On August 13th and 14th, dozens of civil society organizations, movements, and collectives represented by thousands of activists, artists, practitioners, and curious netizens gathered together for an intense online Festival to Fight Inequality.
The Festival was organized by the Fight Inequality Alliance, a global movement to counter the excessive concentration of power and wealth in the hands of a small elite and achieve a just, equal, and sustainable world. The alliance members proposed the Festival’s content around learning, sharing, inspiring, and growing the wider activist base around the People’s Recovery Plan.
What it is
Deeply concerned about the impact of inequality and inspired by people’s collective struggles to build a more equal, more sustainable world, the Fight Inequality Alliance organizes the annual Festival to Fight Inequality.
Covid-19 has supercharged inequalities: while billionaire´s wealth rises dramatically, austerity is imposed on health, education, and social protection systems across the world. The pandemic is rooted in an already broken system based on extreme inequality like racism, oppressive patriarchy, the climate crisis, and many more.
The wealthiest people on earth are increasing their fortune during this pandemic more than in the last 15 years, while millions suffer from hunger, joblessness, and lacking or non-existent public health systems.
The Festival to Fight Inequality, a space for the growing inequality movement to reconnect and recharge around these struggles and solutions, has never been more crucial.
What happened
As global physical gatherings are still impossible, the 2021 Festival to Fight Inequality was virtual. More than two thousand diverse and passionate activists from all over the world came together to reflect, imagine, and inspire each other towards a better post-pandemic world.
It was a two-day affair, with almost thirty sessions carefully planned and presented by a myriad of knowledgeable speakers from all over the world. All the sessions had simultaneous translations into five different languages: no easy task, and a huge Kudos to the organizing team!
The icing on the cake was the concluding session. The Festival to Fight Inequality Concert was the most innovative, disruptive, inspiring, not to mention fun session of the Festival. So far, the concert has 4000 views on YouTube and 5.3K views on Facebook. By far it's the session that attracted the public the most. Beyond the numbers, it shows that ludicrous, diverse, and inspiring-driven activities are a great compliment and a channel to reach broader audiences.
You can access all the other sessions from the Festival on this YouTube playlist
What the process was
The Festival content was organized and prepared by the alliance members. It was centered around learning, sharing, inspiring, and growing a wider activists base around the people’s recovery. Many movements and organizations that partnered and participated in the festival are new to the alliance. The festival provided an opportunity to bring these movements and organizations into the alliance and grow its mobilization base.
What the plan is
Systemic change is urgent. We stand for a just, equal, and sustainable future for all. No more vaccines apartheid, no more Pharma greed, no more austerity. We came together to demand Universal public services, global social protection, decent jobs, fair distribution of care, and basic income for everyone.
It is time for clear, bold, and decisive policies. It is time to Tax the rich!
The world’s wealthiest (typically white men) are proportionally the least taxed. The wealthiest people on earth have earned more during the pandemic than in years before. Moreover, the wealthiest 10% of people cause more than 50% of consumption pollution, directly responsible for the climate crisis.
A one-time emergency COVID-19 billionaire tax would raise $5.4 trillion and still leave the world’s 2,690 billionaires $55 billion richer than before the virus struck. Governments across the world are massively under-taxing the wealthiest individuals and big corporations, which is undermining the fight against COVID-19 and poverty and inequality.
Billionaires have pocketed more than they could ever spend in a lifetime on the backs of workers who have suffered and perished during the COVID-19 pandemic. The time for change is now, more than ever.