Klimaforum10 (K10) is the follow up to the wildly successful Klimaforum09, which was a parallel conference to the COP15 UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen last December. The Klimaforum model is designed to be free and open to anyone who wants to attend and is solely funded by government money, with no strings attached. The intention is to create a collaborative atmosphere that is completely open to the sharing of ideas. Everyone is encouraged to attend and there is a strong emphasis on having representation of indigenous peoples from around the globe. During the course of the conference, there is a full program of over a hundred events ranging from presentations by formidable NGO’s like the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), to community building workshops on singing and yoga.

One of my favorite experiences so far at K10 was a sunrise ceremony lead one morning by indigenous Mayan, North American and Bolivian people in the middle of the large “ecovillage” many of us are camping at. As the sun began to rise above the jungle one of the Mayan men called the meeting into being by blowing on a conch shell. With a group of fifty people from all over the world gathered around a central fire, each of the indigenous groups performed their ritual of respect for the sun and the earth. This experience, like most of my time here at K10, was incredibly grounding and made me realize how out of touch I am with the rhythms, cycles and nurturing aspects of the world. It has also brought up a huge question: if I am so out of touch with the things that actually provide sustenance for life, how can I discern what are the real solutions to healing the our one and only home?

Our original plan in Cancun was to camp and volunteer at K10 and split our time between the various COP16 conference centers. However, when we arrived at K10 it was immediately apparent that the organizers were very disorganized and needed much more of our help than we had anticipated. The more we learned, the more it seemed K10 might fall apart. In fact, all of the various climate change events happening in Cancun right now, including the COP16, appear to be quite dysfunctional. It has been explained to me by several people that the Mexican government wanted it to be this way. Just look at the location of the events. They could not be further apart from one another (with KF10 being the furthest away). Plus transportation between the spaces is a nightmare. And in the case of K10, the government waited until a month before the conference was supposed to begin to grant them a permit to have the event.

Although our plans have changed drastically, I would not pass on this tremendous opportunity of a lifetime. Because of our efforts and the amazing community that rose up to this challenge, K10 is on track to being a huge success. We might not have the same numbers as the much better funded K09, but we have the same spirit. Even if everything had fallen apart, I would still view it a success because of the odds we were up against and the fact that we can say we gave it out best shot. It has been incredibly difficult at times and not everyone gets along, but there is a large core group of people who have stuck together throughout this process because of a shared love for each other and the planet. And this is exactly what it is going to take from everyone. Never quit, never give up, not now, not ever. Let the fire in your heart burn bright so you can find your way through these turbulent times. Maybe you will see mine along the way.

Alec Neal is a member of the 350 Solution Revolution team and biked from Oregon to Washington DC en route to the UNFCCC international climate negotiations in Cancun, Mexico (COP16), drawing attention to climate change solutions underway in communities across the US. Will Steger Foundation is proud to sponsor Alec and members of Solutions Revolutions through COP16 accreditation.

Additional links:

• 350 Solutions Revolution is featured in Huffington Post article along with 350.org founder, Bill McKibben
• www.redroadcancun.com - website for the IEN’s Cancun campaign