Capitalism’s failures, from the devastation in Gaza to climate breakdown and the rise of far-right politics, will be at the centre of Ecosocialism 2025, a three-day conference taking place in Melbourne this September. Organised by Green Left and Socialist Alliance, the event will run from Friday 5 to Sunday 7 September at Ballam Ballam Place in Brunswick, on the land of the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation.
The theme, “Ecosocialism not barbarism”, frames the gathering as a chance for activists and thinkers to discuss alternatives to a system organisers say is driving militarism and ecological collapse. They emphasise the need to build mass movements of resistance, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, at a time when Western governments are increasing military budgets instead of addressing climate change.
Keynote speaker Adam Hanieh, a scholar of Middle East political economy and author of Crude Capitalism: Oil, Corporate Power, and the Making of the World Market, will speak on the ties between oil, corporate power, and imperialism.
Among the international speakers is N Sai Balaji, Member of the Central Headquarters of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, former President of the All India Students Association, and former President of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union. He will contribute to two panels at the conference: “Trump, tariffs, NAFTA and the US-China trade war” and “For justice and peace in Southasia: A dialogue between Pakistani & Indian socialists.”
Other featured speakers include Ammar Ali Jan, general secretary of the Haqooq-e-Khalq party in Pakistan; Jess Spear, ecosocialist activist with People Before Profit in Ireland; Merck Maguddayao of the Party of the Labouring Masses in the Philippines; Youngsu Won, coordinator of the International Forum in South Korea; Amanda Shweeta Louis, chair of the youth wing of the Socialist Party of Malaysia; and Sue Bolton, a fourth-term Socialist Alliance councillor in Merri-bek, who recently secured 8 per cent of the vote in the federal seat of Wills.
Alongside the discussions, Green Left is inviting artists to contribute to an exhibition exploring the conference’s theme. The call is for works that imagine a socialist society “in which human and natural life could thrive,” or portray the consequences of capitalism leading to “global barbarism.” Organisers say the exhibition will give socialist and progressive artists a platform to share their visions and engage with a politically active audience.
Ecosocialism 2025 opens at 6.30pm on Friday 5 September and concludes at 5.30pm on Sunday 7 September. Tickets are available via TryBooking, with more details on the conference website.
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