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by Miko Alino, SG Pilipinas
Students, teachers, and staff were treated to freshly-squeezed juice drinks when the Solar Bar visited Ecole Central Paris last week. We served drinks made from oranges, grapefruit, strawberries, bananas, kiwis, and apples (the strawberry-kiwi mix was my favorite!). Comic strips about climate change were also put on display around the bar.
by Miko Alino, SG Pilipinas
While people involved in the Rostock protests were in their respective camps and participating in confrontational blockades, a number of young people gathered today in their own "alternative summit" at the Rostocker Freizeitrum (the venue looked like a nursery school to me). We took part in a skill-share workshop organized by Solar Generation and People & Planet. I exchanged views on school-based campaigning with people from China, France, the United States, Britain, Germany, and Slovakia.
I found the workshop interesting because I have little experience in campaigns that target schools and universities (I normally participate in organisations that deal with political bodies or business institutions). Together with Cheng of Solar Generation China, I presented a case study on what Solar Generation has been doing in the Philippines. The exchanges featured discussions on how-to's in campaigning. We also tackled broad issues, ranging from cultural sensitivity to global student networks.
Cheers to the participants of the skill-share. I hope you guys also learned a lot from it (I forgot to let you hear a sample track from my favorite band Pinikpikan. You can check their website at pinikpikan.com).
by Miko Alino, SG Pilipinas
Riot police in Germany have started coming in and tried to disperse demonstrators at the Rostock City Harbour with tear gas and water cannons. The protestors and the police had a few exchanges before several arrests were made. Yesterday was Day One of the week-long demonstrations against the G8 summit, which will take place in Heilligendamm from June 6 to 8. I am in Rostock to join calls for binding commitments to emission reduction targets.
Minutes before the dispersal, Walden Bello of the non-government organisation Focus on the Global South delivered a speech before 80,000 people (Cheng Qian of Solar Generation China also made a speech. Check her blog to know more about her experience). Bello, a sociology professor from the University of the Philippines, urged the G8 not to act but to get out of way. He criticised G8 leaders for shunning issues like social justice and climate change.
Although his speech was quite aggressive and radical for me (I'm sure he really fired up a lot of people in the crowd, especially those were out to confront the police), I admire Bello for his candor in expressing his opinion in such an event (being a Filipino like myself).
Bello will deliver two lectures ("G8 = Intervention and Occupation" and "A Different Development Policy is Possible! Resistance and Alternatives") during the G8 Alternative Summit scheduled on June 5-7. For more details about the Alternative Summit, visit its website - www.g8-alternative-summit.org.