Last July ten young Europeans, us authors among them, got the opportunity to travel to Madagascar for a unique journey to connect internationally over global issues. We took part in an Ecoality-camp, which meant visiting Madagascar for ten days to learn from locals about the impacts of climate change and issues with equality, and all the work that is done to combat these complex and deeply intertwined issues.
Ecoality is an EU funded project, and as you could possibly decipher from its name, it focuses on the connection between climate change and gender (in)equality. This camp was one of many Ecoality activities, most of which take place locally around Europe. Since global responsibility and climate justice is central to the project, some camps have been taking place in countries in the Global South, which is where climate change hits the hardest.
On 22th of July we flew to the capital Antananarivo and then spent the next day on a bus to reach our destination, the city of Toamasina. It seemed a bit contradictory to travel to the other side of the world to learn how climate change impacts local life, but to us this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet inspirational people on the other side of the planet. Our purpose there was to learn and then act locally upon return. All the camp’s participants planned their own actions aiming to mobilize their local communities.
In Toamasina we were hosted by a human rights education focused organization called Yes TafiTa. Their volunteers showed us around all week and told us about their work in the area. We met many other organizations, associations and local actors, and discussed the themes of climate change and equality with them. These conversations could have lasted a lifetime, since there was always much to talk about.
It is notable that nobody we met was in denial of climate change or downplayed its seriousness. They did not need to doubt the climate crisis’ realness since it has been their lived experience for years. Alarming stories of threats to food security due to the changing climate and scarcity of clean water were told. And this affects especially women since in many rural societies it is the women’s daily task to fetch water and prepare food. From an organization called Women Break the Silence, who bring forth the voices of those who have experienced gender-based violence, we heard how for example longer distances to fetch drinkable water result in bigger risk of sexual violence due to unsafe routes.
It is not always easy to do this kind of work in Madagascar. The conservative government and strong lobby from the church were mentioned several times when we discussed gender equality. The justice system was described as corrupt, and the informal economy employs 95% of the workforce. Being an activist can be life-threatening. There are many taboo subjects as well, like abortion and rape. The work these organizations do is crucial to changing views that are harmful to the safety and wellbeing of women.
We met a woman who was doing her PHD on the subject of abortion in Madagascar and was a part of a political women’s group that brought gendered issues to the parliament. We met a women’s association that aimed to give jobs to fishermen’s wives due to fishing becoming an unstable job because of deterioration of fish populations. We met a man who travelled around Madagascar documenting which food plants are disappearing and which are mutating due to differences in climate. In a French union house we met workers who introduced local children to climate action by having a competition for eco-innovation and planning an Eco festival with participants from up to ten cities around the country making slam poetry about the environment to raise awareness.
These examples show how much effort there is locally to make social and environmental change happen, despite the obstacles of an oppressive government and still prevailing coloniality. Recent news from Madagascar reports of massive protests which resulted in the president dissolving the government and fleeing the country. The Malagasy youth want change. It was clear during the visit, but it is intense to see it now from the screen. Protests have been deadly.
It may feel that all this commotion on the other side of the world is not something that relates to our reality. Nonetheless in the seeming safety and democracy of Finland, we experience indifference to social injustice and neglect of climate action. The climate crisis is here and we can now see loads of impacts such as life threatening heat waves and having less snow each year along with the deterioration of arctic ecosystems. Gender equality is not a solved issue either. The gender-based violence Finland is often at the top of EU-charts, and troubling stories from schools of misogyny running rampant are in headlines.
These are not only issues in some far away lands, yet our operating environment for civic action is far freer than in many other places. The fact that we can speak our mind, attend demonstrations and protest injustice is a right worth upholding. Recently a myriad of protests around the world have taken place: the Gen Z protests that spread from Nepal all around the world, notably in Indonesia, Philippines, Kenya, Morocco, Madagascar and Peru, as well as the No Kings -protests all over USA, which have been the largest protest in the country’s history. These protesters share the same concern about a future that looks bleak, but this unity brings hope to many. There is no room for apathy and paralysis.
As Gen-Z ourselves we are doing our best to play an active role in visioning a more hopeful future. During our time in Madagascar, we met engaged teachers, who with little to no teacher training are managing dozens of classrooms and doing their best to address their student’s needs. These Malagasy teachers, together with teacher students based in Oulu are now launching the project “Glocal Pennant“.
It is connecting Finland with Madagascar through school-based exchanges, in which English language classrooms in both countries will together online discuss what matters most to them. The pupils will bring their discussions afterwards into various spaces of their home city through art, text and dialogue. Through the exchange, pupils are practicing their intercultural competencies, including self-reflection and empathy, perspective-taking, dialogue, and critical thinking.
However, the bigger outcome from this project is that Youth voices would be listened to. A core principle of the project is to create bridges for groups that typically do not meet. This includes younger and older generations. And whilst respectful consideration should go both ways, it is especially important to us that younger, especially minor voices are being amplified, as they are the ones rarely ever asked or listened to in public debates.
Early next year, the public of Oulu will be invited to join our events, including world cafes, open tables and an exhibition, where they get to interact with the pupils and their work and continue the conversation. The project aims to foster global empathy and a sense of connection to those seemingly far away from us – whether geographically, culturally, or generationally.
The project is organized by ITE (Intercultural Teacher Education) students and staff of the faculty of Education and Psychology and supported by the Peace Education Institute Finland and Ooka ry. We cooperate with teachers in Tomasina and Northern Finland, as well as volunteers in Oulu. The project also collaborates within a larger collection of different initiatives (with participation from for example Mobile Futures, Oulu2026 and Kaikkien Oulu) that aim to explore themes of antiracism, diversity, connection and belonging in Oulu.
Authors
Kerttu Kalliorinne is an environmental policy student from Oulu working on my thesis about ecofeminist activism. In internship at the Peace Education Institute I got to be a part of many Ecoality-projects.
Celine Okata is a student at the Faculty of Education and Psychology. In her free time, she loves to bake bread, go on hikes, and learn to play the cello.
Pictures by Heaven Primo.