CAPE TOWN CLIMATE WEEK 2024: PRESS RELEASE
Activist Organisations Embark on a Week-Long Programme of Grassroots Events To Showcase Solutions for Climate and Social Injustices in Cape Town.
There are so many different ways to care for people and the planet. This is the message behind Cape Town Climate Week 2024, a week-long event lineup of grassroots solutions to some of the most pressing issues of our time, set to take place from 23 to 28 September 2024.
The climate crisis, spatial injustice, a failing energy system, water inequity, food insecurity, and rampant gender based violence. These are but a few of the systemic pitfalls that South Africans face on a daily basis. While we often feel like these problems are too big to tackle, Cape Town Climate Week welcomes people from across the city to get their hands dirty in food gardens, cycle through neighbourhoods they may have never spent time in before, learn about energy resilience, and attend a teach in on a train – all with the hopes that being united in grassroots action will turn this inertia into inspiration and then action.
The week-long annual event is spearheaded by African Climate Alliance, a youth-led climate justice organisation passionate about intersectional climate justice solutions. Falling over Heritage Day, and aligning with New York Climate Week and widespread climate protests across the globe, Cape Town Climate Week urges South Africans to lean back into the spirit of grassroots activism that has historically been the catalyst for transformative change in this country.
The six themes of Cape Town Climate Week 2024 are: energy justice, water justice, food justice, spatial justice, gender justice, and global solidarity.
The thematic areas reflect the complex and multifaceted nature of the climate crisis in South Africa and the need for innovative solutions that take into account the country's unique socio-economic and cultural context.
Partner organisations include Project 90 by 2030, Fossil Free South Africa, PHA Food & Farming Campaign, Mzanzi Organics, Langa Bicycle Hub, Unite Behind, Ndifuna Ukwazi, Hotspot Series, GRIT (formerly Kwanele South Africa), Rainbow UCT, and Triangle Project.
Learn more and see the full programme at www.africanclimatealliance.org/cape-town-climate-week
Quotes from key partners:
“Our fight for justice has to be intersectional. It has to be intergenerational. Cross cutting across all the sectors in our society. When we talk about food justice, we are talking about water justice, gender justice, energy justice and more. That's why Cape Town Climate Week has been born. And because we know that there are different ways that people can show their activism and change making. Our fight for any form of justice cannot be won alone, it needs to be won together.” - Gabriel Klaasen, Programme Manager at the African Climate Alliance
“Climate week for me is a fun and interactive way for us to understand the intersectional challenges we face as a city. Our focus on energy justice speaks to the daily issues people face not only here in Cape Town, but also across South Africa.” - Lorna Fuller, Director at Project 90 by 2030
“Together with the African Climate Alliance, we demand a transport system that serves the people and the planet, not the corrupt and the powerful. It’s time for government accountability, climate justice, and a commitment to rebuilding our railways. Stand with us to symbolically reclaim our right to move freely and fairly in our own city.” - Joseph Mayson, Legal Officer at Unite Behind
“It is increasingly recognised that issues of climate change and its associated impacts are closely related to housing, land use planning and access to land. It is also increasingly recognised that the effects of climate change will be and are already felt very unevenly, with the poor and marginalised suffering the harshest consequences. Indeed, where someone lives and the condition of their home has a major impact on how they experience climate change, disasters and extreme weather events. Sustainable Development Goal 11 speaks to ‘making human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’, thus explicitly acknowledging that sustainability and resilience are central to the quality, liveability and long-term positive impact of housing. However, we are yet to see this acknowledgement filter into housing discourse and practice in South Africa, and this needs to change urgently.” - Buhle Booi, Head of Political Organising at Ndifuna Ukwazi
“We made the film (Temperature Rising to be screened on 23 September), because we wanted to celebrate the incredible human beings who are bravely trying to build strong resistance to corporate power and complicit governments. We wanted to use our craft as filmmakers to show their struggles and to help them reach more people.” - Temperature Rising Directors
“Five years is going to go by regardless. Imagine what happens when you sow those seeds and plant those trees you always wanted.” - Aghmad Gamieldien, Founder and Lead Forrest Maker at Mzanzi Organics
"Cycling is not just a mode of transport; it's a movement toward climate justice. Each pedal stroke reduces emissions, connects communities, and paves the way for a greener, more equitable future." - Mzikhona Mgedle, founder of Langa Bicycle Hub
“The Queer Food Growing Collective, in partnership with Triangle Project, has been working towards a model for setting up queer-led community food gardens. The vision is for these green spaces to supply fresh produce to the surrounding communities and in the long term provide a livelihood for the growers. This partnership is focused on building communities of care with human rights, land and environmental justice at their centre.” - Triangle Project Team
“The 3000ha Philippi Horticultural Area is the farming part of Cape Town that has always been providing fresh vegetables for the city. Because the PHA exists, vegetables are always affordable and available even under extreme conditions such as the 2018 drought and the covid pandemic. Now the PHA will also be supplying the city with potable water. But your food and water is under threat. Visit the PHA and get up close and personal where your food and water comes from.” - Nazier Sonday, Chairperson of the PHA
Contact Information
For media coverage, interviews, or press, please contact:
Name: Sarah Robyn Farrell
Email: sarah@africanclimatealliance.org
Phone: 083 409 5557
