Rivers for Life! 3rd International Meeting of Dam-Affected People and their Allies
Temacapulín, México, October 1-7, 2010
We invite you to attend the 3rd International Meeting of Dam-Affected People and their Allies, to be held in Temacapulín, Mexico in October 2010. Villagers in Temacapulín are in the midst of a campaign to stop El Zapotillo Dam. They are graciously welcoming members of the international dams movement to their village and their homes for this important meeting.
More than 300 dam-affected people, NGO representatives and experts from across the globe will gather to share experiences and information, develop collective strategies, and strengthen the international movement to protect rivers and human rights.
Please mark the date on your calendars and come! A very limited amount of funding will be available to pay for travel for southern participants. We encourage you to raise money for your own travel costs to make sure you can attend. If you can raise money to support other participants to attend, please contact susanne@internationalrivers.org.
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WHAT: 3rd International Meeting of Dam-Affected People and their Allies
WHEN: October 1-7, 2010. October 1 and 7 will be travel days. There will be four days of meetings and workshops, plus a one-day field trip to visit with affected people and to learn about local struggles against dams.
WHERE: Temacapulín, México. Plan to fly into the Guadalájara City airport.
WHO: Dam-affected people and activists from around the world!
WHY: The first two meetings of dam-affected people and their allies were influential, helping to catalyze the international movement against dams. The movement has celebrated many victories since the 2003 meeting in Thailand, however, we still face serious threats to our rivers and our rights. A new generation of dams are being financed by Southern governments and companies that show little concern for upholding national laws or human rights. Dams are being promoted as a solution to climate change despite concerns about how a changing climate will affect their performance.
Now is the time for us to come together in solidarity to share experiences and develop joint strategies to protect our rivers and defend our rights.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION
Visit our website at www.internationalrivers.org/riversforlife3. We will post and send out more information as the meeting approaches. If you have any questions or if you are interested in helping out, please contact Susanne Wong at International Rivers, susanne@internationalrivers.org.
HELP SPREAD THE WORD
Please translate this invitation into your local language and circulate it far and wide, especially to dam-affected communities and NGOs that might not know about this meeting.
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* This meeting is being organized by International Rivers, three local partners and an international steering committee.
Local partners:
Mexican Institute for Community Development (IMDEC)
Committee to Save Temaca, Acasico and Palmarejo
Mexican Movement of People Affected by Dams and in Defense of Rivers (MAPDER)
International Steering Committee:
Sena Alouka, Young Volunteers for the Environment, Togo
Robert Kugonza, Africa Rivers Network, Uganda
Ercan Ayboga, Initiative to Save Hasankeyf, Turkey/Germany
Catriona Vine, Kurdish Human Rights Project, United Kingdom
Lata Anantha, River Research Centre, India
Tek Vannara, Culture and Environment Preservation Association, Cambodia
Luiz dalla Costa, Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens, Brazil
Roberto Epple, European Rivers Network, France
Gustavo Castro Soto, MAPDER and Otros Mundos, México
Marco von Borstel and Carmen Diaz, IMDEC, México
Susanne Wong and Berklee Lowrey-Evans, International Rivers, USA