The Toronto Star‘s Antonia Zerbisias writes, “There will be no fences, no fake lakes, no photo opps. But the alternative summits, forums and ‘Days of Action’ happening in Toronto during the G8 and G20 meetings later this month will be bringing in world leaders of a different sort to share information and strategies for world change.”
“They aim to get the public interest — not the corporate interest — on the public agenda. Such meetings and rallies are about power for more ordinary people, people who care about climate change, poverty, worker rights, and human rights. Their open gatherings are counterpoints to the closed-door sessions between the heads of the world’s richest nations, and their financial elite.”
SHOUT OUT!
“Take, for example, the Council of Canadians (COC) public Shout-out for Global Justice on June 25. Relocated to Massey Hall from the University of Toronto because the latter will be shut down for security reasons, it gathers prominent international speakers such as COC chair Maude Barlow, author-activist Naomi Klein and Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman who will call for climate, water, economic and social justice.”
“’These really are world leaders coming together — and we’re doing it for less than a billion dollars,’ says Mark Calzavara, COC’s regional organizer for Ontario and Quebec.”
“The Shout Out For Global Justice, June 25, www.canadians.org/g20/ and at Massey Hall $14 for Council of Canadian members, $20 for non-members (includes membership) An evening of entertainment and inspiration with prominent activists hosted by Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians and chair of the board of Washington-based Food and Water Watch.”
THE PEOPLES SUMMIT
“The Peoples’ Summit, June 18-20; www.peoplessummit2010.ca; at Ryerson University, pay what you can. This is the big one, with the backing of the COC, Greenpeace Canada, the United Church, labour organizations, environmental groups and progressive think tanks. A countermeasure to the ‘self-appointed, undemocratic assembly of the world’s wealthiest countries,’ the three-day program features some 100 workshops, film screenings, panels and lectures on global justice, the environment, gender and economics designed to get participants ‘educated and agitated.'”
The full article – with more about other events and activities that will be taking place during the G20 – is at http://www.thestar.com/mobile/news/insight/article/822703–one-of-the-good-things-about-g20-meetings-the-dissent.
For more on tickets for our Massey Hall event, the ‘scrap the summits’ action alert, the march on Saturday June 26, and much more, go to http://canadians.org.
