It’s all about building a big inspiring Food Sovereignty Movement in Europe!
This is a mobilization call for participation to the 2nd Nyéléni Europe Forum for Food Sovereignty. The Nyéléni Europe Movement brings together farmers, fishers, pastoralists, Indigenous Peoples, consumers, NGOs, trade unions, environmental, development, research and Justice/Solidarity/Human Rights Organizations, community-based food movements and others, to enhance existing food sovereignty initiatives and strengthen our work at local, national, regional and global levels.
The landmark international Nyéléni 2007 Forum for Food Sovereignty in Mali included the participation of 500 representatives from food producer, consumer and environmental movements from around the world. It was the springboard for the global Food Sovereignty movement. At this Forum six principles and the Nyéléni Declaration were adopted.
This was followed by a European Nyéléni Forum in 2011 that was held in Krems, Austria, where the Nyéléni Europe Declaration and an action plan were agreed upon. In February 2015, the same movements also participated in the International Forum for Agroecology in the Nyéléni centre in Mali, and contributed to its Declaration. These documents provide the political basis of the movement and clarify what it stands for, and what it opposes.
These global and regional meetings have led to increasing numbers of people engaging in the transformation of the dominant food and agriculture system, resisting the agro-industrial model of production and consumption, and building the Food Sovereignty Movement in Europe and worldwide.
The three keywords in the plans of action are still cherished:
Transform! Resist! Build!
This Nyéleni Europe Forum will be organised around 5 thematic axes (changing how food is produced and consumed, changing how food is distributed, valuing work and improving social conditions in food & agricultural systems, reclaiming the right to natural resources and the Commons, changing public policies governing our food and agricultural systems) and oriented towards 4 goals (experience sharing, build on our common understanding of Food Sovereignty in Europe, develop a Strategy and Action Plan to strengthen and enlarge the Food Sovereignty movement in Europe, influence and advocate for policies that support Food Sovereignty in Europe).
Let’s get involved!
Some 700 – 1000 participants who work on food sovereignty, from the entire pan-European area of 42 countries, will come together in Cluj-Napoca from 26th – 30th October 2016. In order to ensure balance among delegates, representative of all those who are involved in food and agriculture across Europe, participation in the Forum will be organised on the basis of a quota system for the various constituencies. This will include gender balance. There will be a limit to the size of national delegations.
The preparatory process leading up to the Nyéléni Europe Forum and the involvement of all those who are active in the Food Sovereignty Movement in Europe are key to ensuring the success of the Forum. There are different ways for you to become part of the process/movement:
Get involved in a general way:
If you are interested in the preparatory process or just want to know more, you can sign up for the Newsletter and further information here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XDSN82K
Help build the national delegations:
If you are already involved in the Food Sovereignty movement, then get engaged in the national preparatory process, or through your constituency. Focal points will be defined in each country. If you are interested in being a focal point, please contact info@nyelenieurope.net
Hold preparatory meetings and discussions:
Organise discussions, forums, meetings, locally or nationally. These will feed into the content of the Forum itself, and also help to build stronger working links for the future.
Organise fundraising at national level:
To contribute – according to capacity – to the cost of participation and if possible to the general budget of the Forum.
Participate in the Working Groups to help organise the Forum:
There is an existing coordination committee and five working groups (task team, communications, methodology, finance and logistics). The coordination committee reflects a balance between the different constituencies. The working groups are open to anyone. If you want to get involved contact info@nyelenieurope.net
For any enquiries or proposals, you are welcome to contact info@nyelenieurope.net
In solidarity,
The Nyéléni Europe Coordination Committee
Click here to download PDF call
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