I'm famous-er!

This blog has been mentioned on another great blog by an awesome Global Young Green (GYG) from Deutschland called Georg (which has now appeared in the blogs that I like box to your right). I suggest you take a look, especially if your interested in active GYGs from around the world.

The GYGs will be having a meeting in Graz, Austria in August. This conference follows the founding conference in Nairobi in 2007, and the less official meeting in conjunction with the Global Greens Congress last year that I went to! Go to their website if you are interested in attending (and contact someone on the steering committee about it as there doesn't seem to be conference info up yet) to find out more. I wish I had the funding, time, and justification of the carbon emissions for a whirlwind trip to Europe to go...

Atleast I get to go to the exciting local Greens Policy conference all the way over in Silverstream this weekend - my first as the Co-Convenor of the Young Greens! Needless to say there will be plenty of discussion about economic issues.

Fantastic.

I guess Guelph's going Green

Well, what an inspiring weekend I had last weekend. I went to Guelph in Ontario, Canada to help out with the campaign to elect the Green Party Candidate Mike Nagy there, and what a pleasant surprise I got. It is a by-election campaign, and the Canadian Greens think it's their best shot ever at getting a Green MP elected under their First Past the Post (FPP) electoral system (the poor things). I must admit, I was skeptical about whether they actually had that good a chance before I got there, but now I'm sure they have a damn good one.

Firstly, the campaign has gotten off to the best start ever for a Green Party campaign in Canada. They've already had many volunteers, including about thirty Young Greens the weekend I was there, with four weeks of campaigning remaining. They've had many people getting Mike Nagy signs for their lawns, and a lot of support coming in.

Guelph is a green city anyway, with, most notably, a fantastic farmers market. It is also a university town which, as we all know, means plenty of Green supporters as the Green Party is the Party for young people. In a riding (electorate) in London Ontario (my birthplace), some polling booths at the last Canadian Federal Election in the University there polled as high as 80% Green. Furthermore, Guelph is on track to have the highest amount of Green support ever from Green Party canvasing.

Then there are the stories. Firstly - the campaign office. It is an ex-car rental lot on one of the most busy corners in Guelph, with excellent visibility. All the other major contenders for Guelph contacted the owner about leasing the now empty and awesome place, but the guy wanted Guelph to go Green, so he gave it to Mike Nagy. The other campaign offices were barely visible, so Guelphites know that the Greens are serious contenders. You can see the sweet location above, with it's sweet signs beneath the other sign - the beautiful rainbows on the Saturday night. Now, I've seen many rainbows in my time, but never one as full and vivid as that one, and it's second shadow rainbow. And they are rare in Guelph apparently. It seemed too coincidental to be just a coincidence...

The other thing I was very impressed with was the energy and excitement that was there. It feels like the Canadian Greens have momentum and are on the verge of breaking the deadlock that is created by being in an FPP environment. The best result they've ever had was in the Ontario Provincial Election last year by the awesome Shane Jolley (who I was lucky enough to hang with while in Guelph) who scored 33% of the vote and a disappointingly close second place. This is consistent with the upward trend they've been having in certain areas, and it's about time they break through. Once they get an MP, everything changes. They are no longer seen as unelectable, and their leader Elizabeth May gets to participate in the televised leaders debates in the next Federal Election (ie. shatter the old white guys who lead the other four parties in Parliament).

So from the weekend I was inspired by how the Canadian Greens are doing, and i will take their energy with me back to New Zealand to help with our election campaign. It also serves as a good reminder that New Zealand should never abandon proportional representation. A Party with as much support as the Greens in Canada should have fair representation.

So will Guelph go Green? Time will tell. Do Guelphites ever want me to return to their lovely township? Time will tell. I for one hope they do, because that would be fantastic. Mike Nagy has an excellent chance, and so do the Greens in Canada for their future. It is time.

I will be following the campaign and checking the results after September 8.

A video in which I partially explain myself

Here is a video from the Youth Campaign Launch that happened in Wellington on August 1. My insiders tell me it was awesome, but of course I knew that as I attended in spirit. It explains partially why I am running this election and I "made" it in my sister's apartment in Mexico (ie recorded the sound and someone way better than me made it look pretty).

Pictures! (Finally)

Good evening all. I finally managed to get some pictures for you - and there will be more to come in future. Though I am now in Rio, here are some retrospective shots that I promised you. Firstly, a shot of a (small) part of São Paulo from some big park which I don't remember the name of. It is looking towards the wealthy area of town, with the main business street, Av. Paulista, at the back. I stayed near there, to the left a bit, for my last week in SP in an area called Jardins.
Some Capoiera entertainment on the first night of Global Greens. It is a dance mixed with a martial art, developed by the African slaves in Brazil.
The powerful New Zealand delegation at the Global Greens.
Some intense thinking and discussion at the Global Young Greens meeting, on the second, more formal day. This is in the basement of a church on Av. Paulista.

And finally, one person from each country at the Global Greens doing a hello, and stading on stage. In this picture there are only about two thirds of the total countries on stage.

So there you have it, some pictures to satisfy your visual cravings. I am in Rio now, staying in Copacabana, but I have to go now, so I will leave it at that. Some more pics and updates to come.

The Second Global Greens Congress 2008

After a great warm up with the Global Young Greens meeting (see post below), it was on to the official Global Greens Congress. Set up in 2001 as the first truly global political movement, with a unique philosophy and a common Charter, it was high time these pioneers met again to regroup and strengthen their global movement. The congress was a chance to make connections and networks, share ideas and to come out with something official and concrete to take the Global Greens into the future that so desperately needs them.

Day one, 1 May, started off with talks and discussions sponsored by the Heinrich Boll foundation. It then moved to the official opening ceremony in the evening, featuring a hello from each of the 88 or so countries present, as well as one from Brazilian President "Lula". We also were entertained by a local Capoeira group - with their music and their dance-fighting.

Day 2 started on a more sombre note, with a presentation dedicated to Ingrid Betancourt, who was a Green Presidential candidate in Columbia until she was captured by FARC rebels almost seven years ago. Still in captivity in the jungle, but with failing health, she is a inspiration, and her speech to the 2001 Global Greens Congress in Canberra was replayed. There was also a very moving speech by someone who was only recently released after being captive for four years. He had seen Ingrid, and tried to escape with her. They swam at night down a river for six days until they could no longer, and had to give themselves up again. The rebels chained them to trees day and night as punishment.

After this we got into the swing of the serious business. More discussions on the big issues (sustainability, climate change, biodiversity and so on), workshops to improve the many resolutions we were working on, as well some workshop to share ideas about more specific issues. I went to one to improve our resolution on post-Kyoto negotiations, and also one about online campaigning. The Canadian Greens are apparently a huge success story in this area, getting more votes in the whole history of their Party in one election, with funds and membership numbers increasing many times over. I took notes.

Finally, on the morning of Sunday 4 May, delegates voted on the main resolutions and their amendments. For those who made it, I'm sure it was riveting - but I was confident that New Zealand's sole delegate, Keith Locke, did an excellent job voting for us. They passed the 21 action points for the 21st century - which was an extensive statement on what the Greens want to see happen. The other most notable resolution was a plan to establish, by next year, an International Global Greens Secretariat - probably in Canberra - that would greatly improve the co-ordination of the Global Greens. There's so much information-sharing potential, and it really needs to happen!

Some videos and information about what happened at the Congress seems to be slowly appearing on the Global Greens website.

It was amazing to be mixed with so many different people from so many different countries, who were all united in our philosophy - best summed up with the word "Green". We want to see a fairer and more sustainable world - not just out of love for people and the world around us, but also out of necessity. There were the European Greens, who have representation not only in many of their countries, but also internationally, in the European Union Parliament. This contrasted with the Green Parties of Africa, many of whom were in their infancy, and struggling daily with the very real and very local issues that are beyond belief to westerners. There were Green Parties from oppressed countries - such as China - and Green people from countries where Green Parties have yet to form. There were Members of Parliament, Local Body Officials, Leaders and people such as myself who can't claim any title really. Their were some indigenous people, people who spoke English, and people who didn't. It was truly inspiring, and a hard-hitting reminder that we need to act now to save all these beautiful people.