Ahead of COP21 and in order to mobilise more people around the alternatives to ways of living that cause climate change, a 5000 kilometre journey is this summer taking place around France and stopping by Geneva before ending in Paris on 26 September.

The so-called 'Alternatiba Tour' saw cyclists on four-person quadricyles set off on 5 June in Bayonne and will bring educational ‘alternative villages’ to real villages throughout the country, providing diverse forms of instruction, information and discussion about climate change.

Pit stop in Geneva

On 6 July the tour will stop in Geneva. At 6pm they will be welcomed by Geneva-based NGOs on Place des Nations. The Alternatiba-Léman village will set up stall in Geneva from 18 to 20 September, for which many local NGOS have been preparing for since 2014. The Geneva Environment Network Secretariat will host a stand of the International Geneva Community, presenting what has been prepared at the global level, and host a conference.

Alternatiba and ‘alternative village’ origins

In October 2013, a few days after the release of the 5th IPCC Assessment report, 12,000 people gathered in Bayonne, France, and occupied the streets and squares for a day dedicated to concrete alternative societal models which currently exist during this time of social, economic and ecological crisis. One thousand volunteers and organisations took action through alternative ways of living that can be implemented in many areas of everyday life: food production, energy, housing, transportation, consumption, finance, work, education, etc. Turning the whole city centre into an ‘alternative village,’ the organisers believe this event not only showed that there are solutions, but also that such solutions can lead to a happier, more humane and fairer society.

Named ‘Alternatiba,’ this event ended with a declaration translated into 26 European languages, calling for the organisation of many other ‘alternative villages’ before the UNFCCC COP21, to be held in Paris. Following Alternatiba in Bayonne, several organisations have been actively building alternative villages in Paris, Geneva, Brussels, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lille, Toulouse, Rennes, Strasbourg, Vienna and others. Alternatiba is thus mobilising tens of thousands of European citizens on alternatives to climate change.

For more information: diana.rizzolio@unep.org