Venice Climate Camp

#WewanttheRedCarpet
Published by Mark D. on 2019-09-05 in Events
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We're in Venice and it's raining like Hell. We're going to the Climate Camp, but I feel like crying. This rain, the wind, the guys, our tents, Bea with all her hair wet, our bags full of gadgets are wet as well. Cate has a beautiful Adidas kway but it's not fit for the situation, she's dripping. We told her, that kway doesn't work with this rain. I ask myself why are we doing this, I curse all the logistic issues, the water busses, this rain, the effort of bringing the backpack, the tent and everything else. In the despair of the moment, when my instinct tells me that we have to leave, I think that we have to go through with this. How can we change things if we don't make a little sacrifice? Our strength has to push us forward, through the rain. And if it gets worse?
This was a though I wrote down yesterday, when we arrived in Venice. Then things went differently, but not in a good way. I do't know who reads this website, but even if it's just for one person, I want to tell you how things have gone.

We crossed the Lido and as soon as we got there we saw the guys from No Grandi Navi entering the square and do the die-in: basically everyone lies down like they're dead, to make everyone understand that if we don't do something soon we are doomed. In the mean time, we got the word that some other guys with some boats got out in the blue to stop a big cruise boat that wanted to enter in the port. Mattia immediately told us that he wanted to go too. We were all pumped, under the rain and soaked but happy to be there, to be able to participate.
We left for the Camp. Bus, walking. We arrived there and the others welcomed us. The rain made everything quite impossible, but we decided to stay. We start setting up the tents and our little camp but we realise that one of the tents was missing the rods. We try with another one but the rod is broken. The elastic inside got out. We try to fix it without the elastic, but it doesn't work. In the mean time everything gets wet, our tent, the sleeping bags. We try to fix everything but nothing works.

I really would like to tell you that we eventually found a solution, a way to stay there, even in just 3 people, in a rickety tent, that we made it no matter what. But we didn't see any solution, we didn't try enough. We weren't able to overcome our difficulties and we failed. In the mean time, 800 teens like us, in the same conditions, managed to stay there.

We came back home, but I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep. I overcame my worries, and for what? Not to complete my mission, not to be there, in Venice with everyone else. Tonight the guys the FFF occupied the red carpet, I could be there to tell it all but I got bribed by a damn tent, by the incapacity of finding a solution and overcome the issues.

No way. This morning I caught a train and I'm travelling to Venice right now. I want to be there too because it's important I'm not gonna get stopped by yesterday's fail. Everyone can do their part. I'm not like my colleagues from Venice. I don't feel capable in general, they were braver than me. But I want to be there too, to do my part.
Hello everyone. I don't know if you read us or if you follow us, if you know who we are or what we do. But some of us just came back from a really tough and epic trip: Oltrape, a month across Europe with an ApeCar, to know the EU and understand what to do to somehow solve this climate crisis.

The European teens, mostly in the Netherlands, in Germany, in Denmark and in Sweden, really work their butts off to be heard by institutions, to move something. It kinda feels useless to stay in a square with some signs, but someone actually hears us. Just look at what Greta did.

Here in Italy things are changing too: more and more teenagers are working to do something, even in their little picture. Someone likes to work in the bigger picture too. Like the guys from the Fridays For Future in Venice, that together with the No Grandi Navi committee, are organising a huge camping on the Lido.
It's called Venice Climate Camp and it's a real camping to draw attention on climate justice. Venice isn't feeling very well herself: they had high water more often than the last years, the sea level is rising...we are afraid that our nephews won't even ever see Venice if it keeps going like this.

So this is the program: from the 4th to the 8th of September, conferences and meetings about the climate and the environment. 800 teens expected, everyone with their tent and on the last day, which would be Saturday, a big march towards the Red Carpet of the Venice Film Festival. Let's see if all the big Hollywood superstars will consider us and take our side.

We will be there, don't be snob. Camping is rather comfortable, we'll wait for you there.
fridays for future
venice
venice climate camp
we want the red carpet