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PanelPicker
Submission
Submitted by: Community Forests
International, CANADA
About Community
Forests
International
‘Etuaptmumk’ ‘Tuko Pamoja’ What Is ‘Ethical
Space?’
Panel Title &
Topic Context
Panel Description +
Takeaways
Why This
Conversation Is
So Important?
Panel Audience
02
06
03
07
04
08
05
09
Table of
Contents
Our Canadian
Project &
Community
Partners
Submission Notes
10 11
Community Forests International was created in 2006 when Mbarouk Mussa
Omar, a community activist on Pemba Island, Zanzibar, befriended a Canadian
tree-planter travelling in the region. Their vision to bring back the region’s
forests and help communities adapt to climate change sparked an island-wide
movement based on respect, trust and friendship that continues to this day
We work in Canada and Zanzibar to protect and restore forests, help
communities adapt to climate change, build economic prosperity, and
champion social equality. Via this intercultural synergy, we support climate
solutions that are as distinct and varied as the diversity of life on our planet. As
an organisation, we’ve committed to centring climate justice in our vision,
mission, and actions.
Fostering strong relationships between people and the environment (and one
another) is critical for a safe future. Our solutions always benefit – and actively,
consistently engage– the people directly connected to them.
Community Forests
International
‘Etuaptmumk’: a
Mi’kmaq word
meaning the
integration of
diverse
knowledge
systems with
mutual respect &
generosity.

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‘Tuko Pamoja’: a
Swahilli phrase
loosely
translated into
‘We Are One’ or
‘We Are
Together’.
What is ‘Ethical
Space’ ?
“A model for equitable interaction and reconciliation that respects the
fundamental integrity of different worldviews and knowledge systems. It is
created when those with diverse worldviews, make a conscious choice to
engage with one another and address social and political inequities.”
The macro outlook is useful for
applying knowledge in ways that
are universally inclusive & build
solidarity and foster
reconciliation.
The Global Community
Because we all reside, benefit
from and extract from our
physical environment, it is
important that all voices have a
space to be heard.
The Environment
‘Climate change’ has a dynamic
meaning here. Socially,
economically, politically--it’s time
for a paradigm shift that
challenges our standards for
leadership & what knowledge
leads solution finding missions
when it comes to climate
resilience.
The ‘Climate’
-Indigenous Circle of Experts. March 2018. We rise together: Achieving Pathway to Canada Target 1 through the creation
of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas in the spirit and practice of reconciliation.
Colonial ideals by nature, undermine the fabric of community life, particularly in the
West. This shift due to ongoing colonisation has a devastating impact on the
environment, effects we are suffering now. We are in crisis.
Climate crisis is not just about physical pollution. Among other things it is an intricate
system that disproportionately exposes Black, Indigenous, and people-of-colour
communities to greater environmental health hazards.
Pre-colonial systems of community building and environmental stewardship hold many,
if not all, of the answers to the current climate crisis. However, this crucial aspect of the
discourse surrounding climate change remains invisible in mainstream media &
education systems. It is both dystopian and hopeful that the solutions we need are right
under our noses. It’s up to us if we arrive at a progressive approach to integrating diverse
knowledge systems before catastrophic change leaves us with no more options to save
ourselves. One proactive action that could prevent impending catastrophe, is centring
black and indigenous voices in discourse about climate solutions. This isn’t a new idea or
recommendation. But sadly, it is one that continues to exist on the fringes of the global
and most visible conversations about the climate crisis.
Integrating Diverse Knowledge
for Climate Resilience: From
Etuaptmumk to Tuko Pamoja
Why This Conversation Is So
Important
Universal Truth & Reconciliation - “At it’s essence ethical space is about relationships and mutual respect and is therefore
an important part of reconciliation” - indigenousclimatemonitroing.ca
Privilege of Vulnerability - non-indigenous & non-PoC conservation authorities possess the privilege of vulnerability. At
Community Forests International we are in the midst of a journey--we aren’t perfect and are comfortable with sharing our
experience in a way that sparks conversations & inspires others in the conservation space to embark on the same work without
fear paralysing their first steps.
Climate crisis is real and grave - black and indigenous communities have been disproportionately experiencing the effects of
climate change well before the 12 year count down was released to the mainstream. Over tourism, destructive and extractive
practices, gentrification and ongoing colonisation have been a reality for these communities for centuries. We must make no
mistake: we are deeper into the crisis than we know. And the point of no return is closer than we can imagine....
Rich teachable topic for next gen advocates/activists/future leaders - too much focus on the ‘future’ and expecting younger
generations to lead on their own without real examples of culturally inclusive leadership. This intercultural (and
intergenerational) solidarity is what needs to be injected into the climate change discourse if we have any hope of real impact
and mitigation.
7
Panel +
Takeaways
The most effective pathway to achieving
climate security on Earth is via
integration of diverse knowledge
systems, specifically those of black and
indigenous communities.
There is roughly the same area of ‘wild’
land on Earth today as there was 12,000
years ago. The ways in which colonial
societies & economies impact land are
overwhelmingly destructive though and
that’s the difference today.
Equitable land rights & respect for
Indigenous knowledge are the most
important contributions we can make to
climate security.
01 02 03
This panel hosted by Community Forests International, their Indigenous Community Partners & Community Forests Pemba will
explore accomplishments, impacts & challenges of working to save the endangered Wabanaki forest of NE North America &
supporting Zanzibari farmers & landowners. This will be SXSW’s official Ethical Space dictated by ‘Etuaptmumk’: a Mi’kmaq word
meaning the integration of diverse knowledge systems with mutual respect & generosity. With an ethos of ‘Tuko Pumoja’ : a Swahili
term that loosely translates to ‘We Are Together/We Are One’.
Audience
Educators (from elementary to post-secondary)
Storytellers (news, documentary filmmakers etc.)
Conservation Organizations & Leadership
Climate Advocates & Activists
General Attendees to SXW Festival (contents are
deliberately accessible to all)
Our Canadian Project &
Community Partners:
Community Forests’ Indigenous partner groups serve three Wabanaki Nations (the
Mi’kmaq, Peskotomuhkati, and Wolastoqey Nations) that are members of Wabanaki
Confederacy, a very important collective of First Nations in the northeast of Turtle
Island (Canada) with traditional territory spanning the international US and Canada
border.
Mi’gmawel Tplu’taqnn — an organization that asserts Aboriginal and Treaty Rights throughout Mi’gma’gi in Eastern Canada to support Indigenous
communities of the Mi'gmaq Nation.
Amalamgog First Nation — a Mi'gmaq community whose traditional territory spans the border between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Passamaquoddy Recognition Group — an organization supporting the Peskotomuhkati Nation on issues related to Treaty and Aboriginal Rights..
Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick — an organization serving the six Indigenous
Wolastoqey communities throughout New Brunswick on issues related to Treaty and
Aboriginal Rights, located along the beautiful and bountiful Wolastoq river that is
their homeland.
Ulnooweg — founded on the beliefs, customs, and values of the Mi’kmaq Nation to
provide cultural revival and enterprise support to Aboriginal communities across
Atlantic Canada which has enabled countless individuals to realize their dreams in
support of Indigenous self-determination.
Submission
Notes:
we are extremely cognisant of our duty of care in allowing those who
wish to participate to do so, and facilitating informed consent. A
panelist will be selected from the communities we work with, with care
and consideration given to that choice, and collaborative decision
making in choosing a participant. As this takes time, we are still
working on this process. we will provide exact information at the time
of acceptance (if accepted).
We are currently welcoming new team members. So we do not
have specific names for some panel spots yet. However, we will
provide exact information at the time of acceptance (if accepted).
Panelists:
Our Zanzibar Team:

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