Successful first Care Climate Workshop in Buchenbach

On Sunday, after the last lunch together, the participants stood in the green area behind the house, looked around and were satisfied. The Care Climate Workshop that we organised together at the Wiesneck Study House from 23 to 25 September was really enjoyable and productive.

The study centre near Freiburg is where the Care Revolution workshop was held five times between 2015 and 2019, always with 15 to 20 participants. We had to interrupt this tradition due to COViD; this year, we decided to give it another go. In this case, the "we" were people from the Freiburg Care Revolution group, who are also active in the Care - Climate - Revolution working group . The workshop was organised by the Care for Future Foundation and prepared in collaboration with the Care - Climate - Revolution working group. The theme of the workshop was that, in view of the growing climate catastrophe, it is no longer possible to advocate for better care conditions without taking action against global warming. A desired system change must therefore focus on care and climate at the same time. On the one hand, our political goals and demands need to be rethought, and on the other, it is worth defining the concept of care in such a way that it can also include care for non-human nature.

The workshop explored precisely these topics: 20 activists, most of whom are active in Care Revolution or the care movement in general, but some of whom also have other focal points (climate, commons, anti-racist and anti-classist politics), considered how the goals and actions of the care and climate movements fit together and how we can achieve deeper cooperation. All participants had prepared short texts that served as the basis for working group and plenary discussions.

Some of the discussions resulted in ideas that the participants were able to take away with them. However, two projects will continue to be worked on in the Care - Climate - Revolution working group: On the one hand, a reduction in working hours as a contribution to a more care-friendly and less climate-damaging society, and on the other, the idea of forming local alliances to voice our criticism of a society that promotes the overburdening of care workers, catastrophic global warming and wars over resources and spheres of influence. A third agreement: there will be another Care Climate Workshop in autumn 2023.

Finally, please note that the workshop was funded by the Care for Future Foundation. The foundation was established in spring 2022 and aims to promote activities at the interface of the topics of care and ecology (or: care for people and non-human nature). Within this framework, the foundation promotes activities aimed at political change or the development of alternatives here and now.