Stay Grounded

Over the course of four days, more than 150 people came together across three different continents and online to form new bonds, empower each other and build strategies for resistance in the face of escalating climate and social crises. These were more than just meetings, they were the seeds of a global movement that will continue to grow from Barcelona, Mexico City, and Bangalore.

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In the midst of unprecedented times, while climate breakdown is accelerated by a system hooked on fossil fuels and the super-rich lean on an increasingly powerful far right to defend their power and profits, we gathered to build the resistance.

Anchored in the struggle to counter aviation, we met groups standing up for climate justice and housing rights, battling touristification and all forms of oppression, as well as academics and scientists, among others. Across all struggles, the root cause was clear: capitalism. And the path forward was equally clear: we can only win if we work together to confront and dismantle this system.

Voices from three continents

Our opening session highlighted precisely this diversity and celebrated the diversity and strength of our network. In Barcelona, we heard from Zeroport, the Anti-Oppression Circle, Las Kellys, the European Housing Coalition for the Right to Housing and the City and our host Coopolís/Bloc4. And we went across seas to receive the inputs from groups in Mexico City and Bangalore, about the realities of their struggles, connecting our local fights to a global front.

Local hubs: Mexico City & Bangalore

In San Gregorio de Atlapulco, Mexico City, a youth-driven and inter-generational meeting connected struggles against touristification, aviation impacts and urban gentrification. Coordinated with great care by our regional network Permanecer en la Tierra and linked to the National Indigenous Congress, the event fostered strong ties with anti-COP processes and movements resisting the commodification of cities and territories. For many participants, the conference also reaffirmed the importance of an explicitly anti-capitalist stance within the Stay Grounded network, laying the foundation for stronger collaboration and resistance in Mexico.

Meanwhile, in Bangalore, the conference brought together a diverse mix of participants, from urban planners and land defenders to organisations supporting communities resisting airport expansion and facing displacement. In a country where the political ecology around aviation is largely silent, the gathering created a rare and vital space to raise awareness, build national networks and start charting a collective roadmap for future action.

Diverse panels

Discussions spanned from setting concrete demands for reducing air traffic, to the harms of a tourism model dependent on aviation. Anti-oppression was at the centre, as a necessary anchor that needs to be included into every part of our work. These exchanges sharpened our collective analysis and strengthened our plans to challenge the system fueling climate and social crises.

Workshops & skill-sharing

Hands-on workshops invited participants to explore strategy, narratives, communications, care, crafts and even a collective board game exposing the aviation industry. These spaces bridged creativity and strategy, welcoming everyone, from experienced organisers to newcomers exploring aviation and climate justice for the first time.

Thematic working groups: where vision meets action

Four thematic working groups tackled both systemic analysis and practical movement-building:

• • Aviation, Tourism & Housing – We connected the dots between climate injustice, touristification and the housing crises, recognising their common roots in extractive, neoliberal capitalism. Resistance must centre oppressed communities and rely on joint mobilisations.
  • Red Lines for Airports – Sixteen local airport struggles advanced toward a coordinated Europe-wide campaign, with shared tools, narratives and potential 2026 action waves.
  • Grounded Imaginaries – We envisioned futures beyond aviation and tourism, collecting real-life alternatives to fuel our narratives and movement-building.
  • Movement Skills for the Crisis – We strengthened the human infrastructure of resistance, practicing somatics, consent work and conflict mapping to build resilient, caring networks in the face of climate urgency.

Together, these groups laid the foundation for a movement that is strategic, coordinated, visionary and deeply rooted in climate justice.

Culture, care & community

Moments of music, shared meals and creative expression reminded us that resistance is also about joy, connection and the cultures we defend against extractivism and exploitation. Care and community were woven into every part of the conference and explored deeply in dedicated workshops, ensuring our movements grow not only strong—but sustainable.

From reflection to action

Our time together culminated in collective action. From Barcelona to Roissy and Mexico City, we drew a red line against airport expansion with our bodies and voices, calling out the urgent need to halt aviation growth everywhere.

The final plenary, echoed these strong bonds of solidarity across borders, with a powerful statement from the conference in Mexico City rallying all of us to the struggle ahead: to dismantle capitalism and defend life. We closed the conference renewed in our commitment to move beyond aviation, tourism, and capitalism. Together, we are grounded in care, lifted by solidarity and ready to take flight in resistance.