Vision & Principles.
Friends of the Earth-Brisbane is a community based social change cooperative working on local, regional, national and international issues. We are working towards the creation of an ecologically sustainable and socially just society through community action.
Principles
- We recognise the interdependence of all life on earth
- We uphold the principles of non-violence
- We acknowledge the rights of all indigenous peoples to self determination
- We acknowledge and abhor the past and continuing dispossession and marginalisation of the indigenous people of Australia and of other indigenous peoples throughout the world
- We reject patriarchy and any other form of elitist hierarchy in our society
- We reject racism, sexism, colonialism and all other such forms of discrimination and oppression
- We acknowledge, respect and value cultural diversity and different knowledge systems
- We support the concepts of inter-generational equity and intra-generational equity (supporting the rights of communities to pursue their own development path without compromising the opportunities of other communities or future generations to pursue their own development paths)
- We do not endorse political parties
- We aspire to achieve egalitarian participation in work and decision making within the cooperative
- We work cooperatively using a consensus model as described in these rules
- We individually and collectively take full responsibility for ourselves and for the consequences of our actions
- We recognise non-violent direct action as a legitimate tool to achieve our vision
- We seek to develop a community of activism based on nurturing and respect for members and for the public at large
- We actively encourage skill sharing
- As part of our insistence on transparency of process and organisational honesty and integrity, we critically evaluate our processes and activities
- While acknowledging our agreement to join Friends of the Earth Australia Inc., we remain a self-managed, independent cooperative
Aims and Objectives
- Stimulate a movement of social change towards a socially just and ecological sustainable society.
- Halt the destruction of ecosystems and the corresponding loss of biological diversity and ecological processes.
- Restore and encourage the restoration of degraded ecosystems
- Encourage the ecologically sustainable and socially just use and distribution of the earth’s resources
- Encourage local community self reliance and autonomy
- Encourage the development of a well informed and active community
- Provide the organisational framework and infrastructure to support the social change, community development and ecological restoration/conservation aspirations of members