C17 intends to establish an alternative civil society space (The People's Space) to serve as an open and inclusive civil society venue providing the base for organisations to network and define their own responses to COP17. This gun-free zone, promoting non-violence, provides a secure venue in which people's rights to free speech and assembly are sacrosanct.
The People's Space provides an autonomous location in which civil society can meet, organise and socialise. Participating organisations can decide their own agendas and plan their own events including:
- Seminars, workshops, conferences and discussions;
- Organisational or movement caucuses;
- Music and entertainment;
- High profile public events;
- Mobilisation rallies.
Participants are invited to bring their issue/event to Durban and use the space as an opportunity to build solidarity and a movement that will lead us into the next phase of the climate justice struggle.
When will The People's Space be available?
The People's Space is being planned for 26 November to 12 December, 2011, and is intended to host a wide range of national and international civil society events. Civil society representatives at COP17 are likely to arrive during the weekend of 25-27 November 2011 with a significant peak around the Global Day of Action from 2 to 4 December 2011. It is likely that teach-ins, public events and entertainment will peak during the second week of the COP
