“If we want to move away from systems of violence we have to reimagine a world that centres care” – Meera Ghani In this final episode of the Climate, Covid and Care series, we hear from Meera Ghani, a climate justice activist, anti-racist and anti-capitalist feminist, and abolitionist from Pakistan. Meera works to support community initiatives with Ecolise and co-founded the Moxie Consultancy …
Inspiring Radically Better Futures
The Inspiring Better Futures case study series is a collective endeavour with contributions from many people around the world. Hope has been quite the buzzword in 2020. And hope is surely needed given that 2020 has seen the collision of multiple crises: the climate emergency, economic inequality, gender injustice, racial inequality and the coronavirus pandemic. This collision of crises has …
Initial Findings on Emergent Agency in a time of Covid – launch webinar and briefing
In September we kicked off a really interesting project on ‘Emergent Agency in a Time of Covid’ asking people if they wanted to be part of a collective effort to share and discuss the grassroots responses to the pandemic and start to explore their longer-term legacy.
Majandra’s Journey: Climate, Covid and Care
“From an ecofeminist perspective, we understand that the sustainability of life should be at the front and center of our economic system, instead of profit and competition. That means valuing care work. It means valuing low-carbon jobs. It means valuing the sustainability of all life.” – Majandra Rodríguez Acha. This is the fourth episode of a mini-series, in collaboration with …
Youth activism in Peru is changing the narrative
Last week 110 young activists arrived in Lima to be part of the National Activism Laboratory 2020. This is a safe space for young activists, between the ages of 18-30, from 24 out of 25 regions of Peru to learn about each other’s work, strengthen their activism and co-create campaign actions. This year the red thread tying the laboratory together …
Can Twitter help drive policy change?
Oxfam Intermón has supported allies using digital actions to put issues on the political agenda. Rodrigo Barahona, Virginia Vaquera and Patricia Corcuera share seven critical success factors. In recent years Spain has seen the devastating impact of economic crisis, austerity measures, and a rolling back of human rights – including the controversial Citizens Security Law, which has curbed freedom of …
Why care is a political act
Facilitators Shawna Wakefield and Heather Cole outline why self and collective care is fundamental to social justice, and how individuals and organizations can lead by example. There are many ways to understand what care means. Here, we define it as looking after the physical, emotional, spiritual and mental wellbeing, safety and dignity of ourselves and others. Too often, the focus …
Law as a tool to empower and achieve change
Noélie Coudurier, Sreetama Gupta Bhaya and Laura Gyte share a wealth of examples demonstrating how law can help drive positive change. As campaigners, we can feel ambivalent about law. As a product of society, it’s often structured to protect the privileged. Even the most progressive constitutions in the world, forged in times of political transformation and hope, are not yet …
Tax Havens Free Zones. Where think global, act local is more than just a slogan.
Rodrigo Barahona and Susana Ruiz describe how the Tax Havens Free Zones initiative is gathering momentum in the fight against inequality and poverty. When large companies and wealthy individuals divert part of their income to tax havens, this leaves governments without the resources they need to address poverty and invest in healthcare, education and jobs. Oxfam analyzed 200 of the …
New voices tearing up outdated economic norms and practices
Young women in Ghana are calling out the double standards that put them at an economic disadvantage. Kwesi W Obeng draws parallels with Oxfam’s work on tax and gender. Some of Ghana’s brightest and most educated young women are openly criticising deeply entrenched cultural, social and religious norms that restrict women, dim aspirations and undermine their contribution to society. Under …