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Dear friends,
Kia ora! This is a Māori-language greeting in New Zealand, from where I am writing.
As you might remember, my co-founder Colombe and I have been - and will be for a few extra months in 2024 - on a tour to build, strengthen, and learn from our local groups ahead of the founding assembly of Atlas in September 2024, that will sanction our transformations into a global political party.
In this unusually long newsletter (sorry!), read about what we’ve achieved in Australia & New Zealand, our take on today’s political situation, and don’t miss the chance to join our debates, calls, and activities!!
FIRST, LET’S TALK ABOUT THE FAR RIGHT 🏴
It’s been a tough few days for those of us who believe in progressive values and the need to overcome nationalism for greater collaboration. First, a chainsaw-wielding muppet won Argentina’s Presidential elections, claiming he would slash social services and fire most public servants. Then, the anti-immigration Geert Wilders triumphed in the Netherlands, defying all expectations. In the meantime, the far-right AFD is the second biggest party in Germany, and Trump is consistently leading over Biden. Tough times.
Let’s not be mistaken: these political shifts do not happen because suddenly large sways of the population turn racist or evil, although some might, but simply because people are facing real economic and social troubles that the mainstream political factions are failing to address. Like in the 1930s, spiralling inflation and deterioration of living standards led to desperation, and far-right conspirationists are well positioned to capitalise on this sentiment, fuelling hate toward immigrants, minorities, intellectuals, etc. This is the oldest political tale.
To fight back, our best chance is to lead the way with innovative solutions that can free people from the squeeze they feel in their hearts when their bank account shrinks or they cannot buy a small gift for their children. There is no need for “better narratives”: we must work hard to meet people’s real concerns, for example, by ensuring that young people can have financial stability before they grow old. This is how you change the tide and bring back hope to our societies.
YOU HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY WITH US
Atlas is the global political party in the making that is uniting people worldwide to create a freer, better, and more equitable planet. We will run for elections from India to Kenya, Italy to Costa Rica, and even challenge undemocratic processes at the United Nations. Accessing parliaments and governments will allow us to advance our political vision - the Philosophy of Unity - and bring about change worldwide! If you want to be part of this:
✊🏽Become a Volunteer, as we need every heart and brain to make our dream come true!
💰Join our crowdfunding campaign to help us organize our Assembly and much more
END THE YEAR WELL, JOIN OUR EVENTS
🌍 Unity Day | December 2nd, time TBD, The Rise of the Far-right: join us for a conversation about the recent electoral results in Argentina, the Netherlands, and beyond. Our local members will pick up the mike to share their views on the situation, and hopefully, together, we will be able to devise a path forward to offer a valid political alternative for people to not fall for far-righters and conspiracists.
📚 Atlas Policy Calls | December 5th, 6 pm UTC, How to counter authoritarianism & December 7th, 6 pm UTC, How to build a Post-Colonial World: every volunteer is invited to this discussion to develop two of our first flagship policies focused on how to advance democracy and freedom across the planet and how to mend the crimes of colonialism
🫶 Unity Townhall | December 17th, 1 pm UTC, End of Year Celebration: as every December, our community of volunteers come together to celebrate the successes of the last 12 months, as well as reflect on the setbacks and the future.
ATLAS AUSTRALIA IS ON ✅ AND WE ARE NOW WORKING ON NEW ZEALAND…
After a very successful month in India - we headed to Australia in early November, holding meetings in Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney.
I have to be honest: We were not too optimistic about the odds of setting up a political party in the country because of its political landscape, which seemed closed to new energies. But I’m thrilled to have been so wrong: after several meetings, we found a core group ready to take on the challenge of building Atlas in Australia, and we are truly excited about this! The first conversations included solutions for a spiralling housing crisis and efforts to create more equitable conditions for First Nations communities. There is a lot to think about, but we trust that we will get on top of this with consistency and passion.
Onwards, Atlas Australia!
Here is a picture with Senator Hanson-Young in Canberra
In the meantime, we have just reached New Zealand - a wonderful, historically progressive country where we still have to build a presence. We are working hard on this front, and hopefully, we will have great news to share in the next newsletter on this topic. If you have any contacts in any of these countries, please reach out and let us know!
AND TO CLOSE, A FEW USEFUL LINKS…
📖 Read about how we plan to change the world in our Philosophy of Unity
🖊️ Check out the latest blog posts from the road that Colombe and I are writing
🎥 in case you missed it, here is the recording of our last Unity Day - we spoke about how to support media freedom and counter misinformation.
We hope to see you all at our events, and thank you once again for following our pioneering work :)
Andrea
Atlas
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