In this year’s Green Dialog, the issue in discussion was the stories and activities of individual and collective initiatives that create solidarity, ecological and egalitarian alternative spaces in the city and the countryside.
In the first section which discussed the boundaries, concepts and practical applications between the urban and the rural, Güneşin Aydemir from Green Thought Association and Mehmet Ali Çalışkan from YADA Foundation made presentations on “the meeting guide for non-villagers and non-urbanites” and “in peace but how?”
In the second part of the dialogue which was divided into 3 sections,many institutions and individuals including ‘EkoHarita’ ecological struggles mapping initiative, the Chamber of City Planners, ‘Bir Tohum’ Autism Foundation, ‘Anadolu Meraları’ (Anatolian Grazing Lands), the refugee solidarity initiative ‘Komşu Kapısı’ (Neighbour’s Door), GEF / SGP, ‘Maide Mutfak’ (Maide Soup Kitchen), Good4Trust online fair-trade platform, ‘Kır-Kent Ağı’ (Rural-Urban Network), ‘Kokopelli Şehirde’ (Kokopelli in the City), and ‘Bisikletli Kadın İnsiyatifi’ (Women on Bicycles Initiative) share their projects and stories of success and failure. In discussions with all participants, this session focused on what we should do in the city and in the countryside.
The open-forum in the third session of the Green Dialogue questioned and pondered on the local politics from practices in daily life to the upcomming local elections. Political alternatives and current politics were an important topic of discussion. Anne De Bouer of the GroenLinks too presented on the rise of a Green wave in recent European politics.
