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Poverty, Populism Planet

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It’s 2019 and 26 of the world’s richest own as much as its 3.8 billion poorest. As growing numbers withdraw into extremisms of race, religion and nationalism, reactionary politicians campaign on promises of stronger borders; borders that are powerle…

It’s 2019 and 26 of the world’s richest own as much as its 3.8 billion poorest. As growing numbers withdraw into extremisms of race, religion and nationalism, reactionary politicians campaign on promises of stronger borders; borders that are powerless against almost everything, except humanity - keeping the poor and desperate out, while shuttering empathy and compassion within. And a climate-change denying superpower and its allies continue the lie that we must choose between jobs and the environment, even as our polluting economies usher in the geologic era of the human-caused Anthropocene and the Sixth Age of Mass Extinction.

Where rage at widening poverty and deepening insecurity is justified, the diversion of this rage toward socially and environmentally destructive agendas, by a regressive populism, is not.

From schools to halls of government, from airports to city streets and from the real world to the virtual, we are seeing powerful resistance to the politics of fear and division. In every corner of the world, communities large and small are mobilizing…

to build people-centred, life-affirming economies that wage war against POVERTY, rather than against the poor;

to grow a progressive POPULISM fuelled by shared stakes, solidarity and social justice for the common good; and

to connect the rights and dignity of all peoples to the rights and dignity of our PLANET.

The day of presentations, performances, interactive exhibits and roundtable discussions also features a panel on Envisioning A Peoples’ Centred Economy with Nour Alideeb (CFS Ontario), Maude Barlow (Council of Canadians), John Clarke (OCAP), Kofi Hope (Wellesley Institute), Vicky Mochama (journalist/commentator) and panel moderator Olivia Chow (former Member of Parliament/community organizer).

Roundtables:

Migration: Humanity Without Borders: From Xenophobia to Compassion & the Building of Global Communities

Media: The Battle for Truth, the Amplification of Hate and the Power and Reach of Modern Media: Educating for Change in the Information Age

Labour: From Working Class Rage to Workers’ Rights and Solidarity: Organizing for Bread and Roses in Precarious Times

Environment: Climate Denial, Environmental Violence and the Age of the Anthropocene: Crimes Against Humanity?

Poverty/Inequality: Balancing the Budget on the Backs of the Poor: Organizing for Dignity in the Age of Neoliberalism

Governance: Standing Against the Emergence of Regressive Populism and the Gutting of Our Social Contract / Standing For Social Justice and Good Governance

Education: Our Schools Are Our Futures: Defending Against Neoliberal Attacks on Educational Systems, Students, Workers and Critical Pedagogy

Join us in exploring a true vision of ECONOMIC JUSTICE that sustains our shared humanity and our shared Earth.

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May 22

Decolonization and Climate Change

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May 24

Trains, Buses, People!