The stories we carry define who we are. Our ancestral history and our lived experiences. They bring to life an untamed nature that’s raw but grounded in so much truth. They relate to others but are uniquely ours. They capture so much more beyond the world we know, they bring people together and ignite a flame that makes us work past the challenges we face, as a people, as a nation, as a Pacific. 

For 350 Pacific, global moments of unity like the Global Just Recovery Gathering play a key part in our history and our story. It was at one of these, the Global Powershift in 2013, that a group of young activists from across our vast ocean region had the opportunity to meet. There they listened, learned, and envisioned. They dreamt of a network grounded in our stories, our culture, and our lived experiences. At the Global Powershift in 2013, the Pacific Climate Warriors were born.

Continuing that tradition of gatherings but reimagining it for this time of pandemic, we have the Global Just Recovery Gathering.

The Global Just Recovery Gathering is crucial in this time because we’ve all been through so much over the last year – the escalating climate crisis, the covid-19 pandemic, and the economic crisis. It’s time we all reconnect and set ourselves on a new path towards a better world. 

What the past year has taught us is that the systems in place are not sustainable for our people and our planet. We need our global leaders to look past quick and easy fixes and start investing in a just future for all. That’s why now more than ever, we need a just recovery. 

 

From April 9-11, people from around the world will come together virtually for the Global Just Recovery Gathering. The Gathering will feature interactive workshops, cultural sessions, and hands-on training. This will be a moment to build our skills, strengthen relationships, and hear from a powerful line-up of climate leaders, artists, and musicians in every corner of the world.  

The 3-day event will run in 6-hour cycles to cater to different time zones and allow people joining around the world to have a full experience. In the Pacific, we have lined up some powerful and informative sessions. Our sessions have been designed to highlight the work happening in our region to defund the fossil fuel industry. We know that by calling on financial institutions worldwide to rule out dirty energy infrastructure, we are continuing the fight to keep global heating below the 1.5 degrees our islands need to thrive.  

Through these sessions, you will find out how you can be involved and take action with us.

Traditional Welcome Ceremony –  April 9, 7:00 pm GMT+12

At 7:00 pm GMT +12 (Fiji Time) the official opening of the Global Just Recovery Gathering will be covered by the Pacific with a traditional ceremony followed by a musical performance. Our culture and traditions make up who we are. At their roots, they make us resilient, courageous, respectful, kind and most of all are where we draw our strength to protect our identity and our island homes

Stop Adani – From Extraction to Impact – The people power movement bringing down a giant – April 9, 7:15 pm GMT+12

Stopping Adani has become one of the most iconic fights of our time. Banks, contractors, Insurers all continue to fall down to the pressure of a monumental movement led by First Nations people fighting to protect their land and country. 

From extraction to impact, in this session, we will follow the movement of people on the frontlines of this fight. We will talk through the stories that have shaped the movement and the fight that is still ahead of us.

Climate Finance Training for Pacific Journalists – 12:15 pm GMT+12 

Why on Earth are climate activists calling out banks and insurers? What do insurers have to do with climate change? In collaboration with Market forces, this journalist training will trace the rising of carbon emissions back to fossil fuel companies, the institutions that have enabled these companies to fuel the climate crisis, and why fossil finance is not just bad for the environment, it’s bad for business. As the world prepares for a just recovery, we highlight the polluters who continue “business as usual” with the people’s money, while jeopardizing the health of people and planet. This is a closed group session with Pacific journalists. If you wish to join, you can email 350 Asia/Pacific Communications Manager, Nicole Han at [email protected]

Kato Ni Mana – Weaving our stories into baskets of hope – 01.15 pm GMT+12

Fijian legend tells of the Kato Ni Mana – the box of blessings that forms part of Fiji’s origin story.

 As we look towards COP26 this year as the Pacific Climate Warriors, we are thinking about the different stories we want to tell ourselves and the world. How do we center our truths and our stories in global negotiations like the UNFCCC Climate Conference?

Join us as we explore some of the key moments that have shaped our COP journey as the Pacific and find out how you can weave your stories into the baskets, the Kato Ni Mana, we plan to take there with us.

Cut The Money – Cutting the flow of money to Australia’s Gas Expansion in the Northern Territory – 02:15 pm GMT+12

As frontline communities continue to grapple with the effects of both the COVID-19 pandemic and the escalating climate crisis, governments like Australia have decided that recovery from these crises begins with the destruction of Indigenous land through fracking.  

Currently, 85% of Australia’s Northern Territory is covered in oil and gas exploration licenses, and with the federal government dedicating the greater part of its recovery budget to the expansion of the gas industry, it’s time we stood up together to hit the industry where it hurts most – its flow of money.

From extraction to impact, this session will follow the effects fracking has on indigenous land and community, as well as the effect it has on the escalating climate crisis that is threatening the Pacific. We will follow the flow of money going into these projects, the flow of money from the Australian government and public finance, and most importantly, what we can do together to #CutTheMoney.

Panel: Hearing the Guardians of the Earth – April 10, 07:00 pm GMT+12

Nature is sacred and so we treat it. We need to learn from the ancestral wisdom of those who stay attached to the multiple forms of life and existence on Earth. Featured on this amazing panel of speakers is DIVA for equalities, Noelene Nabulivou, a feminist grassroots organizer and educator, researcher, policy analyst, activist, advocate, and movement-builder in Fiji. Noelene has been a global Adviser to many feminist organizing groups and networks, and at the local level prioritizing knowledge-sharing and accompaniment of many marginalized Pacific young people, young women, sex workers, and LGBTQI activists, and holds several official and informal movement roles.

Panel: Building Power Through Youth Organising – April 11, 03:15 pm GMT+12

“They ask us to have hope, in a clear attempt to imprison us, but the world is on fire and this requires immediate action. We won’t stop.” The youth represent a big part of the world we leave in and they play a crucial role in making intentional and visionary decisions that would impact their future. Join this amazing panel on Sunday, April 11, and hear from an amazing and diverse panel of youth activists from around the world. 

This panel will include our amazing youth representative for the Pacific Climate Warriors, Brianna Fruean, a Samoan climate activist who has been leading grassroots climate justice movements for most of her life and is currently studying Politics and International Relations in Auckland, New Zealand. At 11, she became a founding member of 350 Samoa, becoming the youngest 350.org country coordinator, and now serves as the youth representative on the Pacific Climate Warriors Council of Elders. 

 

There are also many more amazing and interactive sessions offered during the 3-day event. Check out our programme for more details.