Alternatiba, Village of Alternatives

Alternatiba is a framework to mobilize society to face the challenges of climate change. Numerous Alternatiba events, which provide hundreds of alternatives in order to raise people's awareness and to stimulate behaviour change, have been or will be organized in over sixty different French and European cities. Additionally, these initiatives aim to put pressure on politicians, especially with the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Paris Conference or COP21, which will take place in December 2015 in Le Bourget, Seine-Saint-Denis

History

The first Alternatiba, village of Alternatives, took place in Bayonne on October 5 and 6, 2013. It was initiated by the Basque environmental organization Bizi!,^[1] and reunited over 12.000 people. Following the Copenhagen Summit failure in 2009, they felt it was time to show "European citizens that everything cannot be expected from political decisions at a higher level. We should start at the base, right where we live, with practical initiatives: eco-construction, short distribution chain, renewable energies, organic food, and local money… A list that should certainly not be restrictive in order to create a European citizen dynamic.^[2]”

In a festive and friendly atmosphere, the visitors were able to discover that "solutions exist; they are already put into effect by thousands of associations, local communities and individuals. Even better: these alternatives contribute to a more pleasant society where solidarity, justice and people matter.^[3]”

The first village hosted 50 conferences and 15 thematic areas with workshops and stands, as well as a vast number of artistic and educational activities. 90 organizations supported the event "such as Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, SUD solidaires, Attac, Biocoop, the Nicolas-Hulot Foundation as well as a thousand volunteers."^[4][5] Stéphane Hessel became the sponsor of the event in 2012, followed by his wife Christiane Hessel after his death. She concluded the event with a speech calling for the construction of 10, 100, 1 000 Alternatibas all over the world.^[6]

On February 22, 2014, in Nantes, hundreds of people rallied for the first Alternatiba meeting on a European level.^[7] The initiators of the Bayonne Alternatiba presented the guidelines and emphasized the main principles. In the wake of this event, a European framework for Alternatiba was created.^[8]

A Charter describing the shared values and common principles of all the Alternatibas was defined on October 6, 2013^[9] and then revised after successive debates of the Alternatiba committees.

During the summer of 2014, the Nantes Alternatiba committee proposed to create an "Alternatiba" anthem,^[10] recorded by a collective from Nantes with professional and amateur musicians.^[11]

Method and tools

The accumulated experience gained by Bizi ! during the construction of the first Alternatiba is reflected in the similar organizational methods of the different Alternatiba collectives. The cross-sectoral commissions decide on the location of the event; organize meetings with the city halls and official organisms; channel, bring together and manage the funds; as well as the general communication and logistical organization, which relies on the work of a large number of volunteers.

Thematic committees concentrate more on the actual content of the event and the organization of the different thematic areas. Thus, they define and organize the different conferences and workshops that will take place. At almost every Alternatiba, a climate area is introduced as well as different thematic areas concerning the use of natural and energy resources such as transport, energy, agriculture, food, and also areas dedicated to alternative lifestyles and culture, education, solidarity, shared goods, sustainable development, the necessity of international environmental justice, etc.

Building an Alternatiba should be a federating process for diverse actors, members of different organizations and people with different implication levels. It is a project based on a limited territory, with the aim to create long-lasting dynamics after the event.

Alternatiba Tour on a tandem for four

The Alternatiba Tour will cross 6 European countries; it is in preparation and will leave from Bayonne on 5 June 201521. The tour will be held on 3- or 4-person bikes, symbols of the environmental transition, solidarity and collective efforts; other cyclists will join the tandems as they arrive in each city along the 5.000km22 route.

The aim of the Tour is to popularize the diverse Alternatiba initiatives in the cities that take part in the movement. The project's goal is to keep on highlighting the possible alternatives that already exist and to start mobilizing citizens on the climate.^[12] The tour will end in the Île-de-France region where the Paris Alternatiba will be launched on September 26 and 27, 2015.^[13]

Previous Alternatibas

Alternatiba collectives have currently been established in more than 60 cities, most of them in France.

2014

• Bayonne – October 5 & 6, 2013
• Agen – September 13, 2014
• Valence d'Agen (Alternatome) - 3 et 4 mai 2014
• Gonesse – September 20 & 21, 2014
• Paris Festival des Utopies Concrètes – September 27 & 28, 2014
• Nantes – September 28, 2014^[14]
• Lille – October 4 & 5, 2014^[15]
• Socoa – October 5, 2014
• Gironde – October 10 to 12, 2014^[16]
• Tahiti – November 29 & 30, 2014

2015

• Todmorden (England) – May 3, 2015^[17] · ^[18]
• Léribosc - L'Honor de Cos (82) - May, 16 and 17, 2015
• Givors - May 30, 2015
• Aber-Wrac'h - June, 5, 6 and 7, 2015^[19]
• Saint-Sébastien (Spain) - June, 5 and 6, 2015
• Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines – June, 6 and 7, 2015
• Bagnères-de-Bigorre – June 7, 2015^[20]
• Gap - June 7, 2015 ^[21]
• Chambéry - June 13, 2015
• Nancy - June, 13 and 14, 2015
• Puy-de-Dôme – June 14, 2015
• Narbonne - June 16 and 17, 2015
• Montpellier - June 20, 2015
• Île-Saint-Denis - June 20, 2015
• Martigues - June 23, 2015^[22]
• Dijon - June 26, 27 and 28, 2015^[23]
• Béarn - June 27 and 28, 2015
• Strasbourg - June 27 and 28, 2015^[24]
• Marseille - June 27 and 28, 2015^[25] · ^[26]
• Rennes – June 27, 2015
• Yonne – Joigny – July 4, 2015
• Nord-Essonne – July, 4 and 5, 2015 : in Le Parisien^[27]
• Mulhouse – July, 19, 2015
• Genève - September, 18-20, 2015

References

External links

• Alternatiba.eu website