Box 1
Why was the Nyéléni newsletter created?
The International Forum on Food Sovereignty in Mali in 2007—the Nyeleni Forum—brought together over 500 representatives from organisations/movements of small-scale food providers, consumers and civil society organisations, all of whom were involved in strengthening and expanding food sovereignty at local and global levels.
During the Forum, participants from 80 countries shared knowledge, visions, strategies and practices for transforming their communities, societies and economies through the principles of food sovereignty. These discussions revealed the wealth of knowledge continuously being created by food sovereignty practitioners as they confronted social, economic, environmental and political challenges. It also highlighted the centrality and utility of food sovereignty as a platform to build alliances and strategies to resist neoliberalism, global capitalism, authoritarianism, and all forms of injustice, inequality and violence. Participants pledged to build solidarity, unity and common cause within and across movements, constituencies, genders, cultures and regions by strengthening communication, political education, awareness and peer-to-peer learning.
The Nyeleni newsletter was created to respond to these commitments: to give voice to the priorities, concerns, experiences and knowledge of the food sovereignty movement, and foster dialogue across sectors/actors. The newsletter was conceptualized as an informational and educational tool to contextualize and explain complex issues to movement actors—especially those at the grassroots and in the frontlines—as well as bring their particular experiences to the forefront. The newsletter is produced four times a year in English, Spanish and French, and shared all over the world through conventional and social media.
The topics of each edition of the bulletin are decided by movement members, and the articles are written in styles and lengths that are easy to understand and translate. While allied researchers/academics are invited to present analyses, each newsletter contains testimonies from grassroots actors, and information about struggles, initiatives and outreach materials from movements across the world. The overall goal of the newsletter was and remains to be facilitating a pedagogy of peoples committed to building and realizing food sovereignty.
Box 2
Song – La Cumbia del Campesinx
La cumbia del agronegocio, la bailan los asesinos,
La cumbia del agronegocio, la bailan los asesinos,
El pueblo nunca la baila, unidos, jamás vencidos,
El pueblo nunca la baila, unidos, jamás vencidos!
La cumbia del campesino, la baila el pueblo unido,
La cumbia del campesino, la baila el pueblo unido,
Esa sí que la bailamos, porque estamos convencidos,
Esa sí que la bailamos, porque estamos convencidos,
¡Soberanía Alimentaria, queremos Reforma Agraria!
¡Soberanía Alimentaria, queremos Reforma Agraria!
¡Pasito por aquí, pasito por acá, queremos la Reforma Agraria Integral!
¡Pasito por aquí, pasito por acá, queremos la Reforma Agraria Integral!
The Peasants’ Cumbia
The cumbia of agribusiness, the murderers dance it,
The cumbia of agribusiness, the murderers dance it,
The people never dance it, united, never defeated,
The people never dance it, united, never defeated!
The cumbia of the peasants, the people dance it together,
The cumbia of the peasants, the people dance it together,
We dance that one, because we are determined,
We dance that one, because we are determined,
Food Sovereignty, we want Land Reform!
Food Sovereignty, we want Land Reform!
Step this way, step that way, we want Comprehensive Land Reform!
Step this way, step that way, we want Comprehensive Land Reform!