Climate Justice Fundamentals: An Intro to Colonialism and Extractivism

Friends of the Earth Ireland are delighted to open applications for a weekend training on Climate Justice Fundamentals: An Intro to Colonialism and Extractivism, to take place in a beautiful countryside location in Ballintrillick, County Sligo from April 24-26th.

This training retreat offers a unique opportunity to engage with creative and accessible activities on how colonialism and extractivism are the root causes of climate injustice while also building connections with other people taking action in their communities. The training will be based on our Climate Justice Fundamentals: An Intro to Colonialism and Extractivism handbook. 

Apply for the weekend training retreat here

Important Dates

12th March – applications open

27th March – deadline for applications 

3rd April – participants finalised/ contacted

24-26th April - training retreat! Arrival after 6pm on Friday, April 24th; departure after lunch on the 26th

Who is this training for?

This course is intended for people who already have some knowledge about climate change and climate justice, and experiences of climate and environmental activism and organising, and who are interested and willing to deepen their learning experience by facilitating multiplier workshops on these themes within their communities or activist groups after the training. We intend to create a community of practice where participants will receive support from each other to do this work.

What’s the training about?

In this training, you can expect a co-learning space focusing on the intersecting issues of climate justice, colonialism and extractivism. You'll get to explore facilitation techniques that you can use to bring this knowledge back into the groups and communities you are part of to ignite further action. 

In 2021, we first published a Facilitators and Learners’ Handbook on themes of historical and ongoing colonialism and its connections to climate (in)justice, designed as a set of resources for climate change educators or facilitators and climate or environmental activist groups. We’ve hosted multiple residential workshops based on the handbooks which offers a unique opportunity to both strengthen knowledge and deepen confidence in tackling these issues and build relationships with other activists committed to advancing this work.

About the facilitator

We have been collaborating with Sian Cowman in the design and delivery of this work over recent years. Sian is a climate and environmental justice educator and researcher. She has spent years working in Latin America on climate justice communications and accompanying community resistance to fossil fuel and mining projects. Her recent work includes the authorship of a tutor handbook in climate justice education for the City of Dublin Education Training Board, and the development of the pilot programme of a new Junior Cycle Short Course in Climate Action. 

Her academic qualifications include a BSc in International Development, a Postgraduate Specialisation in Epistemologies of the South from the Latin American Council of Social Sciences, and a MA in Critical and Creative Media. She is currently a PhD researcher at the Department of Media Studies in Maynooth University where her research focuses on critical analysis of media framing of climate migration.