Keynote Sessions

The Intersecting Crises of Our Time

We are living in times of crises. Our planet’s natural systems are in crisis, as are, in large parts, our economic, social and political systems where they create and reinforce injustice, exploitation and cultures of conflict. To make matters worse, these crises intersect and exacerbate each other, shaping the systemic crises seemingly too large for anyone to tackle. In this session, representatives from different movements as well as funders fighting those crises gave an overview of those intersecting crises of our time.

Speakers: Elsa Nury Martinez Silva(La Via Campesina, Colombia), Renée Paula Horster (Resource Transformation), J. Bob Alotta (Mozilla)

Barriers for Change: What holds us back from the futures we need?

Many of the systemic crises we are facing are neither new nor impossible to surmount. Injustice in its different forms has existed and grown for decades and centuries, and people and organisations have resisted and fought for better futures for even longer. Why then do we see so little change? What are the barriers that hold us back from the futures we need? Are they cultural, political, personal or organisational in nature? What are the powers preventing change? A panel of movement representatives and funders shared their experience and name the barriers we need to overcome.

Speakers: Moukhtar Kocache (Rawa), Poonam Joshi (Funders’ Initiative for Civil Society), Carmen Dupont (FundAction), Rose Longhurst (Open Society Foundations), Rukia Lumumba (People’s Advocacy Institute &  Electoral Justice of the Movement for Black Lives),

Tools for Change: Exploring systemic alternatives and pathways to justice

We live in times of crises, but also in times of systemic alternatives. Tools for change and pathways to justice have been tried and tested by movements and organisations all around the world. This session will highlight those examples of change and share ways of building better futures. A panel of movement representatives and funding organisations invited to learn about these alternatives and explore the intersections between them.

Speakers: Myrna Cunningham (Pawanka Fund), Leilani Farha (The Shift), Joan Brady (National Farmers Union of Canada, La Via Campesina), Nani Jansen Reventlow (Digital Freedom Fund), Ashish Kothari (Global Tapestry of Alternatives), Kunthea Chan  (Just Associates)