At the 2018 Green Summer University, we “pushed the boundaries”

From 12 to 15 July 2018, the fourth Green Summer University took place in Janów Podlaski, in the beautiful resort “Uroczysko Zaborek”, as if created for the Greens, which we organised for the Green European Foundation, but also in partnership with the Representative Office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation in Warsaw, with whom we organised a thematic seminar “Green vision for agriculture, food and rural development”, and with the Save the Rivers Coalition, with whom we organised a thematic series called “River University”. There were many guests from abroad, not only from the European Union, but also from the countries of our eastern neighbours, Ukraine and Belarus. About the future of Europe, Common Good cities, climate, agriculture and rivers
In the programme, in addition to the opening debate on the future of Europe (with Green MEP Rebecca Harms, Dr Paweł Kowal, Green Party Chair Małgorzata Tracz and Michał Sutowski from Krytyka Polityczna), we have prepared several thematic cycles in the context of geopolitics and next year’s European Parliament elections: Climate change and preparations for the COP 24 climate summit in Katowice, a Green vision for agriculture, food and rural development, a Green vision for local government – provincial assemblies and cities, including the transformation of cities towards Common Goods (as part of an international GEF project) and finally the ‘River University’, in partnership with the Save the Rivers Coalition. Among the numerous workshops and expert debates, there was also talk about the fight against smog, the future of work and the role of art and artists in activating citizens and the political transformation of Poland.

     

We crossed borders The Green Summer University 2018 was entitled ‘Crossing Borders’. This had many meanings and overtones, as we were right on the border with Belarus, close to the border with Ukraine, in the land of multiculturalism and dialogue of languages, cultures and religions. Our Green guest from Ukraine, Vasily Baitsym, presented us with a project for the infrastructure that will soon be built in this region, precisely to support dialogue between the three neighbouring countries here – Poland, Belarus and Ukraine. These will be three similar sports and cultural centres, which will carry out activities based on intercultural dialogue. Maybe in a few years’ time the next ZLU could be held in one of these centres, who knows. But we also “crossed borders” in the context of the E40 waterway from Odessa to Gdansk – building a Polish-Belarusian-Ukrainian coalition against this crazy project, but also a Polish-Czech-German coalition against the similar E30 waterway on the Oder River, as part of the “River University”. We started with a happening on the Bug River – “Sisters of the Rivers” by Cecylia Malik, an art activist also involved in the Save the Rivers Coalition. A song in defence of rivers, the preservation of their natural character and their freedom and beauty flowed from the Bug River this time. In this way, we manifested our opposition to the plans to use the Bug River as part of the future E40 waterway from Odessa to Gdansk, also recalling our disagreement with the construction of dams on the Vistula, including the already announced dam in Siarzewo.

 

As an important part of ZLU 2018 was a seminar on agriculture, food and rural development, so we had the context of wild boar and ASF disease, or the wildlife border, in the background, as a 1,200km-long fence was being considered to be erected along our eastern border, running just a few kilometres from where we were staying. But surely it is possible to create a border for wildlife? The Bug is today a natural state border, but for wild animals there are no borders, no nationalities, no passports after all… This was beautifully shown to us by the children, under the guidance of the wonderful Green Artivist Elżbieta Hołoweńko.

     

There was also the question of geopolitics, about the future of Europe, the relationship of the European Union and Poland with Ukraine and Russia, the threat of a new Cold War, into which Trump and Putin, but also our political leaders, are pushing us. Opening the day’s plenary debates, this was discussed in an extremely interesting way by our guests: Green MEP Rebecca Harms, former MEP Dr Paweł Kowal, Michał Sutowski from Krytyka Polityczna and Green Party Chair Małgorzata Tracz, with the help of Bartłomiej Kozek moderating the discussion: http://zielonewiadomosci.pl/publikacje/debaty-wywiady/europa-od-nowa/

     

Finally, we discussed climate change, which knows no borders, just like air pollution. We considered, with the help of Katarzyna Ugryn from the Heinrich Boell Foundation, together with the teams from the Green European Journal and Green News, with the help of experts and activists from Poland and other countries, what content should be prepared for the COP 24 climate summit in Katowice in December 2018. , and then we debated with the help of Ewa Sufin-Jacquemart of the Green Zone Foundation about how we, activists and green organisations, should prepare for this climate summit, which is so important for our future, what message, in what content and form, and if any, we should convey to the Polish government holding the presidency. Finally, Roger Manser and Andrew Willoughby from the UK discussed economics and climate change, with the help of Przemek Stępień.

      

We have also raised the issue of globalisation, which is causing a very rapid expansion of global corporations, more powerful than countries, for which borders do not really exist. This also affects our food and how the food we eat is produced, with consequences for family farming, the environment and future generations. The extremely interesting and multi-faceted debate “From industrial agriculture to agroecology and food sovereignty”, chaired by Ewa Jakubowska-Lorenz from the Heinrich Boell Foundation, took place. The debate, chaired by Ewa Jakubowska-Lorenz from the Heinrich Boell Foundation and featuring EU and Polish experts on sustainable agriculture and organic activists, representatives of the food cooperative and the Nyeleni movement for agroecology and food sovereignty, as well as a conventional farmer and a researcher from the Polish Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Agricultural Research, was preceded by a workshop on GMO plants, both ‘traditional’ and new types, and an expert round table on organic farming. There was also a working meeting of the founders of the Living Earth Coalition, for a different agricultural and food policy in the European Union and Poland, which is part of the pan-European Good Food Good Farming campaign.

     

But we Greens are also pushing the boundaries of what is the dominant reality of our cities. Together with the urban movements gathered in the federation of the Congress of Urban Movements (Hanna Gill-Piątek, Marcin Gerwin), we promote the transformation of cities towards Common Goods, serving citizens and their co-determination of the place and space of their lives, open and tolerant cities where women have an equal voice. We have shown these transformations in practice using the example of the Belgian city of Ghent (Dirk Holemans), where the Greens who govern there are carrying out a real green revolution together with the inhabitants, as well as Catalonia’s El Prat (Sergi Alegre) or London, which is turning urban greenery into a national park (Roger Manser). Finally, Dr Ludomir Duda gave us a lecture on the harmfulness of carbon dioxide air pollution in schools and how to prevent it.

     

Together with art activists, we fight against the devastation of nature, against discrimination and the suffering of animals. This was demonstrated in the panel “Artists as agents of change” with Cecilia Malik, Ela Hołoweńko, Joanna Kessler and Michał Kasprzak led by Gert Roehrborn of the Heinrich Boell Foundation. We also read engaged poetry. There was a talk on urban greenery and how to protect it (Aleksandra Zienkiewicz and Daniela Grzesińska), and on global responsibility, the climate and women through the film ‘Half a year with barefoot grannies’ from the Afrykamera festival. Finally, it was spiritual and musical with Ben Lazar’s drum and Andrew Willoughby’s guitar. In a word, the Greens are shattering many boundaries with their politics, their vision of the world and their relationship with people and nature. Our Green Summer University 2018 demonstrated this.

      

Dla lokalnej społeczności

For local residents, mainly organic farmers, we prepared a meeting at the CDR in Grabanow with a screening of the film “Crops of the Future” by Marie-Monique Robin, with a debate on agroecology and organic farming. Nature excursions in a different way Instead of the traditional nature excursions with horse experts Marta Nowak and Ewa Krzakowka-Łazuka, we visited the famous state horse stud in Janów Podlaski in groups, which ended with a great and fun quiz. River University
In 2016, at the Green Summer University in Ciechocinek, we sailed boats with ornithologists on the Vistula, discussed with residents the futility of building a dam in Siarzewo and helped lay the first bricks for the Save the Rivers Coalition. This time we invited the CoR to our ZLU. Thanks to Ewa Leś, river activists from Poland, Belarus and Ukraine, but also from Germany and Sweden, came together to tie ranks with the Save the Rivers Coalition and fight together against the harmful plans to build the E40 and E30 waterways. To cheer our hearts, we also watched together the film ‘Damnation’ about the dismantling of old dams in the USA. [Addendum of 2021: The River University, thanks to Ewa Leś and the Clean Baltic Coalition, has become an independent, important, regular event. We wish it success and a long life!]

     

Szczegółowy program : Program ZLU 2018-07-06

Green Summer Academy „Crossing borders” was organized by the Green European Foundation with the support of the Fundacja Strefa Zieleni, with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.

Debate on transition of cities towards the Commons was organized as a part of international project „Creating Socio-Ecological Societies through Urban Commons Transition”  by the Green European Foundation with the support of the Fundacja Strefa Zieleni, with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.

Seminarium „Zielona wizja rolnictwa, żywności i rozwoju obszarów wiejskich” zostało zorganizowane we współpracy z Fundacją im. Heinricha Bölla w Warszawie.

Media Patronage: ‘Green News’
PLEASE NOTE: We are still running a crowdfunding campaign at http://pomagam.pl/ZielonyUniwersytet for ZLU 2019. For a donation of at least 50 PLN you can get a prize of a beautiful artistic t-shirt (made of organic cotton and Fair Wear) with graphics of our participant Ela Holoweńko from the series “Ecofeminism” or Ola Wasilewska with a graphic “Bison, Paperwhite”, and for at least 20 PLN you can get a beautiful pin “I am an eco-feminist” or “Leave us rivers” with artwork of Ela Holoweńko or an issue of “Green News” on. You can get a beautiful “I’m an eco-feminist” or “Leave us the rivers” pin, or an issue of Green News on food, the countryside and agricultural policy or an English edition of Green News dedicated to the climate disaster. Make a donation at : http://pomagam.pl/ZielonyUniwersytet and send information to fundacja@strefazieleni.org what gift you would like to receive from us.