Sharing the Table: New York Climate Week
A POWERFUL FORCE FOR TRANSFORMATION
When we started Sharing the Table, as a way to bring together changemakers and activists, little did we know this appointment would become both a safe haven where to have honest conversations, and such a powerful force for transformation.
Thanks to the relentless support of 1 Hotels, we did not miss the opportunity to host the fourth edition in New York during Climate Week – when so many young leaders gathered in town from all over the world to push the call for a fair phasing out of fossil fuels during the United Nations General Assembly.
The audience comprised some of the trailblazers and friends of previous Sharing the Table such as Dominique Palmer, Maya Penn, Wawa Gatheru, Tori Tsui, Leo Cerda and Zaya. And the energy from the day before, which saw tens of thousands of climate activists taking to the streets and marching demanding to end fossil fuels (with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez telling the crowd that this movement must become “too big and too radical to ignore”) was still electrifying.
Co-host Vanessa Nakate, whose reputation now precedes her, so much so that she has been nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, wore a stunning dress made by her sister: “I think about what sustainable fashion is and what it should look like. I just really think about the life that comes with it, the respect that comes with the clothes that we wear, I think that if we have that respect towards what we buy, and how we buy, respect towards the people that make the clothes that we wear, it makes us take more sustainable decisions in how we dress and it also gives life to the clothes that we wear.”
So many stood on the chair we put in the middle of the floor in order to be seen across the room.
“While our trust and passion for institutions — government to religious and everything in between — wanes, it’s powerful for us to remember what unified vision and collective joy looks like. That’s exactly what tonight we participated in at Sharing the Table.“
CO-HOST KESHIA HANNAM, EDITOR IN CHIEF OF EASTERN STANDARD TIMES
“My climate activism is a love letter to earth, to my communities” Climate Justice Activist Dominique Palmer reminded us “I started this because I saw the disproportionate impact of air pollution where I lived, in my community and for the black and brown communities across the UK and globally. Yesterday was a beautiful reminder of just the amount of work that has been put in by grassroots activists all across the world, all of us are coming together. We marched yesterday, over 70,000 of us, but millions also across the world, and that was absolutely phenomenal. The amount of blocks and different groups that were there, shows us the importance of international solidarity and systemic change is happening. There's a quote that I use in my activism which is, 'If I can't dance, then I don't want to be part of your revolution.’”
And dancing we almost did, when Saad Amer made all of us sing on repeat: “What do we want? (Climate Justice) When do we want it? (Now!) If we don’t get it? (Shut it down!)”
During the evening, we also welcomed a Youth Delegation from Nile Rodgers' We Are Family Foundation (WAFF), including Kiara Nirghin, Andy Mnguni and Angela Busheska.
"As a leader in supporting youth changemakers since 2008, WAFF recognizes the importance of meaningful and diverse youth representation at all decision-making tables, especially those addressing our planet's most pressing problems” Nancy Hunt, WAFF Co-Founder & President, said “We must move beyond the belief that our youngest generations will solely inherit our existing challenges and instead acknowledge that they are already grappling with them. By including young people in these discussions, we invest in their ideas, bolster their hope, and broaden our range of possibilities."
Leo Cerda, climate activist and Indigenous rights defender from the Kichwa community of Serena in the Ecuadorian Amazon, shared the joy of the recent triumph of grassroots Indigenous and environmental activists against the fossil fuel consensus, as Ecuador made history with a 59 percent vote in support of a momentous referendum to stop petroleum drilling in the Yasuní National Park, one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet.
“The government was corrupt, they denied our signatures, but we have been fighting them in courts for 10 years, and finally, two weeks ago, we won!”
WAFF recently launched a Global Study, "Collaboration Across Generations: Insights, Challenges, and Best Practices", designed to provide deeper insights into how intergenerational initiatives currently function in various settings and circumstances, as well as what it takes to foster authentic and meaningful forms of intergenerational collaboration. (The study is open until October 13th, and open to all participants if you want to contribute.)
The power of these young leaders is undeniable: “We are at point in human history where we never faced a crisis like this before, but we also are at a point in human history where we never had so many incredible, badass changemaker collaborating and working together” said Wawa Gatheru.
Model and force-of-nature activist Cameron Russell believes in this fiercely “Organizers understand that to make change, is not about being the most powerful person, is about power-with, is about organising no matter where you are sitting, you are organizing with the person next to you. This is why it’s so amazing to be in this room with you. Always be reminded that this is how we make change, and when we see all the leaders this week that are not doing the right thing, we can feel sorry that they do not understand how change is made, they understand how to uphold some old shit, is a broken system, its empowering you for 12 minutes, but if you want to make something new, if you want to make something you want to be in, is what we are doing right now”
As everyone’s agreed, we did “slay” (or as someone who is not a young activist like me would say: together we do spectacularly well). In times of division and hopeless, Sharing the Table reminds us that we are united and strong, that we mobilise powerfully and we won’t stop.