Next Global Greens Congress Moved To Brazil

Next Global Greens Congress Moved To Brazil
Dates Remain The Same, May 1-4, 2008
Brussels, May 25th, 2007

Dear Green Friends,

After much reflection, we would like to inform you that insurmountable logistical problems have made it necessary to change the venue of our Second Green Global Congress from Nairobi, Kenya, to Sao Paolo, Brazil. This difficult decision was arrived at after much consideration and consultation with our African Green Friends, including Professor Wangari Maathai, who was a full participant.

Although it is not possible for the Congress to be held in Africa in 2008, we believe that with support from Greens Foundations such as the Heinrich Boll (Germany) and the Green Forum (Sweden), as well as from other organizations and with the strong engagement of the African Greens, there will certainly be an African-hosted Global Green Congress in the coming years.

Happily the enthusiastic proposal of our Brazilian Green Friends to hold our Second Global Green Congress in Sao Paulo — supported unanimously by the Federation of Green Parties of the Americas — makes us fully confident that the 2008 Congress will provide an extraordinary platform to underscore Green solutions to global challenges.

The last report of the World Watch Institute makes clear that the explosive growth of mega cities, such as Sao Paolo, is exacerbating the global energy/climate crisis. Thus Sao Paulo is a significant setting in which to discuss both the politics of climate change and energy policies and the concrete challenge of improving the quality of life for the majority of the world’s citizens. We expect that reflecting upon the daily local problems of one of the world’s largest mega cities will bring us to a deeper understanding of the means to effect needed global change.

The meeting will be an occasion to confirm our position not just on major ecological questions relative to Brazil, such as the Amazonian forests and the agro-fuels, but also to reaffirm that in a time when everybody speaks about the environment and climate change, Greens are more needed than ever.

Once more we will reaffirm our deep conviction that there can be no real ecological shift without the ecologists. Brazil is a good example of this. More information on Sao Paulo 2008 will be found on www.globalgreens.info in the coming weeks and months.

We look forward to seeing you in Brazil in 2008.

The Global Greens Coordination