Learn Our Five Demands
Resilience in a time of Crisis
Whether you live in a tropical forest or a North American city, we all belong to the same planet, the same future. We belong to the same global village. This is the sentiment behind ‘Our Village’. In the global village to which we all belong, climate change and environmental injustice are inextricably linked to the struggles of communities and peoples underrepresented in the political process and oppressed by systemic racism, poverty, and inequality.
All around the world local communities are responding to climate change with powerful resilience, innovative action, and a spirit that can profoundly impact our world. ‘Our Village’ invites people from all walks of life to belong to a community inspired by justice and our connection to the earth.
Join experiential gatherings where Indigenous leaders, Afro-descendant environmental leaders, communities, activists, artists, and decision-makers connect to showcase ideas and generate dialogue and collaboration, with the shared vision of healing our planet.
Our
Village
Solutions Driven Content
The programming content, themes, and strategies highlighted during ‘Our Village’ are based on the intersecting demands from Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities for community-driven solutions to climate change, injustice, and inequality. This year, co-convening organizations of ‘Our Village’, organized by If Not Us Then Who and in partnership with the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, are centering the programming on an intersectional framework by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, often fighting for rural lands and territories, and Afro-descendant Communities, often fighting for clean air and water in the neighborhoods and cities where they live. These fights transcend protecting land, air and water, and are part of holistic demands for safe, healthy, just, and prosperous communities on a sustainable planet. The growing coalition of partners joining ‘Our Village’ are committed to contributing to the space via this framework.
Themes
We have defined a framework of five themes that are each critical to addressing community demands and forwarding community-driven solutions to climate change, injustice, and inequality. This framework is based on the 5 demands that have been developed since 2013 by a coalition of Indigenous and Local Community partners, the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities.
Land Rights
We Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities maintain profound spiritual, cultural, social, and economic bonds with our lands, territories, and resources. These connections form the very foundation of our identity. We demand access to our territories to protect them and live according to our self-determination.
Free, Prior and Informed Consent
We demand our right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) as a means for our fundamental right to self-determination. FPIC empowers us when it comes to projects that affect our lives and territories. We demand our full and active participation so nothing about us can happen without us.
Direct Financing
We demand adequate, direct accessible financing be made available to support our self-determined climate actions on the ground. Investing in our territories is crucial to combat climate change, desertification, and biodiversity loss for the whole of humanity.
Protection of Life
We demand an end to the violence and unjust criminalization we endure while safeguarding our territories. It is our collective voice that calls for the respect of our rights.
Traditional Knowledge
The core of our cultural identities and livelihoods lies in our shared traditional knowledge and innovation. We demand that our knowledge be accorded respect and protection and that all policies formulated within our territories proactively integrate them.