The Climate Justice Camp is a platform for community builders and organizers to build relationships with other advocates for climate justice and intersectional issues. The camp offers daily workshops to help participants develop skills that can be applied in local work, as well as share best practices and lessons learned from their local organizing.
In 2022, the inaugural Climate Justice Camp, held in Tunisia, was launched as a platform to bring together young climate leaders and activists from countries around the Global South and build cross-border strategies, networks, and momentum in the lead up to COP27. This was followed by the Climate Justice Camp 2023, held in Lebanon one year later. Between them, these two global camps hosted almost 1,000 participants from over 100 countries on the frontlines of climate change; and were the first international climate events of their kind to facilitate collaboration between social and climate justice groups and leaders in these regions of the world. Following the camps, a group of young attendees from the Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Curacao, St. Eustatius, Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, and Jamaica, began working together to develop the framework for a local version of the event, with the aim of connecting and centering climate justice demands in the Caribbean region. With the support of one of the lead organizers of the Climate Justice Camp, Roots, and more than a dozen local and international organisations, this resulted in the Climate Justice Camp: Caribbean, which will take place from March 28th to 31st, 2024 in Sint Maarten.
Why is a Caribbean Climate Justice Camp important?
The Caribbean is on the frontlines of the climate crisis, with communities facing threats of extreme weather events, heat waves, and permanent water inundation due to sea level rise. There are many strong initiatives centered on issues ranging from human rights and decolonization, to social and climate justice in the region, however these groups are isolated from each other across the islands, and have often never met or talked to one another. The Climate Justice Camp: Caribbean will create a space and an opportunity for those working at the forefront of social and climate justice in this region to come together – many for the first time – and develop coordinated strategies and demands that push for local and global policy change and climate action.
How many people will attend?
The camp will host 120 participants from around the Caribbean region who are advocating, working, or volunteering on climate or social justice issues. There is no fee of attendance for selected participants, and all onsite costs such as food and accommodation will be covered by the organizers of the camp in order to make the event as accessible as possible.
What happens at the camp?
Participants will both lead and take part in four days of workshops, sessions, and circles focused on: energy sector and transition; adaptation and resilience; gender and climate justice; and marine conservation. The camp is a platform for sharing knowledge, stories, and skills with the goal of co-creation, collaboration, and synergies across the region.
Where is it being held?
The Climate Justice Camp: Caribbean will be held from March 28th to 31st, at the University of St. Martin in Sint Maarten.
Who are the organizers?
The Climate Justice Camp initiative is an unbranded collaborative effort by many organizations and groups. The partners of the Climate Justice Camp: Caribbean include:
Participant demographics
The 120 participants at the Climate Justice Camp: Caribbean represent a range of countries, organizations, and issues. Camp attendees hail from Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Anguilla, Barbados, Belize, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Saba, Saint Croix, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sint Maarten, Suriname, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, and US Virgin Islands. They represent more than 100 local and regional organizations across the Caribbean, and focus on a diverse range of intersectional issues from women and gender, to marine conservation, decolonization, adaptation, climate policy, and renewable energy.
Previous work
Video highlights from past Climate Justice Camps:
CJC Lebanon 2023 >> Watch the aftermovie here.
CJC Tunisia 2022 >> Watch the aftermovie here.
