The ODG International Seminar is back. In this year’s edition, we propose to deal with this sense of helplessness produced by the tumultuous global context. “Building a grassroots anti-imperialism. Analysis, resistance, and action against paralysis” will be held on Friday, June 5, at Bloc4BCN.
Full program and registrations will be available soon. Participation is free.
- Friday, June 5, from 5 pm to 10 pm
- Bloc4BCN | Can Batlló – Barcelona
- In the evening, we will have snacks and music at La CantinaLab
Speed and intensity. These two coordinates mark the events that take place in the third decade of the 21st century. As the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic began, the war in Ukraine broke out, followed by the intensification of the Israeli occupation and the genocide in Gaza. This year, the kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores, the recent attack by the US and the State of Israel on Iran, and the exacerbated blockade of Cuba.
Imperialist aggressions, military rearmament, reactionary wave and patriarchal racist violence, consolidation of the extreme right in positions of power, accelerated ecocide, energy crisis, rising cost of living… These facts have placed imperialism, militarism, and the grabbing of resources as central pillars of international relations in a world overheated by the climate emergency, the great challenge facing civilisation that seems to be forgotten.
Far from seeking de-escalation, states increase military spending. In 2024, the global defense budget reached the record figure of 2.7 trillion dollars. This increase, the largest since the end of the Cold War, reflects a change of era: diplomacy and international law are increasingly subordinate to the law of the strongest. All of it in favour of an economic model that pursues infinite growth without taking into account biophysical limits, which benefits the accumulation of capital in the hands of a few corporations. All these events, news, and statements that until now seemed unthinkable are piling up in our minds and weighing heavily on our hearts, stirring up emotions that range from anger and fear to apathy and frustration, and leaving us feeling demoralised and paralysed.
How did we get here? How are all these processes linked, and what are the keys to understanding the historical moment we live in? How can we analyse the situation in a way that does not paralyse us and enables us to move beyond the catastrophic scenario we find ourselves facing? How can we bring back the idea of ecofeminist transitions in a war context like the present one? What can we learn from the resistance on the front lines in different territories, from the streets of Minneapolis to the factories of Florence, from the mines of Serbia to those of Suria? How can these struggles inspire us to continue building fairer futures grounded in internationalism?
This seminar is an invitation to pause and take action. We invite you to listen, debate, eat, and dance. It is only through collective critical thinking and community building that we will be able to tackle the challenges of this tumultuous context. To combat apathy, let’s forge alliances and take action; to combat isolation, let’s come together and devise collective ways out of frustration and paralysis.
