Thousands of civil society activist now in Baku Azerbaijan for UNFCCC Climate Conference, officially called it Conference of Parties 29.
A lot of journalist and development theorist criticize the event for such huge arrangement and participation, but I feel it is needed as we need experience and influence on this critical global issue. Somewhere we have the need of togetherness, we must have a feeling that, we have one mother earth, we need to save it.
Here I do like to say how I have had made the Development Tourism to Development Activism. We must be serious on the issue, as development theorist raising questions on such big event. Prof Thea Host said development tourism as a “New Smoking”.
Most of the people participate in such a global event, without having any reporting to their back home, back to their constituencies (the organization and sponsors who send and sponsor the travel), no activism for advocacy, influencing events in the conference floor.
Now a days there are huge scope to give reporting/opinions in social media, twitter, publishing article and interview in print and electronic media. In COAST and EquityBD we have successfully overcome those.
During 2007 CoP7 in Bali we are following, Bali was as for my first experience on what happens and how we can influence. Then in CoP 8 Copenhagen we got registered as UNFCCC observer organization, since then we are able to enter inside, we have given slot for exhibition, press conference and organizing events, free of cost. Allmost in each morning or in evening we joined meeting with our govt delegation and or with our activist group like CAN (Climate Action Network) or APMDD (Asia Pacific Movement for Debt and Development).
Then from CoP 8 Copenhagen until now CoP 29 in Baku COAST organizing two press conferences (one in the beginning on our expectations and another one at the end on our reflections on outcome documents), maintaining one stall with exhibition, and organizing one event / seminar.
In the beginning the event was on climate displacement and now on climate finance. All most all the time it is in cooperation with other CSOs, like Green Peace, PDD, PACJA, CAN, CANSA, APMDD, NRC. It was hectic in Cancun in 2014, along with our minister we worked day and night and have been able to include clause 14 (f) on climate migrants, that was the first time and historical.
You can see those if you follow me in Facebook, twitter and in our websites (coastbd.net and equitybd.net). I also send short article and press release and those have been published in Dhaka print media, I have been interviewed in Al Jazeera and BBC.
After Doha I have discontinued and handed over to my colleague Aminul, who did the same and this year Aminul and Hasan gone in Baku as from next year Hasan alone will manage all those activities. You will see their activism report in my Facebook and twitter handle. In this way we tried to influence policy makers and trying to develop critical mass, multiplied the investment, make our development activism.
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