The 2024 Alternative Mining Indaba – Catalysing a Revolutionary Inclusive and Feminist Future in Africa’s Extractive Sector.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 5, 2024
Cape Town, South Africa As the world’s biggest mining companies – of some of the worst emitters of carbon – converge in Cape Town, South Africa, to deliberate multi-billion-dollar mining deals, Oxfam joins progressive organisations and movements from across the world for the 2024 Alternative Mining Indaba (AMI), which kicked off today (5 February 2024) in Cape Town, South Africa.
“Oxfam’s participation in the Alternative Mining Indaba reflects our unwavering commitment to the principle of people before profits and to supporting movements demanding an industry model that champions people over profits, inclusivity over inequity, and sustainability over exploitation,” says Ms. Lebogang Ramafoko, Executive Director of Oxfam South Africa.
“The AMI is more than an Indaba; it is a declaration of solidarity with the communities all over the continent and the world who have suffered because of the mining industry’s long-standing model of exploitation and extraction. Oxfam is part of a global movement of voices demanding a shift from exploitative economic models to one where the principles of justice and inclusivity are interwoven into the sector’s fabric,” says Ms. Ramafoko.
Delegates from around the African continent will join activists from Latin America to discuss intersecting issues of gender, environmental justice, human rights, and the devastating impacts of the extractive industry.
Delegates include children impacted by mining, fishing communities whose livelihoods and health are under threat, and research documenting the devastating consequences of mining.
The #AMI2024 will challenge the unchecked rush for transition minerals, spotlighting the risks to indigenous territories and sustainable agriculture.
Set against the backdrop of a poly-crisis characterised by climate catastrophes and conflicts threatening food security, the AMI 2024 commits to forging a path for dialogue and decisive action.
The AMI2024 theme, “Energy Transition Minerals: Putting Communities First for an Inclusive Feminist Future,” is a direct challenge to the big polluters gathering at the Cape Town International Conference Centre to be held accountable as an industry that is one of the biggest drivers of economic inequality, environmental destruction, human rights abuses, gender inequality, and conflict.
Notes to Editors:
Oxfam works with communities impacted by mining, oil, and gas projects to hold powerful actors accountable-governments, companies, and financial institutions. Today, we partner with local organisations in approximately 30 countries around the world to fight inequality and defend the rights of communities and people affected by extractive industries.
For media interviews, please contact:
Email: gail.smith@oxfam.org.za, Tel: (+27) 82 561 3878
Email: philani.ndebele@oxfam.org.za Tel: (+27) 76 942 3565
