Kopenhagen = Hopenhagen. Yes Man!

Indeed. When we first arrived in Kopenhagen for our mission "the green path", we did not see anything putting awareness on COP15. We really had to scan the city to find a few people who came there in the same reason we did: to be part of the most important conference for our future. Not talking about the future of planet earth. Talking about people. About a peaceful living. Anyhow. The first hour was frustrating - no signs through the streets. No people walking around looking like activists or interested in COP15. Our searching led us to Bella Center where the 22.000 delegates were negotiating about our future. Sure we could not get in there because we did not have any accreditation, but at least we met some people who came to Copenhagen with the same interest - and we had our first interviews for our art project.

Back in the city center in the evening we went to the plaza where they had build up HOPENHAGEN - ironically sponsered by Siemens, Coca Cola and Vattenfall. But hey - didn't Robin Hood also take from the bad to help the poor?!















Well here the system is being used by intelligent people like the Yes Man who held an interview for TV stations. Pretending to be employees of the Coca Cola company they organized a pledge for people who would promise to never drink Coca Cola products again until the company will not steal water from Indians, take care of people's rights etc. etc. - and after Matthias and I joined the pledge we had the chance to talk to Mike and Laurel and win them for our project.

Meeting Randy Hayes, activist of the Rainforest Action Network and curator of the Utopia Foundation, we could gather some inside information about the conference and what's being negotiated there right now.

As we all know it is very very complex and I still wonder whether they will really have a document end of next week that will be signed by all the countries envolved. To just point out the wideness of the negotiations - one afternoon the delegate from Tuvalu Islands killed the negotiations about whether everybody can admit the limit of global warming at 2° by standing up and not-willing to sign this. The reason: Tuvalu Islands will sink when global warming hits the 1,5°. Another side story: the EU committed to spend 10 billion Euros to the poor countries who suffer of the consequences of climate change - ridiculous less money compared by the hundreds and hundreds of billion that were spend to help out banks in the finance crises. And one more: it turns out to be very very very important that in the end the US will also sign the paper. Not only because the US themselves need to change but also because many other countries will decide upon the signature of the US whether they will follow or not - without the US signing it somehow makes no sense to have a common contract on climate change.

Randy also was one of the guys at Kopenhagen who although being a pretty radical activist seemed to really see the importance of not only people on the streets changing their lifestyles and pushing the industry and governments turning towards more sustainability and responsibility, but also the tremendous importance of the conference and the negotiations of the delegates there who will decide in an amazing way about our future. The discussions about the complexity about all that and how important it is to just get EVERYBODY involved were affecting me very much.

The march in the afternoon showed how much hope we still have. So many different organizations from all over the world have one common goal: to change towards actions that will allow us and our children to live on planet earth not using more ressources than there are produced, taking global responsibility and going back to an intelligent and caring way of living. we have to think about the things we do. and take the consequences about the limitations of ressources. there are enough solutions to make a change. let's go ahead and get started.

The most inspiring meeting in Kopenhagen was with Wangaari Mathai. Being asked whether she still has hope concerning all the negative development and the less change that is seein all over the world, she put it in a very simple way: we don't have another chance than to get along with how it is. And that we have to take what comes out at the conference. But hey. That's what we did all our live. So let's move on. Take it, go to our communites and do whatever we as the people can do.

Being asked what she thinks about the awarding of Barack Obama with the nobel prize in the beginning of his legislation she returned: he was there at the right place in the right moment. and as the committee of the nobel prize outlined their decision: Obama has a extraordinary chance to make huge changes. when he was elected there was suddenly so much hope spreaded around the world. let's wish Barack Obama the very best that he will achieve what the committee of the nobel prize thinks he is able to: that he will make the right decisions for the people and lead the world to a more sustainable life in peace.

This weekend was one of the most intense and inspiring of my life. Decided to join in seconds, not really prepared and somehow stumbled in after a few packed weeks, kept very simple and uncomplicated sleeping in a bus with two guys i barely knew before, it came out with so many great moments, deeply inspiring people and the greatest feeling of being involved in the decision about human beings future. what a gift. my special thanks go to Matthias who asked me to join and triggered me with his idea of the green path. I bet you will hear more about that one day and what's that all about with the green stripes in our face.... For today, leave it with this: let's keep our finger crossed that there will be enough people who keep the negotiations going and lead them to a document the US and all the other countries involved will sign on Friday 18th. Or at least meet again to then bring it to a close.



Fotos: Robert Felgentreu. Tx ;)
More beautiful pics from the march on flickr.