Non-Indigenous and Indigenous Dialogue in Activism

by incubateNo Comments
This article was written by ASEN member Em Russ in 2008.  Activism can become very problematic if non-Aboriginal activists are not frequently engaged in dialogue with Aboriginal people. Without active dialogue between non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians self-determination will inherently be discouraged. Activism is about challenging the status quo and acting to change it. Active dialogue discontinues the construction commonly found in mainstream society of Indigenous Australians as the ‘other’. Through positive dialogue and contact with Aboriginal communities, non-Indigenous activists can learn on a personal and practical level about the culture that they’re fighting to keep alive. Environmental activists can learn how to live with and care for this land from Aboriginal people whose ancestors were caretakers of it for tens of thousands of years. Activism is about empowering all people to take control of their world, promoted through dialogue, skill-sharing and broad contact with all cultures, discouraging exclusivity. Aboriginal activism can very effectively involve non-Aboriginal people who acknowledge their role of...
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The Jewish National Fund (JNF) and Greenwashing

by ASENadminNo Comments
An open letter to the Australian environment movement from Jews Against the Occupation (Sydney and Melbourne) Alongside gains made by environmental campaigns and activists in Australia and worldwide, there has been a rise of opportunistic organizations appropriating the concerns of environmentalism, and taking advantage of public support for environmental projects. This trend is known as ‘greenwashing.’ It is the aim of our collectives, Jews Against the Occupation (Melbourne) and Jews Against the Occupation (Sydney) to bring attention to the way in which greenwashing is being carried out by the Israel-based Jewish National Fund (JNF). The JNF holds official charity, tax-exempt status, and receives fundraising from countries worldwide, including Australia. The JNF promotes itself as an environmental charity, “greening the State of Israel through the creation, improvement and maintenance of forests and the preservation of natural landscapes and open spaces”1. In reality, “its primary goals [are] the development and conservation of land it holds on behalf of the Jewish people.” While the JNF...
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The Jewish National Fund (JNF) and Greenwashing

by incubateNo Comments
An open letter to the Australian environment movement from Jews Against the Occupation (Sydney and Melbourne) Alongside gains made by environmental campaigns and activists in Australia and worldwide, there has been a rise of opportunistic organizations appropriating the concerns of environmentalism, and taking advantage of public support for environmental projects. This trend is known as ‘greenwashing.’ It is the aim of our collectives, Jews Against the Occupation (Melbourne) and Jews Against the Occupation (Sydney) to bring attention to the way in which greenwashing is being carried out by the Israel-based Jewish National Fund (JNF). The JNF holds official charity, tax-exempt status, and receives fundraising from countries worldwide, including Australia. The JNF promotes itself as an environmental charity, “greening the State of Israel through the creation, improvement and maintenance of forests and the preservation of natural landscapes and open spaces”1. In reality, “its primary goals [are] the development and conservation of land it holds on behalf of the Jewish people.” While the JNF...
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UoW Enviro Collective defeats CSG on campus!

by ASENadminNo Comments
In the lead up to the big anti-CSG rally that will take place next Tuesday May 1 in Sydney, this is an inspiring story of how Wollongong Enviro Collective took on the CSG monster on campus. In 2011 the evil administrators of Wollongong Uni hit upon their most dastardly plan yet: to build a giant trigeneration gas-fired power plant in the middle of the main campus. Alarmed by their uni’s utter megalomaniacal insanity, the brave stalwarts of the UOW Enviro Collective were initially taken aback. Did the uni’s depravity know no limits? Would they be content with building a gas power plant on campus, burning up lots of coal seam gas and pumping poisonous nitrous dioxide into the air for 25,000 students to breathe, or was this simply stage one in a project to turn the entire university, then the whole of Wollongong, into a giant CSG field? Anything seemed possible. The Enviro Collective rallied its forces. We held a big screening of...
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UoW Enviro Collective defeats CSG on campus!

by incubateNo Comments
In the lead up to the big anti-CSG rally that will take place next Tuesday May 1 in Sydney, this is an inspiring story of how Wollongong Enviro Collective took on the CSG monster on campus. In 2011 the evil administrators of Wollongong Uni hit upon their most dastardly plan yet: to build a giant trigeneration gas-fired power plant in the middle of the main campus. Alarmed by their uni’s utter megalomaniacal insanity, the brave stalwarts of the UOW Enviro Collective were initially taken aback. Did the uni’s depravity know no limits? Would they be content with building a gas power plant on campus, burning up lots of coal seam gas and pumping poisonous nitrous dioxide into the air for 25,000 students to breathe, or was this simply stage one in a project to turn the entire university, then the whole of Wollongong, into a giant CSG field? Anything seemed possible. The Enviro Collective rallied its forces. We held a big screening of...
Read More