For Mother EarthVoor Moeder Aarde

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For Mother Earth/Voor Moeder Aarde
Flemish environmental organisation
Links between the environment, human rights and
disarmament
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For Mother Earth/Voor Moeder Aarde History Our
ways of working For Mother Earth in FoEI Current
campaigns - environment.- human rights-
disarmament Future plans
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For Mother Earth History
1991 Founded in Ghent, Flanders
1992 Walk Across America For Mother Earth
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500 years of resistance to the arrival of
Columbus Opposition to nuclear colonialism
affecting indigenous people.
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October 1992 President Bush declared a
moratorium on nuclear testing.
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1995 walk from Brussels to Moscow, For a Nuclear
Free World.
1996 walk to Chernobyl, through the contaminated
areas, to mark the 10th anniversary of the
nuclear disaster.
1998 walk from Brussels to Faslane, Scotland, for
a world without nuclear weapons.
1999 walk from The Hague to Brussels, to bring
the issue of the illegality of nuclear weapons to
NATO headquarters.
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2004 we walked from NATO headquarters in
Brussels to the peace city of Ypres, to mark
the 59th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.
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1995 Boycott of French products against nuclear
testing in Polynesia. 1996 France and China halt
nuclear testing.
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1997 Campaign of Citizens Weapons
Inspections at nuclear weapon related sites.
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1999 The Ghent Ecological Centre (an initiative
of For Mother Earth) opens it doors
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2002 Largest Citizens Weapons Inspection action
Bomspotting action at Kleine Brogel. Over 2000
people attended with 1117 arrests.
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2002 Belgian government announces the phase-out
the use of nuclear power, after consistent
actions and pressure from For Mother Earth and
other NGOs.
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2003 - 2004 Active role in the Belgian and
international anti-war movement. Many millions of
people on the streets to oppose illegal war
against Iraq.
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Call for a boycott of selected US products
supported by hundreds of groups and individuals
around the world.
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For Mother Earth Our ways of working
Reaching members of the public demonstrations,
info-tables, awareness raising
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Nonviolent direct action can achieve extra
attention and political pressure Can also
directly halt environmentally destructive
practices
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Can lead to confrontation with the legal system
Court cases used in our campaigning work, to
raise issues of (international) law
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Research and education support our campaigning
work.
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Our magazine Bulletin Voor Moeder Aarde comes
out every 3 months (in Dutch). We also have a
new e-zine that is produced every month.
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Our websites www.motherearth.org www.moederaarde.
be
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Political lobbying is also important, and we have
contacts with members of regional, national and
European parliaments.
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We are a pluralistic organisation, which is
independent of any political party or religion.
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Nonhierarchical structures, and consensus
decision making are important as both ends and
means.
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Some of the volunteers in our office come through
the European Voluntary Service (EVS) scheme.
Volunteers from across Flanders and many
different countries.
No paid staff, so volunteers are involved in all
aspects of campaigning and administrative work.
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Campaigns decided every year by our annual
general meeting and the working groups
Campaigning work is done by working groups, under
the headings of environment, human rights and
disarmament, which meet regularly throughout the
year
People from each of the working groups meet every
2 months at a spokes council meeting, which
also includes our board of directors
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Cooperation with other organisations in Flanders
Bond Beter Leefmilieu (the Flemish environmental
umbrella organisation)
Gents Ecologisch Centrum
The Platform against war in Iraq
VIBE (Flemish Institute for Organic-Ecological
Buliding and Living)
Ecopower (a green energy cooperative)
Platform for Organic Agriculture
Netwerk Bewust Verbruiken (Network for Conscious
Consumption)
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International cooperation is also important we
are part of
Abolition 2000, the network for the abolition of
nuclear weapons
International Peace Bureau
Boycott Bush international network
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Informal links with many environmental, peace and
human rights groups in Flanders and around the
world.
Especially World Social Forum and European
Social Forum meetings, and the international No
US bases network.
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Nature of this cooperation varies but we play an
active role in the groups of which we are a
member.
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For Mother Earth in FoEI

• help consolidate international campaigns
• bring new energy and ideas to our campaigns at a
  local and regional level
• make links between environmental, human rights
  and disarmament issues
• close to Brussels and the European decision
  makers

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Belgium divided into 3 geographical regions
Flanders (Dutch speaking), Wallonia (French
speaking), Brussels (bilingual). Amis de la
Terre Belgique active in the French speaking
part of the country. Flanders has a separate
environment ministry, regional parliament, media,
businesses and NGOs. Significant cultural,
linguistic and historical differences between the
regions.
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• It is necessary to have two separate FoE groups,
  each working within their own community.
• Independent strategy and management
• Convention between For Mother Earth and Amis de
  la Terre Belgique
• Inform the other group of activities.
• Committee of dialogue to solve any problems
• Meeting every year to evaluate the cooperation.

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For Mother Earth environment campaigns
Organic agriculture/pesticides

• promotes organic agriculture
• lobbying for financial incentives
• raising awareness of organic products
• organic restaurant

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We take part in actions in Brussels organised by
FoE Europe on the issue of Genetically Modified
(GM) food.
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• The transport campaign calls for
• better access to public transport
• reduced dependence on polluting forms of
  transport
• car-free, clean and liveable cities for all
• zero tolerance for death and injury caused by
  traffic

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Nuclear energy/waste

• decision to phase out nuclear power by 2025
• more conservative government could withdraw this
  
• ensure that the phase-out takes place
• achieve the same result in other countries.

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• Climate change
• worked with FoE Europe on the Carbon Dinosaur
  action at the European Commission in June 2004
• the carbon dinosaur returns to Belgium on 4th
  October for an action in Ghent

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For Mother Earth human rights campaigns
Depleted Uranium weapons

• ill health, birth defects and serious
  environmental contamination in Iraq, Afghanistan
  and the Balkans.
• leading the Belgian coalition to Stop Uranium
  Weapons.
• environmental, human rights and disarmament issue

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Nanish Shontie

• an intertribal, interracial community under the
  guidance of indigenous people, based in Oregon,
  USA.
• people active in campaigns against nuclear
  testing, dumping and mining on land traditionally
  used by indigenous people.

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Guarani

• practical and political support
• Guarani expelled from ancestral grounds in
  Brazil for the construction of big hydro-electric
  plant

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For Mother Earth disarmament campaigns

• struggle to abolish nuclear weapons at regional,
  European, international level
• Mayors for Peace initiative
• nuclear testing
• Citizens Weapons Inspections

Nuclear weapons
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Actively support campaigns of anti-nuclear
nonviolent direct action in Belgium (the
Bomspotting campaign) and the UK (the Trident
Ploughshares campaign)
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Peace Prisoners

• opposition to military service is a fundamental
  human right.
• Case Hermaja focuses on Finland.
• follow cases in Israel, Greece, Turkey and USA.
• nuclear disarmers and whistleblowers

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• Boycott Bush
• pressure on the Rogue State by targeting
  election funding
• opposition to the war in Iraq and disarmament
  issues
• environmental issues (Kyoto and GMO)

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For Mother Earth future plans
Strategic plan

• defining a vision
• expertise from outside the organisation
• building capacity

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• 10,000 members by the year 2010
• to become an important part of the political
  landscape in Flanders
• incorporating existing local environmental
  groups
• establishing new local groups

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