2019
The 4th Climate Camp near Vienna is over, and with it a jam-packed week comes to a close. Over 100 different workshops, around 100 full composting toilet barrels, more than 1,000 visitors throughout the week, the very first Obersdorf “Schwemm” Olympics, and numerous plenary sessions – these are just a few highlights from eight eventful days. The campers have been camping on the sheep pastures in the Weinviertel region for much longer, as a self-organized camp is also being developed.
The climate camp was built on four pillars: education, living alternatives, networking, and direct action. The range of workshops ranged from theater, critiques of power, and scientifically based climate change discourse
to environmental psychology and drumming. On Thursday’s family day, even the youngest children were taught about climate justice in a playful way. Because everyone belongs to a good life for all! This became very clear every day at the so-called “Self-Organization Raves”: Twice a day, we spent half an hour together doing housework while listening to motivating music. In addition to the aforementioned composting toilets, this also included our own energy supply: A wind turbine created during a workshop and a solar panel trailer produced electricity for the camp.
But living alternatively doesn’t just mean generating renewable energy and saving surplus food from the trash – we also shaped our interactions according to our visions of a climate-friendly world. Making decisions together, looking out for one another, and valuing every form of work were natural parts of living together. As a “care team,” people were available to talk to in case of problems or conflicts.
The climate camp was also a kind of experimental laboratory, a place to test out visions. Not everything has to work right away. One experiment, for example, was the three drug-free days, when the camp bar offered juice and non-alcoholic cocktails instead of alcohol.
Even if the idyllic atmosphere of the camp almost made us forget it at times: We live in times of the climate crisis, which is part of a multiple ecological and social crisis. That’s why networking plays an important role at the climate camp – both between individuals and between different social movements. The neighborhoods provided a framework for this: critique of globalization, climate justice, eco-resilience, and food sovereignty were the thematic focuses of these “local neighborhoods” of the climate camp. They were represented by System Change, not Climate Change!, attac, Extinction Rebellion, Get Active!, and Nyéléni Austria.
To ensure that these issues and concerns do not remain on the Obersdorf sheep pasture and that we achieve social change, direct action is essential. A wide range of protests took place at the large day of action for climate justice in Vienna as part of the climate camp: Farmers For Future highlighted the connection between capitalism and the food crisis in front of the Raiffeisen headquarters, while System Change, not Climate Change! protested against the construction of the third runway at Vienna Airport with a performance featuring giant silver cubes. Children and families gave voice to their protest in Votivpark. A “critical mass” of people on bicycles rode through Vienna. Extinction Rebellion made a statement with three “die-ins” (public lying down). Ende Geländewagen blocked the Ringstrasse in an act of civil disobedience. All actions were successful and were held under the motto of the day of action: “Let’s take back the city from cars!” At the same time, 35,000 students and various other demonstrators took to the streets with Greta Thunberg during the Fridays for Future strike.
We are shocked by the incidents of alleged police violence (the presumption of innocence applies) during the Ende Geländewagen action. This clearly demonstrated that the system we want to change from below is also being enforced violently.
The 2019 Climate Camp is now over, but the climate camp feeling will likely live on in every participant for a while longer. Perhaps someday we will live in a world where this “oasis” is no longer needed – because it’s always a climate camp, so to speak. Until then, many more camps and actions will be necessary. See you in 2020!
You can read more about the 4th Climate Camp here: