Adani’s $1b and what this means for Fossil Free Unis. National Convergence dates ….

It’s happening. We’ve locked in a venue and dates for the inaugural Fossil Free Convergence – the 10th-13th March in the iconic Blue Mountains.

The National Convergence will bring together students, staff and and alumni* from across the country for 3 jam-packed days of plenaries, workshops, skill-sharing and strategising. It’s where we’ll turn our network of groups scattered across the country into a powerful campus climate movement, a movement to be reckoned with.

What: 3-day national gathering of the Fossil Free Unis network
When: Friday to Monday, 10-13th March 2017
Where: Katoomba Christian Convention Centre, Blue Mountains, NSW
Why: Skill up, connect, strategise and reignite the Fossil Free Unis movement
Buy your ticket here:

http://gofossilfree.org.au/convergence-2017/?link_id=1&can_id=&source=email-its-happening-the-fossil-free-convergence&email_referrer=its-happening-the-fossil-free-convergence&email_subject=its-happening-the-fossil-free-convergence

We’ve already had close to a hundred people register their interest, so we know it’s going to be a big one. To make things easier, we’ll help coordinate carpooling and we’re looking into getting buses from Melbourne and/or Brisbane. Oh, and we’ll be having a big party on the final night to celebrate, so it won’t all be hard work and no play (if we can’t dance it’s not our revolution).

See you there?
www.fossilfreeconvergence.org

P.S. Want to volunteer? We would love that. Sign up to the volunteering form on the website and we’ll get in touch.

*Not a student? We would still love for you to attend! We are planning to have a staff and alumni caucus, with dedicated spaces for you to strategise with your peers about how staff and alumni can help build the campaign for their university to divest. But if you can’t attend for whatever reason you can support a student to attend by donating here.

EARLIER, December 5 …

Next March our entire network will meet in Sydney or Melbourne for the Fossil Free Convergence. The 3-day gathering will be a chance for us to turn our network into a movement by getting trained, aligning on strategy and building deep relationships. Register your interest here: http://gofossilfree.org.au/convergence-2017/?link_id=0&can_id=&source=email-adanis-1b-and-what-this-means-for-fossil-free-unis&email_referrer=adanis-1b-and-what-this-means-for-fossil-free-unis___139151&email_subject=adanis-1b-and-what-this-means-for-fossil-free-unis

As I write this, Gautam Adani is meeting our Prime Minister. Turnbull is giving a billion dollars to fund the largest coal mine in the world, and that might not be the last of it.

On Saturday morning I woke to a text from my friend: “ray, check your email. bad news.”. I read the email and my heart sank. Is this real?

Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. After all, stories of corporates controlling our government and our universities is hardly news. But I’m still struggling with the idea that we actually live in a society where funding for healthcare, higher education, public housing and transport are being cut while a billion dollars is handed out to a dead end industry.

A billion dollars to set off a carbon bomb that will take us beyond the edge of what our planet and society can handle.

It’s almost comical, like Dr Evil in Austin Powers. Except this isn’t a Hollywood daydream. This is the world we live in.

I’ll be honest, as a young person who’ll be living in a far hotter world by the time I’m 40, I feel pretty despondent right now. Part of me wants to curl up in bed with a cup of tea and forget this is happening. Another part of me wants to throw myself at whatever protests and actions are being organised against Adani. But I also know that if all we do is try to stop each project mine by mine, we are going to lose this fight. Because to win we need to change the cultural landscape of our society.

We need to create a society in which the fossil fuel industry is viewed as the destructive beast that it is. Where it’s universally believed to be worse than tobacco for our health and more corrupt than casinos. Where people see that it chews up whole landscapes, towns and communities and spits out pollution that hurts all of us. A society where no government can hope to get elected if citizens even get a whiff that they are beholden to coal, oil or gas.

And universities are a central piece of this puzzle. They are ‘thought leaders’ with immense cultural power, influencing national debate and churning out hundreds of thousands of graduates every year whose world views have been shaped by their university experience. They provide the fossil fuel industry with research, graduates and social legitimacy.

As students and members of the university community, changing these institutions is our role. This is our fight. And the single biggest determinant of whether we win, of whether universities divest and whether we have climate safety, is how many people stand up and take part.

Next March, our entire network is getting together for the first time for the Fossil Free Convergence. Run over three days in Sydney or Melbourne, the Convergence is where we turn our collection of groups scattered across the country into a powerful movement to be reckoned with.

We need each other more than ever. These are uncertain times, but together we will find a way.

Are you in?

With anger, grief and hope,
Ray

P.S. The Convergence will be largely volunteer run and we need your help to make this a reality. If you have any time to spare over summer, whether it’s an hour or ten, sign up here ( http://gofossilfree.org.au/convergence-2017/?link_id=4&can_id=&source=email-adanis-1b-and-what-this-means-for-fossil-free-unis&email_referrer=adanis-1b-and-what-this-means-for-fossil-free-unis___139151&email_subject=adanis-1b-and-what-this-means-for-fossil-free-unis ) and we’ll get in touch.
Ray