Grassroots Activism | Luisa Neubauer & Sashi Kiran

01/31/23 • 59 min

The right to participation is one of the most powerful and basic rights, and far too often people who are living in the frontlines of various struggles at the grassroots levels are spectators where they should be central players. In the climate movement we have seen how activists from the global south and the lives of everyday people are consistently sidelined in the climate summit negotiations.
These spaces often purport to be an opportunity for activists to engage with power but in reality these engagements and spaces only reify the current power dynamics while serving as tokenistic acts for both activists and those in power. Bringing the voices of those that do not make it out of the congested media environment, which is already stacked against them, is one of the many struggles that face grassroots activists in poor and marginalised communities around the world. So what do we need to strengthen the voices of grassroots activists? What are the barriers to the voices of grassroots activism being heard?
Our guests:
Luisa Neubauer was one of the lead organisers of Fridays For Future in Germany - a movement that brought 1.4 million people to the streets of German towns and cities in September 2019. A talented community organiser and rousing public speaker, she has since become a powerful voice among a generation of young Germans who are taking a stand against climate inaction.
Follow Luisa’s work:

Twitter: @Luisamneubauer
Instagram: @luisaneubauer

Sashi Kiran is the trailblazing founder and chief executive officer of a grassroots not-for-profit that provides economic opportunities for underserved communities in Fiji. She started FRIEND as it is better known, after Fiji’s 2000 political crisis to create income generating opportunities for women and men from rural and peri-urban settlements and villages, youth and people with special needs; and to strengthen relations between Fiji’s two main communities. She has worked with the Commonwealth Foundation, and networks such as CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education and serves on the Regional Advisory Group Member of the Global Network of CSOs on Disaster Risk Reduction (GNDR).
Follow Sashi’s work:

FRIEND Fiji website: http://friendfiji.com
LinkedIn

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Click here to watch a full video version of this episode.
Learn more about Power, People & Planet on the website:
https://powerpeopleplanet.org
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Power, People and Planet is produced in association with the Green Economy Coalition, the world’s largest movement for a green and fair economy:
https://greeneconomycoalition.org
Additional support for the podcast was provided by the Robert Bosch Stiftung:
https://www.bosch-stiftung.de/en

Twitter: @Luisamneubauer
Instagram: @luisaneubauer

FRIEND Fiji website: http://friendfiji.com
LinkedIn

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Previous Episode

Intersectionality: The Missing Link For Justice | Naomi Klein, Laura Garcia & Georgia Hirsty

In this episode, we reflect on the critical importance of the power of intersectional approaches between different movements so that they might win bigger battles faster. Intersectionality refers to the interconnected nature of social categories such as race, class, and gender. They create overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage. Intersectionality is a lens that allows us to view the hidden and invisible connections in our society. While many in civil society and different movements recognize this theoretically, there’s still far too high a propensity towards siloed activism.

Our guests:
Naomi Klein is an award-winning journalist, columnist, and international bestselling author of eight books including No Logo, The Shock Doctrine, This Changes Everything, No Is Not Enough and On Fire, which have been translated into over 35 languages. She is a Senior Contributing Writer for The Intercept. She was the inaugural Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University, and is now Honorary Professor of Media and Climate at Rutgers.
Follow Naomi’s work:

Website: https://naomiklein.org/
Twitter: @NaomiAKlein

Laura Garcia is a Mexican feminist who has advocated for human rights, social justice, and civil society throughout her career. Before joining Global Greengrants as CEO, Laura served for seven years as the Executive Director of Fondo Semillas, a Mexican non profit organisation that finances grassroots organisations to achieve gender equality. Laura has co-created networks to promote community philanthropy in the Global South. She currently serves on the boards of Oxfam Mexico, Co-Impact, and the Global Fund for Community Foundations.
Follow Laura’s work:

Global Greengrants Fund website: https://www.greengrants.org/
Twitter: @lauragarciac

Georgia Hirsty is the co-founder and executive director of Frailty Myths, a community-rooted diversity, equity, and inclusion group that uses hands-on activities and the principles of practice to transform oppressive cultures and advance justice. Georgia has worked extensively with Greenpeace and across social and environmental movements in a variety of leadership roles, with a focus on direct action, empowerment, and a deep interest in long term behaviour change. All of her work grows from the ethos that we must practice being in the new world we want to live in so as not to replicate destructive patterns.
Follow Georgia’s work:

Frailty Myths website: https://frailtymyths.org/
Georgia’s blog: https://georgiafayehirsty.wordpress.com/

-----------------------
Click here to watch a full video version of this episode.
Learn more about Power, People & Planet on the website:
https://powerpeopleplanet.org
Follow Kumi on social media:

Power, People and Planet is produced in association with the Green Economy Coalition

https://greeneconomycoalition.org
Additional support provided by the Robert Bosch Stiftung

Next Episode

Rethinking Society | George Monbiot

With the crises in front of us so complex, are their solutions to be found at the global or local level? Will our technologies emerge fast enough to avert the greatest threats and, if not, how do we prepare for that unknown future? And how can even the boldest of activist movements hope to have an impact against overwhelming economic and cultural power? In this episode Kumi discusses ways to reimagine and reinvent the ways we live with one of Britain’s leading figures in the fight for a better world.
Our guest:
George Monbiot is a trained zoologist and scientist but is most commonly noted for his journalism, writing and his political and environmental activism, in which he has been engaged for over 30 years. He is a columnist for the Guardian and was awarded the 2022 Orwell Prize for Journalism. His latest book Regenesis: Feeding the World Without Devouring the Planet explores a new future for food production, one of the most climate-devastating industries humanity currently engages in.

Follow George's work: