Navdanya International – 2016 annual report In the course of 2016 Navdanya International (NI) continued to highlight the links between food sovereignty and seed freedom and the importance of biodiversity and seed sovereignty to fight climate change. We have through our publications, actions and international meetings brought together diverse groups from across the world in order to connect them issue wise as well as geographically. One of the major global events organised by Navdanya International in 2016 was the People’s Assembly at the Monsanto Tribunal at the Hague. This was both a culmination of the past years of work as well as a start of a new process which continues after the people’s assembly. The people’s assembly brought together diverse movements Our work continued to build on and strengthen our Seed Freedom Campaign over the last 3 years, which has grown into a very strong and vibrant Seed Freedom global community and which continues to expand year by year. The Monsanto Tribunal and People’s Assembly in the Hague: Navdanya co-organized the Monsanto Tribunal and a People’s Assembly for the future of food, the future of the planet – along with multiple civil society organizations – from 14th to 16th October 2016 at The Hague. The process of holding the Poison Cartel accountable for its crimes is the culmination of 30 years of scientific, legal, social, and political work by movements, concerned citizens and scientists. Since the ground for the tribunal was laid by the movement, a parallel People’s Assembly was created to allow for movements from across the world to gather together, sharing problems, political strategies and visions of the future for a sustainable agriculture. The Hague events were attended by over 1000 people, including representatives of more than 100 Organisations, a majority of which at the invitation of Navdanya, along with 28 People’s Assembly speakers and the Monsanto Tribunal witnesses. The Monsanto Tribunal and People’s Assembly received extensive Press Coverage globally . More than 1100 Organisations endorsed the initiatives online from all over the world. Out of the People’s Assembly in particular, a global alliance of organisations, groups and citizens’ movements has been consolidated. For example the workshops organised by Navdanya have produced very strong outcome. Out of the Seed Freedom workshop, came the decision of organising the next International Olympic Seed Freedom Festival in Greece (April 2017), The International Meeting of GMO convergence, the People’s Assembly on Dow and Dupont in Bhopal, and a tribunal in Argentina planned. Most importantly, as a direct outcome of the People’s Assembly session on future threats and actions, NI announced the organization of people’s assemblies and actions against the Bayer Monsanto Merger which was held outside the Bayer head quarters in April 2017 as part of the action plan of 2017. The Monsanto Tribunal was a powerful tool to make the question of ecocide to the centre of discourse for making corporations accountable for crimes against environment. For example, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, in her 2017 Report (A/HRC/34/48) on the use of pesticides and its impacts on human rights, made a special mention to the Monsanto Tribunal initiative. Also a question about the advisory opinion of the Monsanto Tribunal was submitted to the EU Commission from GUE MEP Patrick Le Hyaric to which the health Commissioner, Vytenius Andriukaitis replied. Moreover, the Government of Vietnam, through its Foreign Ministry, welcomed the Monsanto Tribunal’s ruling, referring to its findings to reassert that Monsanto in particular must be held responsible for the damage it caused to that country’s ecosystem with its poison agent orange/dioxin during the Vietnam war. International Seed Freedom Festivals, Greece: In 2016 for the annual International Seed Festival, Navdanya held workshops on the Monsanto Tribunal and the People’s Assembly as well as on the principles articulated in the Pact for the Earth. The mobilization of a caravan of Seed Networks to culminate in a Seed Freedom Festival in the Hague, which led to numerous events organised thoughout Greece in October 2016 and the First International Olympic Seed Freedom Festival in April 2017. Latin America Mobilization Tours: In 2016 Navdanya participated in the 1st Forum for the Rights of Mother Earth in Mexico and the 3rd International Environmental Film Festival in Argentina mobilising for the MT & PA as well as to support the 4 years Blockade Camp in front of Monsanto’s construction site in Cordoba. In Mexico, Navdanya also intervened in a public hearing at the Mexican Senate in August 2016 on topics related to the TTP. In November, right after the 5th International Meeting of Red Semillas de Libertad, Navdanya joined Voices of Maiz meeting in Ek Balam, as co-coordinator of the related project. The meeting concluded with the drawing up of the “Declaration of Ek Balam”, which was presented at the COP13 Conference by a group of 50 representatives of indigenous cultures. People’s Assemblies across the World and Seed Freedom Call to Action: In the course of the year, Navdanya mobilised movements and organisations throughout the world to engage in actions to create awareness on the issues which would be the core of the Monsanto Tribunal and People’s Assembly in The Hague: - to place criminal corporations that threaten the health of our planet under a public trial - to reclaim our food system They were invited to organise local People’s Assemblies everywhere, both during 2016 Seed Freedom Call to Action (2 – 16 October) and beyond. In response, over 110 People’s Assemblies took place in 28 countries across the world. Communication : A new website (http://peoplesassembly.net) was created, specifically dedicated to the project of People’s Assemblies across the world and the People’s Assembly and Monsanto Tribunal in the Hague. By the end of 2016 the Seed Freedom campaign (http://www.seedfreedom.info) has directly reached over 100000 individuals, organizations and movements. Between Navdanya, Seed Freedom and Navdanya International the number of Facebook subscribers is over 100,000, weekly Facebook reach of 225000 and other social media means are reaching hundreds of thousands of people. The Seed Freedom Declaration has over 50,000 signatures, GMO Banana 50,000 and more than five million reached through media-TV and newspapers across the world. The People’s Assembly across the world Campaign saw over 110 People’s Assemblies in 28 countries. The Global Calendar for Seed Freedom, where citizens, movements, organizations can directly add their actions for Seed Freedom and share it with the world community, has over 1500 actions to date and continues to be a key rallying point and force multiplier for movements throughout the world. These events have become the platform by which people as a unified whole are able to make known their opposition to the corporate takeover of the seed and food systems and to GMOs and continue to increase in numbers as the impetus keeps growing in strength. A Timeline of Key Events and Actions for Seed Freedom January – December 2016 Event Sugarcane and Gur Festival 1-15 January 2016 New Delhi, India “Every year, we celebrate the gur festival to revive our desi sweeteners and get the healthy sweetness of our villages to our patrons. Most of the products here are created by farmers from the sugarcane belt. We stand together with them and work towards reviving their rural processing units, enabling them to produce gur. This is the only way they will be free of debt and bullying by the sugar mill industries. This festival is a way to introduce good quality products to the consumers and connect them with the actual producers of the food,” said Dr Vandana Shiva of Navdanya. Read more: http://seedfreedom.info/events/sugarcane-and-gur-festival-2016_/ Related Campaigns Navdanya launches campaign on Yuva Anna Swaraj (Youth Food Sovereignty) on Children’s day Food Smart Citizens for Food Smart Cities Event Meeting with farmers in Arunachal Pradesh for Annaswaraj (Food Sovereignty) 5-6 January 2016 Arunachal Pradesh, India Food Smart Cities for Food Smart Citizens Campaign launch in Arunachal Pradesh “The campaign aims at protection of biodiversity in Siang valley through organic farming and sustainable agriculture to ensure food and nutritional security. Attending the workshop, founder of Navdanya (A network of seed keepers and organic producers), Dr Vandana Shiva said that her mission has taken initiative for rejuvenation of organic farming in the Northeaster hill states, which is to be gradually extended to other states […] Read more: http://seedfreedom.info/events/meeting-with-farmers-in-arunachal-pradesh/ Related Campaigns Food Smart Citizens for Food Smart Cities Pulse of Life 1 Campaign Launch Navdanya ‘Pulse of Life’ Campaign Launch 6 January 2016 Navdanya Biodiversity Conservation Farm, Doon Valley, Dehradun, India To celebrate the International Year of Pulses Navdanya started the campaign ‘Pulse of Life‘ on January 6th, 2016, with celebrations which were held both at the farm in Doon Valley and at the Organic Café in Dilli Haat, New Delhi. Read more: http://seedfreedom.info/navdanya-pulse-of- life-campaign-launch/ Dr Vandana Shiva’s video message Event Summary by D. Semwal Event Summary by V. Limeberry | Related Campaign Pulse of Life 2 Event/Action Seed Freedom in Turkey in defense of Yedikule gardens 16 January 2016 Istanbul, Turkey The historical market gardens of Yedikule in Istanbul were under threat, as Istanbul security attempted to raze the area. Support for the gardens and the barricades protecting them has come from eco Navdanya founder Dr Vandana Shiva, who visited the gardens with a group of environmental activists. A month later the action was suspended and urban gardeners were granted use of the area.