Panel Talk: Defend Our Coast? - Reflections From Community Organizers (Nov 6, 7-9PM, Central Library)

[Research Coordinator, VIPIRG]

Defend Our Coast? – Reflections From Community Organizers

 

Tuesday, November 6^th, 7-9PM

Central Library – 735 Broughton Street

Admission by Donation, Light Snacks Served

 

According to Defend Our Coast, "On October 22nd, in Victoria BC, many thousands of Canadians came to the BC Legislature with every intention of getting arrested – if that’s what it would take to stop these tar sands pipelines and tankers. This was one of the largest acts of mass civil disobedience in the country’s history. Five thousand people gathered on the Legislature lawn, listened to speeches, and symbolically staked a 245 meter long ribbon of black fabric – the same length as a supertanker – into the ground."

 

But was it enough? Did the action achieve its stated aim and live up to its hype? What are the effects on environmental movements when politics are channeled through the form of environmental organizations? Can these organizations truly take people into the wilder and unruly territory of grassroots mobilizations that go beyond symbolic actions and media theatrics?

 

Join local community organizers for an evening of discussion that will explore some of the constraints, critiques, and debriefs that arose from the Defend Our Coast action and the role environmental organizations play in grassroots mobilizations. The panel will also discuss grassroots organizing against pipelines to show what can happen when we come together as communities in struggle for radical change.

 

Speakers:

Jen Wickham (Wet’suwet’en)

Julie-Anne Gilchrist (Forest Action Network)

Eric Nordal (Social Coast)

Leila Darwish