It was an honour for the Decolonial Centre to be invited to the Global Justice Now Youth Camp in tranquil Lewes. We were privileged to hear from incredible speakers who shared reports from struggles around the world. Ivonne Yanez from Acción Ecológica in Ecuador, Sasha Reza Chohra from ATTAC France, and Dorothy Guerrero from Global Justice Now opened our eyes to the various frontlines of global struggle. Their insights into how capitalism and colonialism shape our world reminded us that we were in good company. After our launch event in Brazil, this was the first in-person event that the DcC ever participated in.
Hareem from Global Justice Now took the stage next, introducing not only the organization but also each speaker who would shed light on different aspects of decolonization and climate justice. Their combined expertise provided a comprehensive understanding for those present.
Saturday Morning: Decolonizing the Global Economy
The morning began with serene yoga sessions in nature’s embrace. Lewes is gorgeous, in stark contrast to the awful stuff we were going to grapple with: namely the colonial economy. Led by Nick Dearden from Global Justice Now, Mohammed Elnaiem from Decolonial Centre, we had an interesting discussion on the global economy, and the idea of the new international economic order.
Mohammed Elnaiem, the director of the Decolonial Centre, speaking with Nick Dearden, the director of Global Justice Now. They were imagining what a New Economic International Order could look like.
After the discussion, there were morning trainings that centered on a bunch of themes that GJN Youth had already begun to address. These training sessions and workshops included things like:
1. Creative Action Planning: Participants learned how to design impactful actions that effectively communicate campaign messages while reaching new audiences.
2.Organising Effective Activist Events: The youth activists looked at how to organize events that foster political education,fundraising efforts,and community building.
3.Organising 101 – Challenging Corporate Power: Grassroots campaigning was demystified, and the youth were taught how to challenge corporations and the kinds of campaigns they could get plugged into
Campaign Issues Workshops:
These workshops were about plugging people into the campaign issues GJN focuses on such as climate debt,reparations,and health justice:
1.Climate Debt and Reparations: The discussion shed light on climate debt owed by wealthy countries due to historical fossil fuel emissions.
2.Health Justice & Big Pharma’s Power:This was about big pharma’s prioritization of profit over public health.
3.Stop The East African Crude Oil Pipeline:A call-to-action against French oil giant Total’s plans which threaten communities,wildlife,and exacerbate global climate change impacts
GJN Youth at a workshop later on during the day.
Saturday Evening Extravaganza:
It’s not a youth camp if there is not a party. Delicious meals were prepared in our community kitchen, and danced through the night with vibrant DJ sets. Alex Etchart & Vientos graced us with their live music—fusing South American ballads with soulful electronica, which was very cool.
This incredible event brought together renowned international activists and social justice movements from around the world. We heard from incredible activists like Ivonne Yanez from Oilwatch Latin America and president of Acción Ecológica. She had dedicated her efforts towards protecting the environment, and was leading an inspiring campaign to protect the Yasanui from fossil fuel extraction.
It really made us realise that our mandate is important. The Youth (we’re showing our age here) really do want to learn more about colonialism and what to do about it. We think our organisation has emerged at the right time.
