August 14 -16, 2015

In the Rhineland Coalfield near Cologne, Germany

In 2015, the 21st COP (UN-Climate Summit) will take place in Paris. We expect the results to be pathetic. And while global CO2 emissions from more and more coal-fired power plants are rising dramatically, we take climate justice into our own hands. It is high time to be serious about phasing out coal!

In a big colourful action of civil disobedience we will obstruct the exploitation of lignite (soft coal) with many hundred people. Thus we will resist one of the crucial root causes of climate change. We will use a variety of actions forms about which we will communicate in an open and reliable way. Let’s make the Rhineland the focal point of a strong and powerful anti-coal-movement!

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2.Dh5-festival for activists and world-changers Jan. 30 – Feb. 1 in The Hague.

A weekend with workshops, discussions and talks about social, economic and climatic developments to sharpen political perspectives for social emancipation and freedom in the 21st century.

Economic, climatic and social realities are changing at an unprecedented rate. At the same time, left libertarian en emancipatory forces are strongly weakened. For these reasons, it is now, more than ever, important to stop, take step back, and together look to forward.
Are utopian visions still viable? Do we know were we are headed, and how to influence the paths we are on? What kind of future would we like to see? Do people still believe in the possibilities of collective efforts to change the future for the better, or are we somehow petrified by climactic and economic apocalypse?
What are the strategies that are needed to answer these questions? Or are we not asking the right ones in the first place? To find out, we’ll be holding a weekend of workshops, lectures, and debates. We will break open new ideas, forge fresh coalitions, and break free from business as usual. We, as the organisers can not provide all this by ourselves. We need to do it together soon at 2.Dh5 festival, but surely, Tomorrow.

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Ecotopia Biketour is for anyone interested in do-it-yourself, environmentalism, activism, community life and experiential learning, from cultures, from challenges, and from each other. But ultimately, it is whatever you make of it! You are the Biketour! So how did it all begin? The first Ecotopia Gathering, (an ecological utopian festival village which happened every year in a different part of Europe, till 2008 interruption) was held in 1989 in Cologne. The Biketour didn’t exist at that time, so many participants came by bus. Some felt very uncomfortable with their unecological way of travelling to such a special place. They started looking for an alternative and (can you believe it?) they came to the conclusion that the bike is still the most ecological method of transport. Slow enough to connect with nature but fast enough to feel you really are travelling every day. After 2008, the biketour crowd decided to continue as a project itself, “It’s not the destination that’s important, it’s the Journey”. A bit of Biketour history ….

Here you can see graphically where the Biketour has travelled (approximately) on the past 24 tours (until 2014) and where the Ecotopia Gatherings have taken place:

On November 10 the verdict of the European Commission (ECSR) about right for shelter becomes public. Amsterdam proposed night shelter for refugees. This leaves people on the streets, in the cold, for most of the day. Carrying their belongings. Shelter is no objective but a means. A means to work on a real future and a life with human dignity.

To make this clear, refugees of We Are Here decided to organise a march from Amsterdam to The Hague. They will walk from the city council in Amsterdam, to the Parliament in The Hague, symbolizing the responsibility for this group that was constantly passed on between major and government without offering a solution. On 20th of November parliament talks about shelter and return.

On the way there will be several actions and activities. Everybody is free to join!

There is an election for the next UK Parliament in May 2015. The new Parliament will be making a final decision on whether to go ahead with replacing the UK Nuclear weapons system. Scotland already has a majority of people against nuclear weapons and with the upsurge in political involvement and several different anti-nuclear political parties to vote for is well covered. HOWEVER, the rest of the UK need a wake up call.
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Organized by a small handful of zine-enthusiasts, the Zine Fest Berlin is back for it’s fourth year in a row this year on 8-9 November.
Focusing on the subversive culture of self-made publications aka “zines*”, the Zine Fest will provide a platform and meeting place for
zine-lovers and small self-publishers across an international crowd. Zines are part of a subculture of Do-It-Yourself, an idea where the
relation between production and consumption has shifted. Zines are individual autonomous voices, and the Zine Fest wants to bring them to
the public and celebrate how special they are!

*A zine is a self-published, small circulation, non-commercial booklet or magazine, usually produced by one person or a few individuals.

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10-17 November 2014 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Regional feminist solidarity meeting emerged as an idea to bring feminist activists together to discuss and strategize around our security/well-being, solidarity efforts and movement-building. Here “feminist activist” means affiliating oneself with feminism(s) whether one’s activist work and group named feminist or not. As there are very few opportunities for us to support each other, reflect and discuss our needs/issues outside of professional skills-building, networking and collaborating primarily for our communities and our causes as community members, this meeting is an attempt to address our needs collectively as feminist activists and connecting with each other as feminist movement(s).

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8 – 16 November
Ecodharma, Catalunyan Pyrenees

In whatever ways we envisage contributing to the wellbeing of our world, it’s likely to mean collaborating with others. But groups are not always easy. They can feel frustrating, draining and unproductive. Meetings drag, personalities clash, power conflicts arise, chaos reigns and all this gets in the way of achieving what the group or organization set out to do at the beginning.

This training, set in a wild and remote part of the Catalunyan Pyrenees, will help you to learn how to better collaborate, co-exist, organize, communicate and make decisions together. Whether you are already working or living in a group or wanting to initiate something, this course will help you set up conditions for ongoing collaborative work.

Costs are on a sliding, needs-based scale from 200 – 850 euros for this 8 day residential training.

For more information visit www.ecodharma.com/courses-events/2014/10/08/transformative-collaboration