Peoples Summit planning
More than one hundred people gathered last night at the Steelworkers Hall in Toronto to share ideas for the Peoples Summit, a popular forum that will take place June 18-20 in opposition to the G20 summit the following weekend.
While the program for the peoples summit is still to be determined, numerous workshop and plenary meeting spaces have now been booked at Ryerson University and the University of Toronto. A large venue that could hold thousands is also being sought for a major public event.
A large part of last night’s discussion was about the over-arching theme of the peoples summit. Many ideas were offered through small group discussions and put on sheets of flip chart paper.
Those ideas will go the steering committee – of which the Council of Canadians is a member – and will be brought back to the next large meeting on Wednesday February 24 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
One theme that consistently came up was the need for ‘system change’ (inspired by the idea of ‘system change, not climate change’), and the importance of climate justice given that the G20 meeting is a significant midpoint between Copenhagen and the next climate summit in Mexico.
That said there was a strongly expressed recognition that the peoples summit should be as inclusive as possible of all issues and concerns.
It was a very good meeting and it is clear that there is a lot of mobilizing energy – both in Toronto, but also across the country – to directly challenge the destructive agenda of the G20 this summer.
