Alternatiba, Village of Alternatives

Alternatiba, Village of Alternatives
(French) Alternatiba, village des alternatives

Alternatiba event in Paris (2015).
Status Active
Frequency Annually
Location(s) Multiples cities
Country International (mostly in Europe)
Years active 3
Inaugurated 5 October 2013 (2013-10-05)
Activity Mobilise society to face the challenges of climate change
Patron(s) Stéphane Hessel and Christiane Hessel
Website
alternatiba.eu
Alternatiba event in Paris, before the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Alternatiba in Caen.

Alternatiba is a framework to mobilise 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 organised in over sixty different French and European cities.

Additionally, these initiatives aim to put pressure on politicians, especially before the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris (and the next United Nations Climate Change conferences).

History

The first Alternatiba, village of Alternatives, took place in Bayonne on 5–6 October 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, local money, etc. 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. Ninety 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 22 February 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 6 October 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 organization of the different Alternatiba collective reflect the experience gained by Bizi ! Cross-sectoral commissions decide on the location of the event, liaise with local governments and manage the funds. Organization relies on the work of a large number of volunteers.

Thematic committees concentrate on the content of the event and the organization of the thematic areas. 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, for example.

Alternatiba Tour

in 2015 the Alternatiba Tour crossed six European countries, using 3- or 4-person bikes and joined by other cyclists along the 5,000-km route. The aim of the Tour was to popularize the Alternatiba initiatives and to start mobilizing citizens on the climate. The tour ended in the Île-de-France region at the Paris Alternatiba on 26–27 September 2015.[12]

Previous Alternatibas

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

2013

2014

  • Agen – 13 September 2014
  • Valence d'Agen (Alternatome) - 3–4 May 2014
  • Gonesse – 20–21 September 2014
  • Paris Festival des Utopies Concrètes – 27–28 September 2014
  • Nantes – 28 September 2014[14]
  • Lille – 4–5 October 2014[15]
  • Socoa – 5 October 2014
  • Gironde – 10–12 October 2014[16]
  • Tahiti – 29–30 November 2014

2015

2016

References

  1. ↑ "Fêtes de Bayonne 2013 : une photo géante pour Alternatiba". Sud Quest. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  2. ↑ According what said an organizer of this event. See Article, La Vie, 6 October 2013.
  3. ↑ Reporterre, 6 October 2013.
  4. ↑ "Alternatiba ! lance la fronde contre le réchauffement", L'Humanité, Friday 4 October 2013 (page visited on 31 August 2016).
  5. ↑ 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. ↑ Christiane Hessel's speech, www.alternatiba.eu.
  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. ↑ According to the article « 5000 kilomètres en vélo... et 1000 manières de soutenir le Tour Alternatiba ! » published on 5 December 2014 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.
  13. 1 2 3 Pascaline Minet, "À Genève, un festival pour le climat", Le temps, 23 September 2016, page 14.
  14. ↑ The French newspaper Ouest-France published on the 2014, September, 29
  15. ↑ Anne-Sophie Novel, "Alternatiba, le mouvement citoyen qui fait le plein à tout va", Le Monde, 10 October 2014 (page visited on 31 August 2016).
  16. ↑ Article, RTL, 13 October 2014. According to 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), 15 April 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. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/alternatibanarbonne
  23. ↑ Voir La Marseillaise.fr from the 13 January 2015.
  24. ↑ http://www.bienpublic.com/edition-dijon-ville/2015/06/10/un-village-festif-pour-le-climat
  25. ↑ Announced on FR3 with 2 videos
  26. ↑ http://blogs.mediapart.fr/blog/louise-fessard/190615/marseille-alternatiba-entre-en-desobeissance-civique-contre-gaudin mediapart
  27. ↑ http://www.20minutes.fr/marseille/1635391-20150619-marseille-ville-privee-village-alternatiba 20minutes.fr
  28. ↑ N° du 04 Juil. 2015 : "Comment sauver la planète du réchauffement aux Ulis" by Sebastien Morelli", Le Parisien.
  29. 1 2 Alternatiba Léman, Geneva (page visited on 22 September 2016).

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