Without any pause , hesitation or doubt , since February 14 , 2013 to this present day – and in many parts of the world , ongoing throughout the year – people from all over the world , ignited by the women and girls who are leaders in every country – have come out of their homes , their offices , factories , workplaces , churches , farms and schools , to RISE , STRIKE , DANCE , DISRUPT , CONNECT , RESIST , UNITE to end systems and structures that put women , children , marginalized people ’ s and Mother Earth at risk .
ONE BILLION RISING 2020 A YEAR OF
RAISING THE
VIBRATION
FOR RISING GLOBAL SOLIDARITY AND REVOLUTION WITH RADICAL CREATIVE RESISTANCE
Around the world , brought into heightened focus every February , are no longer the commodified versions of love on capitalist infused Valentine ’ s Day – but the harsh and destructive realities that broken systems across the globe have wrought , and which can no longer be denied or covered up : climate crisis , the pandemic of global and quick spreading viruses , grave abuse of human rights by totalitarian governments who continue to enjoy popular support , escalating violence on women and girls , the plunder of the environment and the world ’ s resources in the name of profit over people , cultures and policies that despise the other and those who are different based on class , race , economic background , gender , age , and ability .
One Billion Rising global activists have known , since the Risings began in 2013 , that the world cannot go on this way .
That is why they have been rising , in the thousands , in the millions , every year , with fiercer , bolder , more radical , and more unified , unstoppable energy , commitment , force , and creativity – despite all the many odds against them also escalating each year – political oppression and repression , criminalization of dissent , illegal arrests , enforced disappearances and killings .
OBR global activists , largely led by some of the most marginalized and oppressed grassroots communities in nearly 150 countries around the world – know that these economic , political , cultural beliefs and practices do not support life , and what does not support life cannot genuinely celebrate LOVE .
OBR global activists have been rising , not to beat fascists , misogynists , tyrants , abusers , climate deniers , and plunderers in their game of greed , dominance and power , but to Rise in an alternative paradigm where the rules and conditions on life and humanity are different . A culture of caring for the environment which includes all living things and beings . A culture of including everyone and not leaving anyone out . A culture of prioritizing the most marginalized , the most historically as well as currently exploited . A culture of respect and equality for all – regardless of race , ethnicity , beliefs or social status . A culture where community , solidarity and love are the core and beating heart of every society . Their powerful creative resistance over all these years , each year getting stronger than the last , is a testament that only a culture that they are Rising for and already manifesting , are what will break the chains of inequality , discrimination , oppression and violence .
One Billion Rising 2020 saw a year , not just of immense and escalated global solidarity , revolution and such an astounding raising of the vibration in every political and artistic way – even on the eve of the pandemic that was coming . It also witnessed a going-in deeper , a listening harder , a feeling rather than thinking language of the body and the heart that truly ignited and pushed people to fully engage , to take action , to get out of their comfort zones and the shallow mediocrity of self-centered lives , and to authentically and profoundly be in true solidarity with movements that uphold all human rights , earth rights , women ’ s rights , children ’ s rights , LGBTQI rights , worker ’ s rights .
One Billion Rising 2020 saw the collective creative rising in every region , country and community create , build and support rising movements that seek to build a shared language of trust , unity , solidarity – protecting the sanctity and the survival of the most disadvantaged people in the world , as well as of Mother Earth from the same exploitation and devastation .