Europa-representanten

– Jeg ser fram til dette og tror det skal bli en både spennende og viktig oppgave. Det sier Janet Wiberg, som nylig ble valgt som representant for Norge og BKA til styringsgruppa for European Grandparents for Climate. Der skal hun arbeide for felles utspill og tiltak sammen med representanter fra Østerrike, Danmark, Nederland, Tyskland og Belgia.

Et europeisk perspektiv

EU og EU-landene har lenge vært pådrivere for omstilling bort fra fossilt drivstoff, men merker nå presset fra høyrekrefter, som inspirert av det som skjer i USA har lyktes med å svekke klimaprofilen. For European Grandparents er det en hovedsak å bidra til at denne utviklinga ikke fortsetter, heter det i årsmeldinga fra EGC – der det europeiske fellesmøtet i Oslo i september blir framhevet som «a Milestone»: «The highlight of the year was our meeting in Oslo, generously hosted by our Norwegian members. After months of preparation, the event proved a resounding success — strengthening our cohesion, sparking fresh motivation, and giving us a clearer strategic direction.»

30. august: Med røde aksjonsluer deltok besteforeldre fra ti europeiske land på den store miljødemonstrasjonen på Eidsvoll plass før stortingsvalget. Foto: H Wiik

Med tro på samarbeid

Janet Wiberg, opprinnelig fra Sør-Afrika, har i mange år vært lokallagsleder i Bergen. Hun opplevde Oslo-møtet som veldig inspirerende, sier hun. – Dette er et viktig samarbeid. Vi i Norge er den største og best organiserte av gruppene, men jeg tror likevel vi har mye å hente gjennom nærmere kontakt med det som skjer ellers i Europa. Samtalene og diskusjonene vi hadde var svært givende. Derfor sa jeg også ja da jeg ble spurt av landsstyret om jeg kunne tenke meg å være BKAs kandidat til den europeiske styringsgruppa.

As a landscape architect and nature lover I like to look to nature for inspiration and sometimes for help to understand what is happening. Take the forest, for example. Compare the young forest to the old and especially a primeval forest. The young forest has less biodiversity and the species are competing for light and nutrients  for their survival. The mature forest is a complex biodiverse system where symbiosis prevails for the benefit of the whole.

For the benefit of the whole is the key issue the world is facing right now. When urgent coherent global action is essential for the sake of climate and nature, a look at the competitive, protectionist behaviour of humans at the national and the international level is alarming. Rivalry for and the grabbing of rare metals is but one example.

Using the forest metaphor, by virtue of its diversity, synergy and internal cooperation, Europe is in the process of developing into a more mature forest than most other parts of the world are doing. However, the current geopolitics and particularly the behaviour of the USA are attempting to degrade and destroy this maturing forest.

The European Union’s Green Deal is of major importance to the transition to a just and sustainable future and is one of the key driving forces globally. Right-wing forces operating within and from without Europe are currently trying to weaken and undermine it. This is of great concern and will have serious consequences for our grandchildren and future generations if they succeed.

The grandparent generation constitutes a large proportion of the population in Europe. It is in the unique position of being able to look further back in time than the younger generations are capable of. At the same time, it can project into the future informed by lifelong experience. As a group we are extremely privileged. Our life expectancy is longer than for previous generations thanks to health care and welfare provisions and our average standard of living is higher than ever before. We owe it to those coming after us to act in solidarity with them. Many of us have resources in form of time at hand and knowledge and skills coupled with experience. Therefore, I believe that a Europe-wide grandparent movement for climate has the potential to be large and powerful.

At present not all the countries in Europe have signed up as members. Some may not have Grandparents for Climate groups or maybe the groups are not aware of the EGC. Here there is work to be done so that membership can expand. A few countries have a group or two, but they are still small and need growing. EGC support to these groups in their development process is important. In this respect the Norwegian experience in growing a national organisation to nearly 10 000 members with ambitions for further growth, as well as running an organisation of this size, will be of value.

I believe that the EGC is already playing a vital role in aiding the development of the national organisations and consequently their local groups. However, there is a lot of work still to be done, and I would like to contribute here. Facilitating the sharing of knowledge and experience to inspire and stimulate the grass roots and thereby expand the membership is an example.

I look forward to working with the Europeans. They have years of experience in interaction and cooperation. My experience of them is that cultural differences are seen as a resource and not a problem. As concerned grandparents we have our common goal, and this unites us. Together we are larger than the sum of our parts!

My vision for the EGC is that of a mature forest. I see an EGC encompassing all the countries of Europe, composed of a network of large, well-functioning and influential national organisations supporting and supported by a host of vibrant local groups. By coordinated collective actions, the EGC can wield substantially more influence than national organisations can do alone and thereby have a greater impact on the course of events.

European grandparent synergy is power! Through EGC this power can be generated.