By Pawa Haiyupis
Since 1988 Pacific Networking Conferences have been a place of knowledge sharing for Pacific Peoples’ Partnership. Next year’s conference, Red Tide: International Indigenous Climate Action Summit, will bring together leaders from across the Pacific to share experiences and learn from each other.
When: May 2018.
Where: Hosted in the Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, a Māori iwi located in the eastern Bay of Plenty and East Coast regions of New Zealand’s North Island.
What: Indigenous scholars, activists, knowledge keepers and artists from around the world will connect, co-create and share stories related to Climate Change and resilience.
The Symbolism of the Spiral
The spiral is one of the oldest symbols used by humans. It represents the search for the centre of truth. The spiral also represents the current of the Pacific Ocean, which will bring together Indigenous peoples from all over the world to the Summit in New Zealand.
Tohu
Indigenous Peoples throughout the world are the closest observers of their environment. A body of knowledge has evolved over centuries to ensure survival. This knowledge includes an awareness of tohu, or signs; environmental indicators that are studied and measured regularly to show trends or changes in the health of the environment.
In today’s world, there is less awareness of the dependence between people and the environment. This translates to less participation, less listening, watching, doing and learning about the world of indigenous environmental science. What is clearly being said by scientists, activists, Indigenous prophesies and people who still study and live with their environment is that climate change is occurring.
The goal of the Summit is to develop an Indigenous informed and designed Climate Action Toolkit that communities can start using immediately to combat their climate change realities. Both solutions and wiser action will emerge from the collective wisdom of each indigenous participant, and their representative communities.
Let us weave together stories from the north and south in search of the next best step for Climate Action.
To stay up to date with the Summit, visit: https://archive.pacificpeoplespartnership.org/pacific-networking-conference/.