One of the most remarkable things about the COP 27 Climate Change Summit currently taking place in Egypt is the overwhelming presence of the voices of children, youths, women, marginalized indigenous communities, small islands, poor nations, and the organizations and activists at the frontline of the fight against climate catastrophe, all of which fall within the magnificent rubric of that invaluable conglomeration; global civil society.
Why point out the particularity of these desperate voices? The answer is simple. These voices, from a world population that reached 8 billion people November, 15, 2022, define our obligations as Non State Actors; our obligations to the weak, the poor, the most vulnerable, the marginalised, the exploited, those who face discrimination, and those who are voiceless and powerless in the face of the reckless march of post-industrial capitalism and the destructive impact of this system on both nature and human society.
Without this planet there can be no human society. A damaged, and significantly diminished earth, in terms of both quality and sustainability, is a threat not only to the habitat itself, the environment and our food systems, but also human civilization and survival of the human race, and isn’t this the core preoccupation of our organizations here Botswana and the world over?
The air we breathe, the water we drink, the fields we plough, the sun that nurtures plants, the villages and cities we live in, the transportation systems we daily use, the clothes we wear, the gargets at the heart of global entertainment and technological advancement, and the oceans that give life to both man and beast; aren’t these the themes and projects that Non State Actors engage every day and everywhere?
Here is a Global summit, not the first or last, that reminds us about the state of our planet, our obligations to it and ourselves, and not excluding future generations and civilizations, and I think Non State Actors should take note, reflect and re-engage climate change challenges that faces and nations and communities.
What are the climate change solutions available to us coming from this summit? What community projects should we start envisioning? What funding is being made available to us? What specific spaces of relevance should we position ourselves? What new project designs should we initiate? What partnerships should we engage from now going forward? How can we best diversify our obligations to our communities and other social groups that we serve? What, for example, transformational actions can we take to guarantee human rights for indigenous people and communities? What better pathways can help promote gender equality, the creation of a fair and just global system and society, giving everyone access to clean water, quality healthcare and education?
There is a sense of cynicism evident in some sub-Saharan summit discussions that I find disturbing about our civil society organizations; the tendency to ignore the caveats and nuances of historical motions in the struggle for human survival and equitable global prosperity.
Just because past efforts to address climate change crisis were not fruitful does not mean we will fail this time again. Just because our own past community projects did not produce satisfactory results does not mean we cannot do better today and tomorrow.
We really should develop and grow robust cultures of learning, of self-education, of constant professional growth, and more important professionalization of community project designs, if we are to deliver social impact and sustainability, if we are to benefit from the wide ranges of new ideas, new priorities, new opportunities, and better funding instruments coming out of the present summit; especially we Africans, we Batswana.
Let’s start with others right from the beginning. Let’s observe, engage, learn, send out our own ideas, and build our organizational profiles in preparation for serving better Botswana communities in the future.
The internet and social media learning technological tools give us no excuse to appeal to ignorance or unavailability of knowledge and relevant information. It’s important to note for instance that this climate change summit coincides with the global Woman Impact Summit, the Cure Poverty Summit, the Global Free Drugs Children Summit, the Bush Institute Democracy Summit, and the Obama Democracy Forum.
Why is this important? All these summits are livestreamed and available to any global citizen with access to internet connectivity. All one has to do is to zoom in, learn, download presentation slides, build their own e-library, develop mater project proposals for their Non State Actors organizations, network with other webinar/summit participants, read and file the most important documents, create effective fundraising committees and start seriously engaging both traditional and potential donors; what really is difficult about this level of self-organization?
The pledges, promises and direct plan instruments and briefs coming from COP 2022 may not, and will not, materialize today but those to take up this journey as individuals or Non-State Actors will be the first beneficiaries of a new world order.
Let us not miss the train.
