‘People鈥檚 Congress’ Forums Set
A new cross-issue coalition of nonprofits working for social, environmental and economic justice in Hawaii is hosting a series of community meetings聽across the islands this month.
A diverse group of nonprofits聽including the Sierra Club of Hawaii,聽Unite Here! Local 5,聽Hawaii Appleseed Center and the聽Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation has聽organized a series of community meetings this month focused on聽environmental, economic and social justice.
The Hawaii People鈥檚 Congress, as it’s called, is seeking聽input from community members and local leaders, input that聽will be shared聽at a two-day statewide convention Dec. 2-4 in Honolulu.
The longer aim is to put together “a political and organizing strategy” to guide “ongoing coalition action” for the next two years.
鈥淭he People鈥檚 Congress is bringing people together to focus on systemic barriers to justice that many activists and organizations hit up against in their work聽鈥攏o matter what issue they are working on,鈥 said Anne Frederick, executive director of HAPA, the , in a press release.
Donna Wong, executive director of , said,聽鈥淎s an island state, we are isolated from each other. Coming together helps us all learn what is happening on other islands, what we have in common and how we can help each other. These island forums are important because they are provide an opportunity to match faces with voices, get updates on issues, renew and make new friendships.鈥
Other organizers include AiKea Movement, Aloha Aina Project, Community Alliance on Prisons, Hawaii Center for Food Safety, Hawaii People鈥檚 Fund, Hawaii SEED, Hawaii Teachers for Change Caucus, Life of the Land and Maui Tomorrow.
Forum topic areas include civics (good governance, getting money out of politics, clean elections, criminal justice reform), economics (affordable housing, cost of living, fair wages, land use, tax policy) and environmental (marine, water quality, stream restoration, waste, sustainability, climate change, energy, pesticides, GMOs) and much more.
Here’s the new and . And here’s .
The first forum is on Kauai this Wednesday and the second on Oahu thus Thursday. Additional forums are scheduled on聽Maui and in Hilo and Kona later this month.
The rest is up to you.
