meetings with the city halls and official organisms; channel, bring together and manage the funds; as well as the general communication and logistical organization, which relies on the work of a large number of volunteers.

Thematic committees concentrate more on the actual content of the event and the organization of the different thematic areas. Thus, they define and organize the different conferences and workshops that will take place. At almost every Alternatiba, a climate area is introduced as well as different thematic areas concerning the use of natural and energy resources such as transport, energy, agriculture, food, and also areas dedicated to alternative lifestyles and culture, education, solidarity, shared goods, sustainable development, the necessity of international environmental justice, etc.

Building an Alternatiba should be a federating process for diverse actors, members of different organizations and people with different implication levels. It is a project based on a limited territory, with the aim to create long-lasting dynamics after the event.

Alternatiba Tour on a tandem for four

The Alternatiba Tour will cross 6 European countries; it is in preparation and will leave from Bayonne on 5 June 201521. The tour will be held on 3- or 4-person bikes, symbols of the environmental transition, solidarity and collective efforts; other cyclists will join the tandems as they arrive in each city along the 5.000km22 route.

The aim of the Tour is to popularize the diverse Alternatiba initiatives in the cities that take part in the movement. The project's goal is to keep on highlighting the possible alternatives that already exist and to start mobilizing citizens on the climate.[12] The tour will end in the Île-de-France region where the Paris Alternatiba will be launched on September 26 and 27, 2015.[13]

Previous Alternatibas

Alternatiba collectives have currently been established in more than 60 cities, most of them in France.

2014

2015

References

  1. ↑ "Fêtes de Bayonne 2013 : une photo géante pour Alternatiba". Sud Quest. July 26, 2013. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  2. ↑ According to Jean-Noël Etcheverry, an organizer of this event, in "10 000 personnes réunies à Alternatiba contre le réchauffement climatique" (in French), La Vie, 6 October 2016
  3. ↑ Cf. Reporterre on 2013, October, the 6th
  4. ↑ Cf. "Alternatiba! lance la fronde contre le réchauffement ", L'Humanité, 4 October 2013
  5. ↑ See List of the 98 organizations signing the call « Construisons un monde meilleur en relevant le défi climatique » in page 4 of the web-site annex.
  6. ↑ See here the content of the Christiane Hessel's discourse.
  7. ↑ See reporting of the event in Reporterre
  8. ↑ See the details on the web-site of Alternatiba Nantes
  9. ↑ See here the first formulation of the Chart.
  10. ↑ The song can be heard by clicking here
  11. ↑ Six months after its first production, according to the Reporterre article, it has been listen over 2,000 times.
  12. ↑ For more détails see the page « Tour Alternatiba 2015 : le projet ».
  13. ↑ According to the article « 5000 kilomètres en vélo... et 1000 manières de soutenir le Tour Alternatiba ! » published on 2014, December, 5 in the French Basta !, Quelques mois avant le sommet international sur le climat à Paris, fin 2015, un drôle de vélo va traverser six pays européens et parcourir 5000 kilomètres pour porter le message d’Alternatiba.
  14. ↑ Cf. the French newspaper Ouest-France published on the 2014, September, 29
  15. ↑ Cf. the article in the French national newspaper Le Monde published on the 2014, october, 10
  16. ↑ According an article published on the 2014, October, 13 in the regional newspaper Sud Ouest, more than 15,000 visitors participated in conferences, spectacles and workshops in the Village Alternatiba Gironde
  17. ↑ "The first of 42 of these eco festivals across Europe", Todmorden News (Todmorden), April 15, 2015 "Alternatiba Todmorden is the first of 42 Alternatiba festivals planned across Europe this summer. (...) The festival begins on Sunday, 3 May, starting at 10.45 am when the town Mayor is set to open it at Todmorden Town Hall. "Reduce, re-use and recycle is a good slogan to keep in mind in daily life," said Janet Rogers, one of the organisers. "Also, eating food which has taken less energy to produce and transport, will lower our energy consumption and therefore our CO2 emmissions.","
  18. ↑ What's On in Arts Culture and Entertainment, Todmorden News on = 2015-04-17
  19. ↑ « Alternatiba Attention au climat » Retrieved 2015-06-08
  20. ↑ « Un festival pour changer la planète » in La Depeche consulted on 22 March 2015
  21. ↑ « Nouveau formum Alternatiba 05 pour regrouper les alternatives des Hautes-Alpes » http://alternatiba05.forumactif.org/
  22. ↑ Voir La Marseillaise.fr from the 13th of January, 2015.
  23. ↑ http://www.bienpublic.com/edition-dijon-ville/2015/06/10/un-village-festif-pour-le-climat
  24. ↑ Cf. Announced on FR3 with 2 videos
  25. ↑ http://blogs.mediapart.fr/blog/louise-fessard/190615/marseille-alternatiba-entre-en-desobeissance-civique-contre-gaudin mediapart
  26. ↑ http://www.20minutes.fr/marseille/1635391-20150619-marseille-ville-privee-village-alternatiba 20minutes.fr
  27. ↑ Cf. N° du 04 Juil. 2015 : "Comment sauver la planète du réchauffement aux Ulis" by Sebastien Morelli"

External links

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