Why movement building matters: a global conversation in Brussels

Check out the Blueprint for Movement Building HERE.

On a crisp Belgian autumn day, over 60 people gathered in Brussels to explore a topic close to our hearts at Zero Waste Europe: movement building. The event was part of a first-of-its-kind global gathering that ZWE hosted in Brussels. We spent the first two days diving into better organics management, followed by a day focused on how we build and sustain movements for change. Our event on movement building brought together people from across the globe and across struggles – from zero waste and climate justice to youth activism, food systems, racial justice, feminism and more.

The central question that brought us together was this: how do we build and sustain resilient alliances and movements? Our discussions centered on the importance of building power from the ground up, ensuring that people and justice remain at the core of our actions and collaborations. Through group work and discussions, we explored the tools, ingredients and practices that make alliances, coalitions and movements succeed or fail. We also listened to stories of movement building from different corners of the world:

• Victor Argentino, Zero Waste Coordinator at Polis Institute, shared the story of building Brazil’s zero waste alliance, bringing together diverse actors and groups around a common goal: stopping incineration.
• Idman Abdurahaman and Roshni Shah travelled from the UK to tell us about ‘The Gathering Table‘, a project connecting people, organisations and funders to nurture a decolonial movement for a socially, environmentally, and economically just food system in the UK. 
• Betty Osei Bonsu Adjei from Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO) in Ghana spoke about building the leadership and credibility of young people in climate work and advocacy in Ghana, and creating meaningful engagement and collaboration with waste pickers.
• Maria Durán Beloso from Alianza Residuo Cero in Spain talked about the creation and expansion of Spain’s zero waste alliance, from major advocacy wins at the national level to how the alliance coordinates its work and has grown its membership across diverse groups.
• Sarah Chander from the Equinox Initiative for Racial Justice shared lessons from a project focused on decolonising the digital rights space in Europe. Sarah talked about the vision behind the work, how they ensured the right people were at the table, and how the process was designed and implemented with intention.

The event was also an opportunity for us to launch our Blueprint for Movement Building, the culmination of a three-year project where ZWE and its national alliances have been collaboratively designing a blueprint to support and empower movements for a community-driven just transition. We presented the Blueprint and had a chance to discuss with our five national alliance their lessons learnt, successes and challenges of building and sustaining their national platforms over the years. 

What do we take away from this gathering on movement building?

While the landscape can seem grim for many civil society organisations, groups and community organisers right now, these gatherings can also be moments of respite and joy. They are spaces where we learn from each other, build connections and find inspiration. 

There is no one-size-fits-all for alliance and movement building, but what emerged from our time together, the stories shared and discussions that happened, is that people, community, trust and shared purpose sit at the very heart of all movement building efforts. As Betty from GAYO reminded us, ‘Movements are not built by perfect people, but by people who don’t give up’. 

We also remember that the process of building collaborations, alliances and coalitions matters just as much as the outcomes of our actions. The ripple effects of what each person and group learn in these spaces and then bring to their own communities can be vast and long-lasting.

And finally, now more than ever, we need to build our collective power and work together across struggles, borders and differences. We need to hold ourselves accountable in all our collaborations, build trust and deep relationships, accept the discomfort of learning and unlearning, share power authentically and sometimes even give it up entirely. We need to reach across the boundaries and recognise that our struggles are interconnected. And as we reflected together that day, we were reminded of the importance of creating spaces that nurture not only resistance, but joy and hope as well, because sustaining movements means building connections and sustaining each other. As Sofia from the Zero Waste Alliance in Ukraine said, ‘At the end of the day, when everything goes to s**t, you always rely on people and this is what you need to cherish.’

Participants were asked “what keeps you going?”

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The gathering was possible thanks in large part to the support from the UMI Fund, who also joined us in Brussels and to whom we are extremely grateful for their ongoing work to build a global movement on climate justice and zero waste.

We are also very grateful to: 

• Our five national alliances: Zero Waste Movement Bulgaria, Zero Waste Alliance Cyprus, Zero Waste Germany, Alianza Residuo Cero, Zero Waste Alliance Ukraine.
• Our storytellers Victor Argentino, Roshni Shah, Idman Abdurahaman, Betty Osei Bonsu Adjei, Maria Durán Beloso, and Sarah Chander.
• And everyone who joined the global gathering from Brussels, Europe, Africa, Latin America, US and Asia.

Photo credits: @Javier Bernal Revert