The Social Forum of the Rototom Sunsplash offers, in this its 26^th edition, a trip through the Amazon to learn about the indigenous struggle against the plundering of this impressive green lung with one of its leaders, the activist Sonia Guajajara. The space will also address the rebellion for the climate of the students from the movement Fridays for Future led by the young Swedish woman Greta Thunberg and will also analyse the fragile and unsustainable nature our current way of life. The Social Forum takes a stand for Earth and cries out in its defence, steeped in the active call to defend our planet that is represented by the theme Stand up for Earth, which will guide this 26th anniversary, August 16 to 22 in Benicassim.

The reggae event’s most conscious space, which is programmed by the NGO Exodus, boasts five sessions that will start each day with the screening of a documentary (16.00) and the subsequent talk (18.00).

The indigenous activist Sonia Guajajara will visit the Social Forum on August 20.

The Social Forum will receive on August 20 an Amazonian guardian and one of the most outstanding figures in the environmental movement’s leadership of Brazil, the indigenous activist Sonia Guajajara. The woman who was candidate to the vice-presidency of the country – the first indigenous woman to opt for the position-; and leader of APIB, which defends the rights of native peoples, will lead the talk about Land and Dignity. The sensitivity and energy of Guajajara will take the public to the heart of the Amazon rain forest to show them the struggle of its true owners who are trying to save it from gross exploitation and deforestation, which has increased by 14% between 2017 and 2018, according to official data. All this in the midst of the tense political climate in Brazil and the recent environmental policies of its president Jair Bolsonaro, who has reneged  to host the Climate Summit in 2019.

The prior to the talk Land and Dignity will be the documentary The Rights of Nature that reflect upon how society can put pressure on governments to implement laws in defence of the environment inspired by indigenous cultures.

The talk Women for Future, to be held on August 21 will focus on how gender equality is essential for climate action. A message evidenced by movements such as ecofeminism -which unites the voices of feminism and environmentalism- and Fridays For Future, championed by the young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, with whom Rototom Sunsplash has held a meeting to establish lines of collaboration. To explain the work of this student group in defence of the planet in Benicàssim will be one of its visible faces in Spain, Gemma Barricarte. She will share the session with Yayo Herrero, one of the most influential eco-feminist researchers in Europe. Leading into the talk will be the the documentary screened Amenazados. Amazonia Brasileña, dedicated to those heroes and heroines of nature who risk their lives to protect this natural heritage from those who only seek to plunder it.

Guillermo García, director of ‘Frágil Equilibrio’, Goya for Best Documentary 2017.

In the Social Forum 2019 will also welcome Guillermo García López, director of Frágil Equilibrio, Goya for Best Documentary 2017, which will be screened before the talk of the same name, scheduled for Sunday 18. The film proposes, in the the words of the former president of Uruguay Pepe Mujica, a lucid reflection on how we live and inhabit the world. Also adding to the talk will be Pablo Elorduy, journalist of El Salto.

Tatiana Nuño, responsible for the Energy and Climate Change Campaign of Greenpeace Spain, and Grammenos Mastrojeni, Italian diplomat, professor and writer, and member of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, will take the reins of SOS climate: the social side of the crisis (August 19). A talk that aims to define the role of citizens and politics in this climate emergency that shakes the social peace that will be preceded by the screening of Dónde irán. A documentary filmed in Senegal and resulting from a friendship that arose in Rototom Sunsplash between the reggae band Green Valley and the Senegalese activist Mamadou Dia.

The circle of proposals and reflections of the Social Forum will be closed by the screening of Chasing Ice (August 17) that addresses the phenomenon of the global melt and the effect of climate change on glaciers. Its awards include the Best Documentary Award of the Sundance Festival in 2012 and an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. Chasing Ice will give way to the talk that addresses the theme of Rototom 2019, Stand up for Earth.

The Social Forum is organized by the NGO Exodus, which this weekend will double up with activities in Valencia and Castellón. First at the Ruge Rosario festival in the emblematic Valencian neighbourhood of Cabanyal, with the activity of participative circus The Power of the 80s (Friday 31) and the debate From the seed to the cultural fruit (Saturday, June 1). Concurrently and within the events to commemorate the Day of the Refugee, the NGO will promote the story El viaje and Gymkhana course for families (1 June) in the square Huerto Sogueros de Castellón.