Friends of the Earth Europe Gatherings

In February we hosted colleagues & activists from Friends of the Earth Europe and Young Friends of the Earth (YFoE) Europe for ten days of meetings, trainings and networking in Cloughjordan Ecovillage.

We welcomed 30 colleagues from around Europe for the annual Friends of the Earth Fossil Free gathering where shared stories of struggles and success and made plans for the year ahead as we continue to campaign for a fossil free Europe.

As part of this gathering we visited the site of the proposed Shannon LNG terminal in Ballylongford Co. Kerry and hosted a public talk about our energy future in Listowel Co. Kerry. The panel included; Dr Aideen O' Dochartaigh from Not Here Not Anywhere, Barry Clarke from Transition Kerry and Eddie Mitchell from Love Leitrim, and was moderated by our Deputy Director Kate Ruddock.

 

Following this we hosted youth activists from the Young Friends of the Earth Europe network for 3 days of training and their AGM. We were also joined by 10 members of YFOE Ireland. The training covered topics such as intersectional movement building, Just Transition, engaging rural communities and communities affected by mining.

During the training members of YFOE Europe had the opportunity to experience various activities happening in Cloughjordan. They took a tour of the farm, visited the bakery, hosted an intercultural night and community meal with the residents & even managed to join the first Cloughjordan school strike to show solidarity to the kids. They also experienced a heatwave and a snow storm during their 5 days in Tipperary!

YFOE Ireland are delighted to announce that YFOE member Conor O'Brien was elected to the YFOE Europe Steering Committee during the AGM. Congratulations to Conor!

Special thanks to Pa in Django's Hostel for being such a warm and welcoming host and Johanna from The Night Orchard for the beautiful catering throughout our stay.