The Blue Summit, held this past November 27-29, was a tremendous success.
The three-day conference in Ottawa, organized by the Council of Canadians and CUPE, drew more than 300 participants from across the country as well as from around the world.
CUPE reports today that, “There was no shortage of water activists at the Blue Summit – and they were eager to share their stories. Community activist Stephen Ogden recently triumphed in a victory in a 25 year battle to protect water under Ontario’s proposed dump site 41. (Council of Canadians) national water campaigner Meera Karunananthan is working to inspire communities across Canada through the Blue Communities project. Shannon Biggs is a rights based campaigner with Global Exchange in the United States. These activists shared their strategies for engaging the community water activism.”
Listen to their stories here, http://cupe.ca/privatization/blue-summit-paint-town-blue.
In December, CUPE reported, “From keeping water public in Ontario municipalities to raising awareness and mobilizing in Africa, activists are working around the world to make water accessible to all. A panel of activists at the Blue Summit shared their success stories. Panelists included Anil Naidoo of the Blue Planet Project and the Council of Canadians, Al-hassan Adam, coordinator of the Africa Water Network, CUPE researcher Shelly Gordon, and Council of Canadians director of organizing Carleen Pickard. Morna Ballantyne helped keep the conversation moving.”
This panel discussion can be heard here, http://cupe.ca/privatization/blue-summit-lessons-organizing-win.
Audio from other panels at the Blue Summit is also available through the CUPE website, just follow the links above. For more on the Blue Summit, please go to http://canadians.org/bluesummit/.
