Waterproofing our next campaign
Daniel Hale reports back on the campaigners workshop at Have Your Say…
The Have your Say supporters event was the perfect place to ask some of our most dedicated campaigners what kinds of things we should be doing to build knowledge and sustained support for Progressio’s brand new Waterproof campaign. The Progressio Waterproof campaign aims to make sure poor and marginalised people have a key role in water resource management at every level to ensure fair and sustainable access to water for livelihoods.
After a brief outline of Progressio’s previous work on water, supporting people from poor communities to meet with negotiators (think Fabiola’s trip to Copenhagen and Innocent’s trip to the UN climate talks in Bonn), supporters campaigning to Just Add Water, and the messages we’ve delivered to Andrew Mitchell ahead of his MDG Summit, we took a look at what’s coming up, especially Rio+20.
Coming up on the international horizon…
Rio+20 marks 20 years since the original and landmark Earth Summit which resulted in an agenda for environment and development for the 21st century (so-called Agenda 21). It recognised the need to change our production and consumption patterns and set in place institutions like the UN climate talks (the UNFCCC).
Rio+20 aims for a renewed political commitment for sustainable development, assessing progress to date and remaining gaps as well as new challenges (such as water scarcity). There are two themes, a green economy in the context of poverty eradication and sustainable development, and an institutional framework for sustainable development.
In the Rio+20 context, the challenge of access to water and sanitation is one of the key concerns, as is water availability more generally: “increased action is imperative”, the documents say. And water is being seen as an essential part of the ‘Green Economy’ and the ‘water/food/energy nexus’.
What needs to happen next?
We need to press policy makers to make real progress on fair and sustainable access to water. A good message from Rio+20 will help to set the scene for Summits to come. After the calamity of Copenhagen’s climate talks, we’re right to be cautious about what a single Summit can achieve, but step by step we must establish a narrative that negotiators understand, backed up by strong support from an engaged public. That’s part of what the Waterproof campaign is about.
But the session was more about the things that might need to be put in place to ensure supporters and campaigners understand the issues and stay interested for the duration of the campaign (at least 2 years). Ideas included:
Your ideas
– a robust guide to water and development
– articles on water in each Progressio country and what Progressio is doing, trends etc.
– Lent campaign activities
– activities with other agencies like CAFOD and WaterAid
– a Parliamentary Reception on water issues
– great stories and photos
– YouTube videos
– activities on water for the home
– water and solidarity linkages explored in a Comment
– Comment from theologian from the South
– Possible conference
– Water activities in parishes
– Parish J&P group study pack
– a water fundraising ask
– study days in the North and South
From that list there were some clear winners, and we’re going to make them happen:
A Parliamentary Reception on water issues, and invite Bishops
It was felt that Bishops could cascade the message through to parishes, lobbying really works and other religious leaders should come along too.
YouTube videos
Taking a more light-hearted or accessible approach was seen to be vital, and it’s something we’ll look at.
Joint campaign activities
That we should work with women’s groups, WaterAid and other campaigning organisations emerged strongly. And we should amplify the voices of people in the South.
More information on water work and issues in Progressio countries
People on the day were clear: we need to make more information available in a decent format. We’ll be working on that too.
I’ve decided to make sure we do all these 4 things, so check back to see how we get on. Meanwhile, pledge your support for the Waterproof campaign by making sure you sign up for our eNews and campaign actions, and please make a regular gift to our work.
Email me [email protected] if you’d like to make any suggestions.
Read more about the Have Your Say supporter day
Catch up on the Investing in Progressio supporter workshop
Photo: Yvonne Lwych and Amy Jo take part in a Progressio supporter workshop on 17 September (©Layton Thompson/Progressio)
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