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AviAction: Stay Grounded Action Conference
5-9 October 2022 in Lille, France
We want to build global alliances and discuss strategies against the aviation industry
We want to listen to each other’s experiences about previous actions and tactics against the aviation industry and make plans for new ones
We want to think together about how we communicate and how we can counter the aviation industry’s narratives with a joint voice
We want to support local struggles against airport expansions
AND…. we want to finally get together again and connect as a growing global movement against the dangerous growth of aviation and the industry’s greenwashing while strategizing together in the fight for a global fair mobility system.

© Kristoffer Schwetje Fotografie

© Christian Bock

© Tim Wagner
After the setback of the Covid-19 pandemic the aviation industry is planing to return to pre-covid flight loads and goals for growth despite being one of the fastest growing and most climate-destructive sectors.
We cannot let this happen: faced with the decades-old inaction of world leaders and the constant use of greenwashing and neo-colonialist tactics by the aviation industry and politicians, we need to join together as a united force ready for action, with renewed power and enthusiasm!
To kick this off, this October, the Stay Grounded network is joining together with NADA (Non à l’Agrandissement de l’Aéroport), an organization resisting airport expansion in Lille, for a conference directed at taking action to reduce aviation. The conference will be a place to reunite with activists from all over Europe and beyond and to welcome new faces to the movement. We’re going to share experiences and ideas for aviation-related actions, discuss tactics and strategies to reduce air traffic and think about what can be the most effective ways of mobilizing for the global fight against airport expansions and dangerous greenwashing but also strategize on how to advance measures like a frequent flyer levy, bans on flights and improvements of alternative grounded mobility.
The conference will culminate in an action against the Lille-Lesquin Airport expansion, and it will also serve as the breeding ground to kick-off a global day of action in 2023.
Programme
The conference workshops and panels will be focused on actions to counter aviation and the different aspects involved in taking action against the industry. These sessions will be a place to share experiences, think about what has been done and where we are in the struggle of countering aviation. We will also discuss why actions are important and build new ideas for strong actions and strategies. Some of the main questions that we want to answer are:
- What role do actions play in our theory of change?
- How can we take actions that build unflinching global solidarity?
- Who to target and what tactics to use?
- How to use communication to inspire people through our actions and to move forward with our demands?
*Hybrid sessions* (sessions with online participation)
Wednesday, 5 October |
|
06:00 – 07:00 pm | Welcome and registration |
07:00 – 09:00 pm |
Opening session – Direct action to counter aviation: Local struggles, global solidarity |
09:00 – 10:00 pm | Social Dinner |
Thursday, 6 October |
|
08:30 – 09:00 am | Welcome and registration |
09:00 – 10:00 am |
Keynote – Solidarity Beyond Borders: Targeting European institutions involved in destructive airport projects worldwide |
10:00 – 10:30 am | Break |
10:30 – 12:30 pm |
Workshop Slot 1
|
12:30 – 02:30 pm | Lunch |
02:30 – 04:40 pm |
Workshop Slot 2
|
04:30 – 05:00 pm | Break |
05:00 – 07:00 pm |
Panel – The role of direct action for reducing aviation and building a just mobility-system |
07:00 – 08:00 pm | Dinner |
08:00 – 09:00 pm | Film screening – Why T-Rex doesn’t Fly (by Lorenzo Lonardi) |
Wednesday, 5 October |
|
06:00 – 07:00 pm | Welcome and registration |
07:00 – 09:00 pm |
Opening session – Direct action to counter aviation: Local struggles, global solidarity |
09:00 – 10:00 pm | Social Dinner |
Thursday, 6 October |
|
08:30 – 09:00 am | Welcome and registration |
09:00 – 10:00 am |
Keynote – Solidarity Beyond Borders: Targeting European institutions involved in destructive airport projects worldwide |
10:00 – 10:30 am | Break |
10:30 – 12:30 pm |
Workshop Slot 1
|
12:30 – 02:30 pm | Lunch |
02:30 – 04:40 pm |
Workshop Slot 2
|
04:30 – 05:00 pm | Break |
05:00 – 07:00 pm |
Panel – The role of direct action for reducing aviation and building a just mobility-system |
07:00 – 08:00 pm | Dinner |
08:00 – 09:00 pm | Film screening – Why T-Rex doesn’t Fly (by Lorenzo Lonardi) |
We have put together a programme that touches on several different aspects of what it means to take action for countering aviation. When making this programme we looked at what is being done throughout the movement against aviation and have attempted to capture and share elements of the movement that will inspire us to organise and mobilise for a climate-just mobility system.
Note: The current programme might still be subject to some minor changes, and further guests and hybrid workshops will be announced soon.
Friday, 7 October |
|
08:30 – 09:00 am | Welcome and registration |
09:00 – 10:00 am |
Keynote – Strategies for a grounded future: lessons learned from victories and failures |
10:00 – 10:30 am | Break |
10:30 – 12:30 pm |
Strategy working groups – What would a global call to action in 2023 look like and what should our strategic priorities be
|
12:30 – 02:30 pm | Lunch |
02:30 – 04:30 pm |
Open Slot
|
04:30 – 05:00 pm | Break |
05:00 – 07:00 pm |
Panel – Towards strategic action in 2023 and beyond: weaving the results of discussions together |
08:00 – 09:00 pm |
Dinner |
Saturday, 8 October |
|
08:30 – 09:00 am | Welcome and registration |
09:00 – 11:00 am |
Workshop slot 3
|
02:00 – 05:00 pm | Action against the expansion of the Lille-Lesquin Airport |
05:00 – 07:00 pm | Gathering, highlights from the action and what comes next |
07:00 pm | Dinner and goodbye party |
Sunday, 9 October |
|
10:00 – 12:00 pm | Brunch |
12:00 – 04:00 pm |
European Network Meeting |
Friday, 7 October |
|
08:30 – 09:00 am | Welcome and registration |
09:00 – 10:00 am |
Keynote – Strategies for a grounded future: lessons learned from victories and failures |
10:00 – 10:30 am | Break |
10:30 – 12:30 pm |
Strategy working groups – What would a global call to action in 2023 look like and what should our strategic priorities be
|
12:30 – 02:30 pm | Lunch |
02:30 – 04:30 pm |
Open Slot
|
04:30 – 05:00 pm | Break |
05:00 – 07:00 pm |
Panel – Towards strategic action in 2023 and beyond: weaving the results of discussions together |
Saturday, 8 October |
|
08:30 – 09:00 am | Welcome and registration |
09:00 – 11:00 am |
Workshop slot 3
|
02:00 – 05:00 pm | Action against the expansion of the Lille-Lesquin Airport |
05:00 – 07:00 pm | Gathering, highlights from the action and what comes next |
07:00 pm | Dinner and goodbye party |
Sunday, 9 October |
|
10:00 – 12:00 pm | Brunch |
12:00 – 04:00 pm |
European Network Meeting |
Detailed Programme
*Hybrid sessions* (sessions with online participation)
On Wednesday, 5 October, we’ll kick off the conference with a panel focusing on the importance of direct action for countering aviation. To exemplify the need for direct action, we will learn about the local struggle against the Lille-Lesquin airport expansion and connect this to other anti-airport struggles in France and around the world.
Opening Session
07:00 – 09:00 pm
Direct action to counter aviation: Local struggles, global solidarity
Hybrid
With Audrey Boehly (co-founder of the collective Non au T4 for air traffic reduction at Roissy), Capucine Saulpic (NADA spokesperson), Eraldo Souza dos Santos (writer), Gabriela Vega Tellez (member of the Coordinadora de Pueblos y Organizaciones del Oriente del Estado de México en Defensa de la Tierra, el Agua y su Cultura)
On Wednesday evening, we want to present the local struggle against the Lille-Lesquin airport expansion and connect it with a global solidarity perspective by highligting the relationship this struggle has with other anti-airport struggles around the world. We will welcome representatives of anti airport struggles from France and other parts of the globe along with Eraldo Sousa dos Santos, a writer and lecturer in global history. dos Santos has written about resistance movements, the anti-airport movement and civil disobedience. Together, we willtalk about the importance of taking action to stop airport expansion and to fight for climate justice.
Afterwards we will introduce a general discussion about the problems of aviation, with an open Q&A, and finish with a summary of how to navigate the programme over the next few days.
On Thursday, 6 October, we’ll delve into the importance of global solidarity for working together as a strong movement that is able to take on harmful neocolonial infrastructure projects worldwide. We will also have several workshops throughout the day focusing on various aspects of actions to counter aviation. In these workshops we will gather diverse experiences and visions that can be used for furthering our understanding of the role of actions in our collective struggle.
Plenary Sessions
9:00 – 10:00 am
Keynote – Solidarity Beyond Borders: Targeting European institutions involved in destructive airport projects worldwide
Hybrid
With representatives of Filipino organisations
The construction for a massive airport and airport city complex, an ‘aerotropolis’, in the Bulacan province, Manila Bay in the Philippines is underway. The aerotropolis, which is the most expensive infrastructure project to date in the Philippines, is projected to triple the capacity of the existing main Manila airport. Present and future social and environmental impacts on fishing communities and coastal ecosystems have triggered a powerful movement of community groups and organizations to resist to this disastrous project at local and international level. In this session, we will hear from representatives of fisherfolk groups, AGHAM and Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment about their stories of resistance and experiences of struggle that can be replicated elsewhere.
5:00 – 7:00 pm
Panel – The role of direct action for reducing aviation and building a just mobility-system
Hybrid
With Simon Teune (sociologist at Berlin’s Free University and co-founder of the Institute for the Study of Protests and Social Movements), Graeme Hayes (sociologist focused on social movements, direct action and civil disobedience), Anne Kretzschmar (Stay Grounded) (other guests TBA soon)
Why did we choose to focus this conference on “actions”? In this panel, we delve into the role of direct actions in a theory of change that can be successful for the movement to reduce aviation. We want to discuss how direct actions interact with other tools for social change, like raising awareness, legal challenges or advocacy; how the kind of direct actions we can organise to counter aviation can be limited by local contexts and targets (i.e. direct actions at airports); and what exactly “non-violent” direct action entails. For this we will be joined by Simon Teune and Graeme Hayes, two sociologists with a strong connection to social movements and climate protests.
8:00 – 9:00 pm
Film – Why T-Rex doesn’t Fly
With director Lorenzo Lonardi
Having traveled to many places around the world, Lorenz, who is a nature lover and enthusiastic environmentalist became more and more aware that his way of moving around the world comes with a big cost for the environment.
Indeed, flying is the most polluting thing that an individual can do and Lorenzo has flown a lot! Shocked by this he sets out on a journey of discovery into the aviation sector, in the company of his boisterous, nagging and above all charismatic Sense of Guilt. His journey – by bus, train and foot – will take him to Cop 26 in Glasgow to understand the solutions towards this problem, learning about just how polluting flying is, the fake technological solutions proposed by the aviation industry, and the inequality that flying entails.
Workshops
10:30 – 12:30 pm
Workshop Slot 1
-
- Brainstorming for innovative low cost/high impact actions
Organiser: Eric Lombard (Rester sur Terre)
Description: Brainstorming to come up with new ideas of low cost and high impact actions accessible to everyone at any time. Individually or in small groups. The starting point is that traditional actions require a lot of organisation and investment on the part of the organisers. But everyone who has the time and the motivation should be able to take action when and where they want, and still manage to have a strong impact.
- Brainstorming for innovative low cost/high impact actions
-
- Changing mindsets on (air) travel
Organiser: Alexis Chailloux (Greenpeace France)
Description: We believe that switching mindsets is a very important leg of our work to lower air traffic. Especially regarding the audience that often takes the plane (young urban elites, sensitive to climate change, privileged). That said, we are conscious that our ‘mindset work’ would be way more efficient with strong political measures (end of aviation subsidies, taxation of each flight departure, development of night trains and long-distance trains at a fair price).
In this workshop we will:- Present Greenpeace France’s work on switching mindsets so far (context, audience, goal, tactics)
- Brainstorm on what actions we could take to contribute to that broad cultural shift
- Climate justice and aviation
Organiser: Anne Kretzschmar (Stay Grounded)
Description: In this workshop we will look into why reducing aviation is such an important part of our pathway to climate justice. Based on our report, “Common Destination”, along with the work Stay Grounded has been doing for the past years, we will learn and discuss the basic facts around the climate impact and injustice of aviation. We will touch on why greenwashing is not a solution and how we can counter the arguments and narratives of the aviation industry effectively.
- Changing mindsets on (air) travel
-
- Mapping South and North struggles against aviation: companies, movements, campaigns
Organisers: Sara Mingorría (Universitat de Girona and Zeroport) and Daniela Subtil Fialho (Stay Grounded)
The workshop aims to discuss and weave strategies of resistance based on the analysis of 100 cases of airport conflicts around the world. Specifically, we will learn from success stories of the cases mapped. Moreover, we will discuss the required information and the available data to design a collective campaign (eg. European companies and governments investing abroad or in other countries in Europe).In this workshop we will open a space of discussion and reflection to connect resistance on the Global South and North. We will present some analyses based on the mapping team work about resistance against airport infrastructure expansion around the world. For example, we will see:
-
- The different European company names and governments investing in airport expansions
- The amount of investments
- The main success strategies of resistance
-
- Non–violent action – an effective tool for social change?
Organiser: Sara Fromm (Werkstatt für Gewaltfreie Aktion)
Description: Non-violent action – Yes, of course! But what does “nonviolent action” entail and how does it work? In this workshop, we want to take a closer look at Non-violent Action as a form of making socio-political conflicts visible and thus bring about social change. In addition to the basics, we will deal with different personal motivations and different levels of escalation. We want to offer a space for reflection and combine theoretical input with the concrete context of the AviAction Conference.
- Mapping South and North struggles against aviation: companies, movements, campaigns
2:30 – 4:30 pm
Workshop Slot 2
-
- Energy sufficiency: an opportunity to reduce air traffic!
Organisers: Audrey Boehly, Eric Lombard
Description: With the war in Ukraine and the acceleration of climate change, energy sufficiency has finally hit the media and the political agenda in Europe. Yet, aviation is not part of the debate. Let’s change this! How can we seize this opportunity and include air traffic reduction in the debate? Which aviation sufficiency measures should we demand as a network? How should we communicate to reach our objective (publish a call, launch a campaign)?
- Energy sufficiency: an opportunity to reduce air traffic!
-
- Learning to fight together
Organisers: Dominique Just and Jonas Asal (Robin Wood)
Description: In social movements it’s vital that we work together. To step up our fight we need to motivate and inspire each other. But that’s not always easy given different political views, different organizing experiences or different “activist cultures”.
We want to create an open exchange: What challenges do we have in our movement-internal collaboration and how can we overcome them? How can we become more inclusive – which barriers can we bring down?
- Learning to fight together
-
- Speechless speeches: how to interrupt people in power at high-level events?
Organisers: Francisco Pedro (ATERRA), Magdalena Heuwieser (Stay Grounded), Peter Paul Vossepoel (formerly Zomer Zonder Vliegen)
Interrupting high level speeches can be a fun, empowering and effective way to break through the media monotony, unmask environment criminals and and shed attention to inspiring ecological struggles.
We’ll share first hand about our past aviation-related actions in Portugal, Belgium and Austria, how they were planned and how they went, what we’ve laughed about and learned. And maybe we can find new opportunities?
Feel free to interrupt us!
- Speechless speeches: how to interrupt people in power at high-level events?
-
- Navigating a Safe Landing: collaborating with aviation workers to transform air travel and ensure a just transition
Organiser: Finlay Asher (Safe Landing, XR Trade Unionists and Unite the Union)
Description: The workshop will present and facilitate break-out groups for participants (in person and online) to discuss the following questions:
• Is climate action aligned with, or in opposition to, protecting jobs?
• Should climate campaigners and trade unionists collaborate?
• What can the climate movement learn from the TUs about organising & mobilising people to achieve system change? What can TUs learn from the climate movement on diversity and creativity of tactics?
• Should climate campaigners support striking workers on picket lines?
• What messaging and imagery should be used to appeal to workers?
How can we encourage more deliberative democracy (e.g. “Aviation Workers’ Assemblies” ) within TUs to design alternative visions of the future for air travel and organise towards a just transition?
- Navigating a Safe Landing: collaborating with aviation workers to transform air travel and ensure a just transition
On Friday, 7 October, we want to reflect on past lessons and where we need to go moving forward as a movement. We want to build on the knowledge and visions gathered in the previous days to discuss what should be priorities for the movement in the next year, and imagine what a global call to action for countering aviation in 2023 could look like.
Plenary Sessions
Keynote – Strategies for a grounded future: lessons learned from victories and failures
Hybrid
Guests: Sara Mingorría (Universitat de Girona and Zeroport) and Celeste Hicks (Writer of Expansion Rebellion)
In this session, we want to look back on the recent past of the movement to counter aviation to understand where we stand in the global struggle for the reduction of aviation and how we can move forward. For that, we will be joined by Sara Mingorría, who will bring us her insights from her experience at Zeroport (network struggling against the ports and airports expansions in Catalunya) and Celeste Hicks, who will share with us lessons learned from the struggle against the expansion of Heathrow Airport, after recently publishing the book Expansion Rebellion that delves deep within this story. This session aims to serve as a starting point and inspiration for the strategic discussions that will take place afterward and that want to look at what should be priorities for the movement in the next year.
5:00 – 7:00 pm
Panel – Towards strategic action in 2023 and beyond: weaving the results of discussions together
Hybrid
Guests: Facilitators of the strategy working groups
In this panel we will consider the results from the strategic working group discussions on Alliances, Global Solidarity, Communication, Tactics and Targets. We want to present and debate about some conclusions towards defining objectives and determining priorities for the movement for the reduction of aviation. We will also put forward proposals for what a global call to actions in 2023 could look like and how it would fit into a bigger strategy.
Stategy Working Groups
10:30 – 12:30 pm
Strategy working groups – What would a global call to action in 2023 look like and what should our strategic priorities be
-
- Hybrid – Alliances – Facilitator: Mira Kapfinger
- Communication – Facilitator: Manuel Grebenjak
- Hybrid – Global Solidarity – Facilitator: Daniela Subtil Fialho
- Tactics – Facilitators: Magdalena Heuwieser, Sara Fromm
- Targets – Facilitators: Anne Kretzschmar, Calum Harvey-Scholes
Open Slot
2:30 – 4:30 pm
Open Slot
-
- Counselling sessions
Bring strategic questions or problems your group or initiative is facing (around actions/campaigns) and get spontaneous advice through collective swarm-intelligence - Continuation of the strategic discussions
- Counselling sessions
On Saturday, 8 October, since the struggle is collective, we hope after several days together, we have been able to strengthen bonds, solidify ties within the movement and have had time throughout the conference to really get to know each other and enjoy each other’s company. On this day we’ll have some additional workshops in the morning and in an ultimate act of solidarity, we’ll take to the streets in the afternoon for a symbolic action against the Lille-Lesquin airport expansion.
Plenary Sessions
2:00 – 5:00 pm
Action against the expansion of the Lille-Lesquin Airport
More information about the action will be provided during the conference.
5:00 – 7:00 pm
Gathering, highlights from the action and what comes next
After the action, we want to join together to exchange feelings and experiences, think collectively about how it went and also announce some exciting upcoming actions to counter aviation.
Workshops
9:00 – 11:00 am
Workshop slot 3
- Adbusting: Words as a political measure against air traffic
Organiser: Berlin Busters Social Club
Description: Adbusting is a form of street art. It involves altering advertising posters with paint, paper and paste in such a way that the message is distorted beyond recognition. In the workshop we will talk about what advertising actually is and how advertising represents social ideas. Together we want to discuss whether this form of action is suitable for an emancipatory practice against the expansion of air traffic, or whether it merely reproduces the visual habits of the advertising industry.
- Legal steps against aviation greenwashing
Organiser: Hiske Arts (Fossielvrij NL)
In this workshop we will look at what legal steps we can take against the deception of the aviation industry, taking the Bristol airport expansion and the KLM misleading ads lawsuit as case studies.
- Organizing without burning out
Organiser: Diffraction
A workshop to learn how to shape activist spaces so I can organize while taking care of myself and others.
As Audre Lorde well put it : “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” And we still have some work to do about that in these times. In this 2-hour workshop, we will explore our narratives and beliefs around what an activist is or “should be”. We will also question « guilt », this strange feeling that sometimes leads us to exceed our limits or to close ourselves. All in a context of organizing actions and, more broadly, participating in social and environmental struggles.
- Rapid response actions
Organiser: António Assunção (Climáximo)
Description: Governments and Companies want to expand aviation as fast as they can. Most of the time we know that new projects are being built but we don’t know when the construction begins. That’s why we need rapid response teams and actions, to stop the harm and give us time to mobilize in mass.We will look at:
- How to build a team
- Narrative and communication
- Action planning
- Next steps after the response is active
On Sunday, 9 October, we’ll take advantage of having so many European Stay Grounded members gathered in Lille, and have a European Network Meeting to discuss the outcomes of the conference.
Location
The conference will take place close to the train station in the nice quartier of Fives.
The main events will be in the Maison Régionale de l’environnement et des solidarités, MRES (5 rue Jules de Vicq – 59800 Lille) and the Gallery Lasécu (26 Rue Bourjembois, 59800 Lille).
Upon your arrival you should visit the MRES, where you will receive a map with a detailed overview on the programme and the spaces.
Maison Régionale de l’environnement et des solidarités, MRES
Gallery Lasécu
How to participate in the conference?
Register now!
It’s important that you register early so we can plan ahead in terms of accommodation and food, and include transportation expenses in our budgets (if you need financial support).
Help us organize the conference
We still need support to make this happen! If you are interested in supporting the organizational process for the conference, please send an email to actionconference[at]stay-grounded[dot]org. Please tell us if you have experience in aviation-related actions and what you could/would like to contribute.
A flight-free conference
The action conference will be flight free. We don’t want people to be hindered from participation because of money, so we have a small budget to support travel costs. Please indicate in the registration from if you need support for travel costs. The panels, keynotes and some of the other sessions will be offered in a hybrid format to allow participation by our members and allies from all over the globe. Even so, we want this to be a moment for people to join together again in person, and we strongly encourage everyone from countries reachable by grounded transportation, to join us in person.
The conference will mainly be held in English, with interpretation into French and partly Spanish.