Nyéléni: Building global solidarity for systemic transformation
Eighteen years after the Nyéléni Declaration on Food Sovereignty, the third and expanded Nyéléni process brought together global social movements, organizations, and networks to converge around systemic transformation. This multi-year process united thousands of grassroots groups and allies to develop a strong Common Political Action Agenda (CPAA) advancing food sovereignty, climate justice, and social, racial, and gender justice. It was a major effort to build alliances and shared political strategies across regions and territories. Drafting the CPAA took nearly two years, following multiple regional and global consultations.
Context and process
At the IPC global meeting in Rome (September 2022), strategic directions were agreed upon to continue building the third Nyéléni process. The focus was on multi-sectoral convergence and alliances among movements fighting corporate capture and reclaiming democracy from below, grounded in the food sovereignty movement’s experience. During the second global meeting in Rome (June 2023), new allies beyond the food sovereignty movement joined, and an International Steering Committee was established to guide global and regional processes.
The zero draft of the CPAA was developed by the Methodology Working Group based on the first round of consultations held in 2024 across all regions and global organizations. This participatory, bottom-up process continued in regional consultation meetings:
- Latin America & Caribbean – Chile (February 2024)
- North America – Virtual (March 2024)
- Europe & Central Asia (May 2024)
- Middle East & North Africa – Turkey (June 2024)
- Asia-Pacific – Sri Lanka (June 2024)
- Africa – Ethiopia (July 2024)
The first draft of the CPAA was then presented at the in-person Nyéléni Global Steering Committee (GSC) meeting in Bangalore, India (Aug 31 – Sept 6, 2024).
A second round of consultations (Jan 20 – Mar 14, 2025) allowed regions and global organizations to refine the Common Political Action Agenda and Action Plan. To ensure broad engagement, two global briefing sessions were held (Jan 28–29, 2025). The second draft was submitted to the GSC meeting in Sri Lanka (May 5–9, 2025). The final version was then shared for internal regional and global review and validated by pre-forum assemblies of Women, Youth, and Diversities, as well as regional assemblies and global movement meetings. The process culminated at the 3rd Global Nyéléni Forum in Kandy, Sri Lanka (Sept 5–15, 2025).
Why the CPAA matters
The Common Political Action Agenda lies at the heart of the Nyéléni process. Structured in five sections, it addresses global challenges through an intersectional approach:
- Section 1: Who We Are — Describes the diverse sectors and actors engaged in the process.
- Section 2: Why We Take Action — Analyses interrelated global crises rooted in oppression and systemic inequality, including capitalism, imperialism, colonialism, patriarchy, racism, casteism, and discrimination against marginalized communities. It denounces corporate capture of governance, land and resource grabbing, exploitation by profit-driven agro-industries, worsening climate impacts, precarious labour conditions, and “false solutions” promoted by capital-driven systems, including digital colonialism and speculative financial markets.
- Section 3: What We Seek to Achieve and How — Outlines six thematic areas:
- People’s democracy and rights
- Peace and international solidarity
- People’s economies
- Food sovereignty and agroecology
- Land, water, territories, and agrarian reform
- Health, climate justice, and energy sovereignty
- Section 4: Strengthening Our Movements — Defines strategies for mobilization, movement building, solidarity, political education, knowledge sharing, and popular communication.
- Section 5: The Path Forward — Declares a collective pledge for systemic transformation and operational conclusions.
The CPAA aims not just to present proposals but to unify struggles for food sovereignty, economic, social, gender, racial, and environmental justice within a shared systemic vision. Its strength lies in its participatory origin—each section reflects collective analysis, debate, and revision by hundreds of organizations worldwide.
Once finalized, the CPAA will be presented at global convergence events (it will be shared at the World Social Forum (WSF) in August 2026) to strengthen alliances and expand collective action. Facing multiple interconnected and systemic crises, the challenge ahead is to move beyond fragmented efforts and shape a shared future through emancipatory initiatives already being built across movements.