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New Moon Updates for July 2010
Ecuadorian Indigenous Movement
Peacefully Mobilizes
The first six months of 2010 have been a period of active mobilization by the Ecuadorian indigenous peoples, led by the organization that legally represents the national indigenous movement, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, (CONAIE). A recent peaceful march, led by CONAIE, has resulted in their leaders being charged with terrorism against the Ecuadorian government.
How the demonstration developed
The Ecuadorian Amazonian indigenous peoples and nationalities staged an 11-day march to Quito to protest what they call the racist politics of the government, to call attention to the need to continue in the struggle to protect human rights. This was brought on because of the government’s development agenda, which is based on resource exploitation with little popular consultation, especially with indigenous peoples.
After reaching Quito, the indigenous peoples continued to Otavalo, a highland town with a large indigenous population. There, a summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA in Spanish) was held from June 24-25 to discuss cultural diversity, climate change, racism, and foreign trade. Even though the summit was held in a prominently indigenous city, and was discussing issues of cultural respect, CONAIE was not invited to participate.
CONAIE’s response
In response, CONAIE held an alternative event to celebrate a Plurinational Parliament, to demonstrate to the heads of state in attendance at the ALBA summit that, without the presence of the indigenous movement in official dialogues, building a truly plurinational state in Ecuador is impossible (it is important to note that the construction of a plurinational State based on rights and justice it is a priority of the new Ecuadorian Constitution.)
On June 25, CONAIE led a group of 3000 indigenous through the city of Otavalo to where the ALBA summit was being held, to present a letter to Bolivian President Evo Morales, in his position as the first indigenous president of Latin America. The peaceful indigenous march was stopped by police mounted on horses outside of the summit and refused entrance. They asked, therefore, that Evo Morales come outside so they could present him the letter in person; instead, the Bolivian ambassador to Ecuador came out several times. Eventually, after President Morales did not come to receive the letter, the indigenous protesters peacefully left to return to their Parliament.
Charges of terrorism
This incident demonstrated the Ecuadorian State’s weakness at promoting a truly plurinational state, yet underlined the strength of the indigenous movement to maintain a peaceful and constitutionally guaranteed right to protest. In response to the protests of the summit, though, on June 26 the State began an official investigation declaring that the indigenous movement, led by CONAIE, conducted proceedings that threatened peace and went against the government. Further, they charged that at the ALBA Summit, CONAIE members shouted chants against the public order. The declaration also claimed that one protester stole a policeman’s handcuffs. Based on these arguments, the District Attorney is currently charging CONAIE with terrorism, a serious claim that could lead to four to eight years in an Ecuadorian jail.
Marlon Santi, president of CONAIE, with his lawyers, presented himself to the District Attorney to face the charges on June 28. He declared that CONAIE led a peaceful, legal mobilization that in no way could be seen as an act of terrorism against the government, but instead a lawful act in favor of the rights granted and guaranteed in the Constitution.
The role of Fundación Pachamama has been to support CONAIE and the national indigenous movement as they continue their legal struggle for respect of their human rights and cultural integrity.
More information, in Spanish, at http://www.conaie.org/home
(Photos courtesy of CONAIE)
First Awakening the Dreamer Training Held in Germany
The Awakening the Dreamer Initiative continues to spread. The first ever training of new Symposium facilitators in Germany has just completed, and a new group of committed, visionary change agents has come together to spread this work throughout the German-speaking world.
At an old farmhouse deep in the beautiful Black Forest, 34 people came together and began the experience by sharing in the ATD Symposium, presented in German with all of the video material subtitled or dubbed in German too. The work of translation and video adaptation had been taken on by volunteers touched by the Symposium over recent months and this laid the ground for the training to be possible.
The group has enthusiastically embraced doing what’s needed to set up and grow a community of facilitators. This includes further translation of materials, finding German voices to add into the Symposium, publicizing this new initiative and more. The group is aiming to bring greater unity among the environmental, social justice and spiritual movements that are so present in Germany already, and as one of the participants said "there has been an explosion here that will affect many lives."
The event also had a real international dimension. A group of three Israelis made a huge contribution to the depth and breadth of this group experience and are now set to bring a training to Israel in early 2011. Their inspiration, and the reconciliation that was deeply felt at the training, can be seen in the choice of group name, Mal'akh Crew or Angel Crew. There were Swiss and Austrians there as well with visions of the Initiative taking root in their own lands.
FOUR YEARS. GO. Allied Organizations
Declare Their 4-Year Projects
Since FOUR YEARS. GO. launched in March 2010, more than 825 organizations have signed on to become allies, declaring their commitment to work to set humanity on the path toward a sustainable, just, and fulfilling presence on this planet by February 14th, 2014. Now, you can read about what these organizations are up to, on a new blog feature of the FOUR YEARS. GO. website, where organizations have begun posting short articles about projects they are taking on in the next four years.
Here are some excerpts. Bookmark this site for continued, daily updates.
 Organization: YES! Leveraging Privilege for Social Change (LPSC) Jam. Unleashing all that we are, and all that we have, on behalf of all that we love… The LPSC Jam connects, inspires and collaborates with self-identified privileged young changemakers for a week of personal exploration, community building and skills-sharing. Read more...
 Organization: Earth Partners Foundation - BIKE THE EARTH. Traversing the Globe, a team of cyclists will draw attention to sustainable ideas enshrined in One Planet Living… When we arrive at the United Nations Earth Summit 2012, we will have helped trail-blaze the One Planet Olympics (London, 2012), and will have gathered ideas from around the world (uploaded to the internet), equipped communities to get onto their own sustainable path, inspired decision makers to think big, and have educated people, including ourselves, on how humanity can survive at our finest hour. Read more...
 Organization: Ethical Expeditions Ethical Expeditions is working with the Wehea Dayak to protect the Wehea Forest located in East Kutai Regency, East Kalimantan, Borneo… We are leading a detailed scientific study of the biodiversity of the Wehea Forest to provide critical information necessary to achieving permanent legal protection for Wehea. This study will consist of four scientists, four Wehea rangers and five students and will be the first phase of a long term conservation strategy in Wehea. Read more...
$1 Million Challenge Grant
We’ve Done It!!
Thanks to the help of 1,045 individual donors on five continents, we have met our
$1 Million Challenge Grant in less than five months. Thank you! This is a momentous time in our history, and we have you – our donors, facilitators, and volunteers – to thank for helping accelerate the transformative work of The Pachamama Alliance.
Special thanks to our anonymous donor who put up the $1 million challenge, and whose commitment and generosity are a robust acknowledgement of the dedication and leadership of The Pachamama Alliance and its network of donors and change agents the world over. This visionary partner has created an invitation to join in this important and timely work, and individuals stepped forward like never before.
This incredible achievement is also an acknowledgement of the commitment of each and every one of our supporters who over the years have worked to bring Pachamama to this place of recognition. This Challenge Grant and your continued support have allowed The Pachamama Alliance to move forward with our key strategic initiatives for 2010.
We welcome your partnership as we continue to expand our work throughout the Amazon basin and across the globe. If you have not joined the growing number of individuals supporting the expansion of this work, or would like to make an additional gift to celebrate the accomplishment of meeting this momentous challenge, please click here.
Again, thank you so much for your continued support!
Win a Trip to the Ecuador Rainforest
 The Pachamama Alliance is having a Drawing for some really fun prizes this year, including the Grand Prize of a trip to the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador. The drawing will be held at our Annual Luncheon on November 17th at 2:00 PM, and while it is not necessary to be present to win, attending the Luncheon is another great way to be part of the Pachamama community.
Here are a few of the prizes you could win:
Grand Prize: A trip to the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador
Other Wonderful Prizes
- Spa treatments
- Massage
- Rock climbing lessons
- Hand-made Achuar goods
- Gift certificates to restaurants
- And much, much more!!
It’s easy to enter the drawing, just go to http://pachamamadrawing.eventbrite.com/ and choose the number of ticket(s) you want. Your tax-deductible donation of $15 per ticket or 10 tickets for $100 will go directly to supporting the work of The Pachamama Alliance.
Check back often for prize updates. If you have questions about the drawing, please contact Sally Nicholson at sally@pachamama.org or (415) 561-4522 ext. 121.
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Facilitator
Trainings
The
Pachamama Alliance's Awakening the Dreamer Program makes available
Facilitator Trainings around the world for people who have the desire
and commitment to deliver the Symposium in their own communities and
beyond. For more information on upcoming Trainings, please click here…
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-Postponed-
We have had to postpone the celebration until 2011, due to unforeseen conflicts. We thank you so much for your interest in the celebration and The Pachamama Alliance, and look forward to continuing to partner with you.
Our wonderful Drawing is still going forward. The Grand Prize is a Trip for one to the Rain Forest in Ecuador, and there are a number of other prizes such as spa treatments, massage, rock climbing lessons, gift certificates to restaurants, and much, much more. The drawing will be held at our annual Luncheon on Wednesday, November 17th, and it is not necessary to be present to win. Please visit http://pachamamadrawing.eventbrite.com/ to learn more or to get your tickets.
We anticipate having a celebration next year to fully and deeply acknowledge our donors, facilitators, volunteers and supporters for their contributions in bringing forth an environmentally sustainable, socially just, and spiritually fulfilling human presence on this planet.
We want to thank you for your support of The Pachamama Alliance and hope you will join us at this year's Luncheon, and at the Celebration event next year.
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Without Air Conditioning
Summer Cooling Tips: About.com
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In Historic Move, U.N. Creates Single Entity
to promote women’s empowerment
 U.N. News Centre July 2, 2010 – In a bid to accelerate the empowerment of women, the General Assembly today voted unanimously to create a dynamic new entity merging four United Nations' offices focusing on gender equality, a move hailed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other senior officials. "The newest member of the UN family has been born today," Mr. Ban told the Assembly after it passed the resolution setting up the new UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, to be known as UN Women."This is truly a watershed day," he declared. Read more…
Gulf Oil Spill: A Hole in the World
 The Guardian/UK Sunday, June 20, 2010 by Naomi Klein "A year ago, [Tony]Hayward [BP CEO] told a group of graduate students at Stanford University that he has a plaque on his desk that reads: "If you knew you could not fail, what would you try?" Some, like Republican Lisa Murkowski, were more eager than others. The Alaskan senator was so awe-struck by the industry's four- dimensional seismic imaging that she proclaimed deep-sea drilling to have reached the very height of controlled artificiality. "It's better than Disneyland in terms of how you can take technologies and go after a resource that is thousands of years old and do so in an environmentally sound way," she told the Senate energy committee just seven months ago. Read more…
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