Journal, January 28

Two weeks ago, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the 6^th International Congress of Youth Environmentalists in Concepcion, a small town in the central highlands of Peru.  Under the theme “Ecological Challenges in the New Millennium,” more than 200 people from Bolivia, Chile, the United States, Germany, Canada, and 6 departments of Peru participated in the event.  The main events of the conference included presentations by experts and youth, an educational fair, visits to the regional eco-protection centre and wastewater treatment plant, and a protest at a government health building.  As well, we enjoyed an exhibit of youth environmental photography, a play by a local youth theatre troupe, and a cultural night where all of us shared the music and dance traditions of our home countries.  It was thrilling to take part in this dynamic event, and come together with like-minded youth from all over the world who were working to address their local environmental realities.

As the conference took place in La Sierra (Andean region) of Peru, and many participants came from Andean communities in Bolivia and Chile, a common theme among these local realities was the environmental devastation caused by mining activities.  While the North American delegates were warmly welcomed to the conference, those from South America openly expressed their anger toward the North American mining companies that were contaminating their lakes and rivers, poisoning their children, and mutating their animals.  They did not understand how these companies could be allowed to cause this damage in South America, but not in their own North American backyards.  This was a difficult question for me to swallow, but it was one that I was prepared for.

For my presentation, I had chosen to discuss Idle No More, an indigenous movement that was consuming (or rather, being consumed by) Canadian media at the time, but that had hardly reached the Spanish-speaking world.  I had intentionally chosen this topic in order to start breaking down stereotypes about “development” in the North, and raise awareness about First Nations social and environmental issues.  Most importantly, the presentation allowed me to build solidarity and a sense of common purpose between the Northern and Southern environmentalists present at the conference. 

Through Peace and Conflict Studies courses I have taken at UW, as well as through my work with the Centre for Black Peruvian Women’s Development, I have seen how the work of building international solidarity networks is foundational to movement building.  Not only do these networks facilitate knowledge sharing and collective actions, they allow activists to scale up successes by strategizing together and turning isolated local activities into calculated steps toward structural reform.   And with the social networking tools that are now available to us, the 21^st century is a better time than any to build these connections.

While it is exciting to take part in this work, it is clear that the environmental movement is not yet at its peak.  We are still in an organizational phase, in which individual groups are working for limited reform.  Although some of these organizations are now forming alliances, they have yet to attain the transnational cohesion and power of the corporations they are trying to confront.  But at the conference, I could feel the winds changing, and I sensed that when the youth environmental movement fully emerges, it might be Southern-led.  While many Canadian activists like me struggle passionately on behalf of small island nations and vulnerable Inuit communities, the truth is that we tire easily, because in the end, it does not always feel like our own lives are at stake.  But the Southern activists that I met at the conference have everything to lose, and they have dedicated their lives to the struggle.  They are going to university with specific goals, and returning to their communities 5 years later to work passionately, tirelessly, and skillfully to protect the environment.  It was inspiring to witness their dedication and professionalism, and I am excited to see a global environmental movement with these youth at the helm.