After all these years working on Ecofeminism, we finally got a specific area into the organization. Let us tell you our main achievements.
Image: training on Ecofeminism for the GP Spain staff
1 A new framework to get closer to the sustainability of life.
We have conducted dialogues (diálogos) with many important people from the ecofeminist movement in Spain (activists, thinkers, economists, academics) to bring clarity and concretion to the sustainability of the life paradigm.
What tells us this paradigm? ¿Why is it so necessary to change our way of thinking and acting? ¿How does it come true in our daily activity; when we design campaigns, create messages, and do activism? At the beginning of 2023, we’ll have completed a document with the key content to share it. Don’t miss it.
Image: first Ecofeminist dialogue with Yayo Herrero, Amaia Pérez Orozco, Julia Martí and Lorena Ruíz-Huerta (May 2022)
2 Ecofeminism in projects and campaigns
In 2022 we joined the Energies for Peace project (Energías para la Paz). From here we have deepened in the collective role to generate alternatives and in the attention we must pay to those who are most vulnerable to the energy crisis. And we have focused on appealing to the responsibility of public administrations. In 2023 we will continue working on the analysis of how much energy we need to live and how we face the reduction in the activities that destroy life to focus on those that sustain it.
Image: Action of the Violet Group on Black Friday
In addition, we have generated specific content (contenidos específicos) for periodic campaigns such as Black Friday and have invited other Greenpeace offices in Europe to reflect (reflexionar) on what the ecofeminist paradigm brings to us.
3. Ecologism and feminism go hand in hand and we like to tell about it.
We start the year by interviewing in "Mathematics, penguins and the Artic Sunrise" (Las matemáticas, los pingüinos y el Artic Sunrise) two women who decided to put their knowledge in the defense of nature and who claim the importance of women being part of the scientific and activist world.
Then came the 8M and we joined again the feminist plan to change the system, and the global cry that brings together women from all corners of the planet, from rural and urban realities, indigenous women defenders and those who resist every war, those who fight against energy poverty and those who can come together to create a more democratic energy model. 8M y volvimos a sumamos al plan feminista para cambiar el sistema
Image: demonstration of March 8, 2022
But the joy that 8M always gives us was overshadowed this year by the war in Ukraine. And what does this have to do with ecofeminism? We think it has a lot to do with ecofeminism. We need new mental frameworks so that the culture of war that floods us becomes a culture of caring for life. “Otra cosmovisión frente a la guerra y el cambio climático
In addition, we once again made visible during Pride month that To protect the planet is to protect ourselves in all our diversity".“Proteger la tierra es protegernos en toda nuestra diversidad”.
4. Ecofeminism, volunteering and activism.
We have worked around different levels of our organizational culture and activism, giving space and opportunity to our Ecofeminist Area in the two national meetings.
Image: volunteers with the message: "diverse, happy and ecofeminists always"
In April, Nerea gave a presentation about Ecofeminism from a sustainable life perspective. You can read it here (aquí). At the November meeting (encuentro de noviembre) we tackled the ecofeminism concept, the GPE work, the key framework for the sustainability of life and many examples of ecofeminist activism.
Image: Workshop about Ecofeminist in our annual meeting of volunteers in the warehouse
The “Grupo Violeta” (Violet Group) keeps working. It is formed by people from the Volunteer network of GPE who try to apply ecofeminism principles among the volunteer group. It has also participated in an international skillshare about mobilization in Greece, where they brought a workshop on Ecofeminism. (taller)
In November, the National Meeting of Violet Group took place in Madrid. It went along with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The group took advantage of this day to condemn women's exploitation in the current consumption model on the streets. Lara tells us about it on this blog.
During the meeting, we shared with Rosario, an Argentinian mate from GP, and the Roots Project ( proyecto Roots ). She told us about her experience in the creation of ecofeminist dynamics and safe spaces in a climate camp, full of young people from many different cultures in Tunisia.
We also connected with Hettie, captain on Greenpeace ships and on board the Rainbow Warrior; Rosy and Simona, crew members of the Rainbow. They explained to us their experience on board. Davinia tells us about it on the blog aquí.
5. Ecotopias
Imagining others ways of relationship beyond Eurocentric, patriarchal and colonialist perspective is specially necessary in the current situation of ecological and social crisis.
If we want to transform the world in a better place, we have to be able to imagine it.
Our capacity for dreaming of possible futures is being flooded by the machinery of dystopian fiction, and it makes it increasingly difficult to imagine something different.
From this view, we are trying to boost the School of activism (Escuela de Activismo), different talks about inspiring experiences, as well as dialogues with fiction creators from different fields (diálogos con experiencias inspiradoras) that already are transforming their reality and building new and hopeful escenarios. ( Artea network, housing cooperatives, film makers and illustrators)
Now we just can thank all the people who have joined us along this year, in this ecofeminst journey and wish you all a 2023 full of joy, action and good company.
For an ecofeminist world!