“African climate activists represent the best of Africa by being often in difficult situations themselves and still finding the strength and empathy to stand up for themselves and others.
The least the Global North can do is to open their hearts and minds for the messages of these activists, and take gradual steps towards reducing the obscene injustice in living conditions mostly created and maintained by dominating powers in the Global North.”
1. Overview of Interviews with African Activists
2021-05-02: Interview with Dickson Bahandagira, Uganda [BLOG]
2021-05-29: Interview with Fousseny Traore, Mali [BLOG]
2021-10-09: Interview with James Wakibia, Kenya [BLOG]
2. Introduction
In global politics in general and in Western industrialized countries in particular, discussions on global justice and sustainability, including climate justice and biodiversity, are centered on the Europe and North America. Considering the failure of world-leading nations to address the most urgent risks for the humanity and the living world, such as the climate crisis, the planned series “The Future of Africa” aims to give outstanding personalities from Africa, respresenting the Global South, an audience and contribute to the understanding of global crises.
Personally, over the few last years of becoming and being an activist focusing on climate justice and biodiversity, the complete failure of governments of the Global North in combination with the fact that the Global South exports 10x more capital and resources to the Global North than vice versa [1], lead me to the conclusion that Global North as the beneficiary of the system will not be able to perform the drastic changes of the system, it is benefitting from. Following the logic of revolutionary changes, therefore, the Global South as the victim of this system, has to grow into the role of opposing the current system damaging communities in the Global South and threatening the living world by over-consumption in the Global North.
“In short, the Global South has to save the Global North from destroying itself and the rest of the world by over-consumption by reducing the flow of capital and goods to the Global North to a sustainable level.”
To promote movements in Africa aiming for a change of the global system towards global justice and sustainability, the current series “The Future of Africa” will give African activists a platform to speak to a global audience, raise awareness for Africas challenges and raise money and other support for their movement. The selection of activists will be subjective and guided by personal networks, recommendations, mass media, ans social media, but hopefully give in the long run an adequate reflection of African activism.
My expectation and my hope is that this will be learning experience for all parties involved and will promote mutual respect and solidarity!
Wilmar Igl, Uppsala, 2021-04-28
References
[1] https://www.jasonhickel.org/the-divide
[2] https://www.jasonhickel.org/less-is-more
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