new members, executive committee and chair
new members
As a result of regional outreach efforts to new groups, eight new groups were admitted as associate members at the BGM. The new member groups are:
- Sustainable Development Initiatives (SDI) - Liberia
- Citizens for Justice (CFJ) - Malawi
- Otros Mundos - Mexico
- Justiça Ambiental (JA!) - Mozambique
- Centre for Environmental Justice (CFJ) - Sri Lanka
- Lawyers’ Environmental Action Team (LEAT) - Tanzania
- The Haburas Foundation - Timor Leste
- National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) - Uganda
This fulfilled our objectives of strengthened African representation, and having a group in Mexico. FoEI now has 77 member groups, of which 47 groups are from the Global South. In addition, the Palestinian Environmental NGO Network (PENGON) became a full member of Friends of the Earth International.
new chair
Nnimmo Bassey, the Executive Director of Friends of the Earth Nigeria, was elected as the Chairperson. In his acceptance speech to the members present in Honduras he highlighted the unique period in history we are in:
"We stand at the crossroads of history with the scaffoldings erected by capitalism and neo-liberalism collapsing like a pack of cards. No matter how many people live a lie, the lie remains a lie. People may decide to live in the imaginations of their minds, but the truth is that sooner than later the reality knocks us back to concrete challenges. We stand at a crossroads, but we must take the right turn and FoEI is well positioned to take the lead in that march."
new excom
Several new members joined the existing Executive Committee, which will guide the federation in the right direction over the next two years. The ExCom composition is the following:
- Karin Nansen - FoE Uruguay, Vice-Chairperson
- Jagoda Munic - FoE Croatia, Treasurer
- Meena Raman - FoE Malaysia
- Mario Godinez - FoE Guatemala
- Rizwana Hasan - FoE Bangladesh
- Bobby Peek - FoE South Africa
- Sarah Jayne Clifton - FoE England, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Elizabeth Bast - FoE United States
