Join us as we embark on a collective process to reflect on and articulate the ICCA Consortium’s core meaning and reason for being
First published on 04/25/2022, and last updated on 09/21/2023
By ICCA Consortium
As the ICCA Consortium is growing and evolving, our Council, Council of Elders, and Secretariat have discussed the idea of developing a ‘Manifesto for Territories of Life’—i.e., an inspiring statement (in words or more) that concisely articulates the core meaning and reason for being of our association. This would be important for us and others approaching us or whom we are approaching from “the rest of the world.”
A manifesto is a political statement, but it also reveals our shared cultural and spiritual values, “what we stand for,” and what we’re asking ourselves and others to do. It ought to be succinct but consider both territories of life and the ICCA Consortium. As a dynamic and ‘living’ document, it might be revisited every few years to ensure it remains relevant and timely within changing global contexts while retaining the core of our institutional memory, roots, and values.
The decision to develop the manifesto was taken in January 2019. Many related discussions occurred regionally and globally since then. After some discussions before, during, and after the General Assembly 2022, an ad hoc manifesto team was established in April 2023 to take the process to the next level and see it through to completion. Comprised of members of the Executive Committee, the broader Council, and members of the Council of Elders, this team is facilitating the drafting of a manifesto that will be tabled for approval by the General Assembly on June 28, 2023.
The process to develop the manifesto is broad and inclusive, especially of Indigenous Peoples and local communities who are custodians of territories of life. We welcome and encourage diverse paths, sources, and input forms, including country or region-specific declarations, Indigenous Peoples’ statements, cultural expressions, personal reflections, and more. These aspects are currently being discussed and shared in several places and moments throughout these recent months, including national and regional assemblies, the global General Assembly, online group discussions, and the Consortium website and membership list. This process is dovetailing with other closely related organizational processes, including reflection on our first 10-12 years, developing a new long-term vision, strategic directions and action plans, and possibly new or revised organizational structures and approaches. It is being undertaken alongside and in support of the ongoing work of the association and self-strengthening processes of custodians of territories of life.
Short video on the ICCA Consortium’s history, produced as part of the association’s 10-year anniversary celebrations from July-August 2020. (Activate the subtitles for English, Spanish and French.)
A process and timeline were agreed upon during the membership engagement event on 27 April 2023. The Council of Elders volunteered to prepare the first complete draft of the manifesto drawing from inputs from Members and Honorary members offered in a dedicated exercise in 2022 and the outcomes of various national, sub-regional, and regional assemblies.
The draft was then circulated to the full Council and Secretariat for comments. Their inputs were consolidated, and Teddy Baguilat, President of the ICCA Consortium, shared a few subsequent drafts to the entire Consortium’s membership via the membership forum/email and Loomio. For its part, the Council reviewed the Manifesto on June 22 and agreed for it to be presented for approval to the General Assembly on 28 June (12:00-14:30 UTC).
The Manifesto version tabled for approval is available in English, Spanish, and French.
This version— painstakingly crafted by the ad-hoc Manifesto team spearheaded by our Council of Elders—incorporates plenty of excellent comments and suggestions from our Members and Honorary members.
We encourage you to join the following special membership engagement event when we have an open discussion about the latest draft(s) of our manifesto for territories of life and key topics of interest or debate therein:
- Tuesday, 27 June 2023, from 12:00 to 14:00 UTC (register here) with English, Spanish, and French interpretation. Focus: final discussion about the manifesto before its proposed adoption during the General Assembly session on 28 June.
As the Manifesto is a ‘living document,’ comments and suggestions for enrichment are and will always be welcome. As it is also a strategic and urgent document, it is not too soon to reaffirm and energize the alliance among custodians of territories of life and their supporters that the Consortium represents.
If the Manifesto speaks for you, you may wish to visibly add your signature — as a Member, Honorary member, or friend of the ICCA Consortium. The desire to sign could be expressed online during the event on 27 June or during the GA on 28 June via Loomio or e-mail to Sutej Hugu (sutej.hugu@gmail.com) and Xaviera Elorza (xaviera.e@iccaconsortium.org) or simply by replying the email sent via the membership forum/email list with the subject: ENGLISH ESPANOL FRANCAIS Version of the Manifesto tabled for GA approval on 28 June.
Thank you in advance for your active engagement with this important process.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Last updated on June 27, 2023
