Australian Youth Climate Coalition

More pics from strategy session

2008-02-09T12:53:00.001-08:00

Photos from AYCC Strategy Session 2-3rd Feb

2008-02-09T12:21:00.000-08:00

New AYCC website

2007-02-14T14:50:00.000-08:00

The new AYCC website is www.youthclimatecoalition.org
This one will no longer be updated!

Hi everyone,

* Please distribute to your networks and members*

We all know climate change is a huge problem, and will require strongaction to ensure a transition to a clean energy future. The time to take action is now, and we need your voice, your energy, and your helpto make it happen. What better day to put some pressure on ourpoliticans and let them know that climate change is a priority forAustralian youth than World Kyoto Day – this Friday. This Friday 16th February the Australian Youth Climate Coalition(AYCC) is launching a cinema ad and a youth declaration on climatechange.

The Youth Climate Coalition is a non-partisan coalition aiming to mobilise young people to demand immediate and meaningful action onclimate change by government and private sector leaders. We have developed a kick-ass cinema ad that will be screened in cinemas allover Australia, starting with Bondi and Randwick, the electorates of Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Federal ShadowEnvironment Minister Peter Garrett.

Pilot Training Day Great Success

2007-02-11T20:41:00.000-08:00

The first Training Day for Youth Climate Organisers was held in Erskineville yesterday. Organised by the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, the training day was created to support young people intending to get active on climate change. While most of the 17 trainees were from New South Wales, some travelled from as far afield as Melbourne and Brisbane for the day to learn how to effectively target the issue.

Presenters included John Kaye, who with his extensive knowledge of the renewable energy industry, highlighted the problems with unproven technologies such as geosequestration and current government nonsolutions such as an Australian nuclear energy industry.

Although the training day was the first event organised by the AYCC, feedback was overwhelmingly positive

“Good tight structuring. Facilitating and organising was excellent.”
“Comfortable, inclusive atmosphere.”
“Great presenters – knowledgeable and enthusiastic…”
“Overall, awesome – inspiring.”

Iniatives such as this are important for the movement as our Government’s inability to implement the necessary reduction targets of carbon and carbon equivalent emissions has generated a common frustration amongst many young Australians. Especially now as climate change has become a key election issue at a state level and nationally, it has become “unavoidable” for some to try to make change as individuals to ensure our climate security.

- Michelle Yang, AYCC Steering Committee Member (Melbourne)

Sydney Youth Climate Organisers Training this Sunday

2007-02-06T22:28:00.000-08:00

Are you aged 17 – 25? Interested in getting involved in climate change activism? The Australian Youth Climate Coalition is running a training program for young people concerned about climate change and wishing to get involved in doing something about it!

Where: Australian Student Environment Office, Erskineville Date: Sunday 11th February 2007 Time: 9am- 6pm

If interested, please email climate.coalition@gmail.com for an application form. Program is below:

Program for Youth Climate Organisers Training Program

Location: Australian Student Environment Network Sydney Office – 19 Eve St, Erskineville

9.00 Welcome to Country
9.15 Introductions & Participants Agreements
9.40 The science and impacts of Climate Change and energy solutions
10.40 Morning Tea
11.00 The Politics of Climate Change in Australia
12.15 Campaign Strategy Training
1.00 Lunch
2.00 Campaign Strategy Training 2
2.45 Break
3.00 Meeting facilitation Training
4.30 The Youth Climate Coalition and Campus Climate Challenge: How can you get involved? 5.30 Evaluation
6.00 Dinner/ drinks at 'The Rose' pub, Erskineville

Volunteers Needed

2007-01-23T22:20:00.000-08:00

Volunteer Positions Open

Designers
· Are you a graphic designer, or know anyone who is?
· We need a logo for the Australian Youth Climate Coalition that is funky, exciting and attention-grabbing. Potential for further project work in the future including developing graphics and design for web page.
· Deadline: Monday 5th February 2006 for the logo

Web Forum Moderators
· As part of the AYCC website we're developing, we will have a 'forum' section where members of the AYCC can contribute, share news, ask questions, and post events.
· We need 8-10 forum moderators from across the country who will check and update the site at least once a day to post interesting, thoughtful, relevant and current material.
· Time requirement: check the site once daily until December 2007
· Deadline: ongoing

Digital Organisers
· DEADLINE Ongoing
· We are looking for good web contractors to work on an ongoing or project basis to help us develop our web page(s). Skills with php, mysql, wordpress, LAMP, drupal, xhtml/css/xml, javascript required.

Local Media Co-ordinators (Launch - February 16th)
· We need at least one person in each city/ town that AYCC has a presence in to co-ordinate local media for the day of the launch.
· This involves: faxing/ emailing out a press release, calling journalists, being prepared to be interviewed on tv/ radio/ newspapers, and compiling all the media that you got on the day.

Trainings for Youth Climate Leaders

2007-01-09T21:46:00.000-08:00

Currently the AYCC steering committee is developing a training curriculum for all young Australians who want to get the skills, knowledge and inspiration to become effective climate advocates. The trainings will be in two sessions, 6 weeks apart, and cover topics including: Climate Science, Impacts and Solutions; The Politics of Climate Change; Developing a campaign strategy; Facilitating a meeting; Media Training; Developing a Theory of Change; and Public Speaking.

The Sydney training is scheduled for Saturday 3rd February (9am - 6pm) and Saturday 3rd March 2007. If you can't wait that long to get trained up, then you can come along to the Australian Student Environment Network Summer Training Camp held in Canberra from January 20th – 25th 2007. It is a five-day training camp for youth activists taking on organising roles in their communities, campus collectives and state networks. We aim to skillshare with new organisers, network between campuses, and develop strong and vibrant networks across Australia for 2007 and beyond! For more information go to http://www.asen.org.au/ and click on Training Camp information. Applications have officially closed but there are a few spots for late applicants (especially from rural and regional areas), so get your skates on!

ps - In case who you're wondering who the beautiful young women in the photo are, they are members of the AYCC having fun at the founding summit! Clare (Brisbane, from UQ Environment Collective; Rosie (Perth, from the United Nations Youth Association WA) and Sophie (Adelaide, from the SA Youth Environment Council).

Australian Youth Take on Climate

2006-12-26T18:37:00.000-08:00

In late November, the national founding summit of the Australian Youth Climate Change Coalition took place in Melbourne. 65 young people aged 15-30 attended, representing 30 different youth and youth-friendly organisations.

Sixty young people representing thirty-five organisations met to develop a joint approach to climate change, to ensure that government takes the issue seriously, rather than just making vague statements, launching token projects, and backing off from real action.

Conference organiser, Anna Rose, 23, said today that, "Global warming is the biggest threat my generation faces. We’ve come together here in Melbourne to create strategies to communicate the concerns we have to politicians and business to make sure they actually take some serious action before its too late”.

“Australia must sign Kyoto and commit to legally binding carbon emission reduction targets, rather than distractions like nuclear, geosequestration and ‘clean coal’. The fossilised government needs to invest in our future through renewable energy.”

Some of the diverse range of young people attending include students, representatives of local youth councils, environment groups, youth media makers, and young business professionals from every state.

"This summit aims to bring together youth representatives who care about climate change to make climate a mainstream issue for young people and send a message to governments that we aren’t impressed with rhetoric - we want change, and we want it now”, stated Simon Sheikh from the United Nations Youth Association.

The coalition organising the event are the Australian Student Environment Centre, GetUp!, United Nations Youth Association and OzGreen. The youth declaration drafted at the summit will be released on the official launch date of the coalition – World Kyoto Day, Feb 16th 2007 – once it has received organisational assent from the groups at the summit.

The five action priorities decided upon by the coalition are: (1) organising youth climate conferences; (2) a national day of youth mobilisation on climate change; (3) a schools and Universities strategy (such as expanding ASEN’s existing campus climate challenge); (4) an elections strategy (eg mobilising young people to enrol to vote and vote for climate-friendly candidates); (5) a ‘making caring about climate change cool’ pop culture campaign to educate and mobilise youth on the issue.

Stay tuned for the official launch of the coalition on Feb 16th, 2007!

Media inquiries contact Anna Rose at climate.coalition@gmail.com

Application Forms Download Link

2006-11-02T01:30:00.000-08:00

www.unya.asn.au/ayccc

Application forms for the youth climate coalition summit can be downloaded from the above link. Application deadline has been extended to WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 8th. Please email your application saved as the name of your group to climate.coalition@gmail.com

In light of Howard's shocking comments today that climate change was just the concern of the "latte drinking set" its up to show him that climate change is a serious issue for all young people - its our future at stake no matter what type of beverage we choose to enjoy! (I don't even drink coffee for the record)- Anna

"Have you heard the Buzz?"

2006-10-19T16:03:00.000-07:00

It's been a long cold winter. And in the freezing offices of a few youth organisations, on the lively patios of a few local pubs, in front of late evening laptops and over burning lines of teleconference, there is a new buzz. There is a new excitement. A new movement is about to be born.

A small but passionate group of young Australians have got together, shaking with excitement at the thought of the difference their alliance can make. Our Vision: to build a coalition of youth and youth-friendly groups that will work together to change the way Australians act and think about climate change and climate justice.

While some politicians apparently think otherwise, climate change is as hot as ever within the circles of young leaders. We have a bright future in this country that won't be stolen by short-term thinking and short lasting political will. We are getting together to build a choir
of strong voices, inspiring and encouraging our leaders to step up to the plate and create innovative policies and actions that address climate change effectively.

It's not too late to turn the political tide in Australia but we need your voice, your energy, and your body in action to do it. If you are involved with an Australian youth group or youth-friendly group that believes climate change and climate justice are an issue for our
generation, we invite you to join us. An initial founding summit is scheduled for November 20th-22nd in Melbourne, and you may be able to attend if you apply before Friday November 3rd. The conference is free and some travel scholarships are available.

For more information or an application form, email climate.coalition@gmail.com

Towards a Clean Energy Future: A Youth Climate Change Coalition

2006-09-28T04:56:00.000-07:00

NOTE DATE CHANGE: 20TH - 22ND NOVEMBER

In 2005, the hottest year on record, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, as well as the cyclones such as Larry in northern Australia, provided a wake-up call for a world still largely asleep to our climate crisis. This awakening, coupled with an unpopular war and rising energy prices, has set the stage for a major shift in public concern over our current energy path, and renewed demand for aggressive action by our political leaders. We stand at a moment of critical opportunity, now ready to build a truly mass movement in Australia to stop climate change and build a clean energy future.

At other times in our history, youth have been the vanguards of such movements. Climate change is quickly becoming the hottest issue for campus organising, and youth are poised to lead the way once again. A major united effort from Australian youth organisations now could unleash tremendous grassroots energy towards making local, state and national change; influence the consumption and voting patterns of the critical 18 – 35 demographic; and inspire thousands of bright young people to become lifelong climate advocates.

The mission of the Youth Climate Coalition is to build a generation-wide movement to stop climate change. Through a carefully targeted strategy, we can help communicate the facts on climate change, along with a sense of hope that solutions are available. By empowering the generation most threatened by climate change to be front and centre in solving it, we can make this an urgent and mainstream issue for society as a whole.

Building such a coalition requires participation from all youth organisations in Australia. No matter what issue their ‘specialty’ issue is, climate change affects our entire generation in every area – health, social justice, poverty and development, economy, and environment.

This is a call-out to youth organisations, and organisations working with youth, to come together to form the most exciting project yet in the history of Australian youth and student organising: an Australian Youth Climate Coalition.

The Youth Organiser’s Summit for the Climate Coalition will be held in Melbourne, 20th-22nd November 2006. The idea is to have one or two representatives from a diverse range of youth organisations present to develop a youth statement on climate change and start creating joint action plans for change. So far, organisations we have contacted include GetUp!.org, Ethnic Communities Council of NSW, National Indigenous Youth Movement of Australia (NIYMA), Oxfam, Vision Generation, Vibewire.net, The Oaktree Foundation, Engineers Without Borders (EWB), the United Nations Youth Association (UNYA), Australian Student Environment Network (ASEN), OzGreen, YAPA, local Youth Councils throughout Australia, and many more.

Organising Collective

2006-09-27T05:36:00.000-07:00

The kick-ass organising team for YCC is:
Anna Rose (Australian Student Enviro Network) Eric Knight (Sydney Uni law student) Wendy Hopkins & Allie Hughes (OzGreen), Richie Merzian (Legal Observer's Project), Shannon Higgs, (Melbourne Uni Climate Collective), Nick Moriatis, (GetUp!.org), Emma Kefford (Law Students for a Just Community), Wenny Theresia (LHMU), Carl Harris (ACON).

More Detail - Youth Climate Change Coalition

2006-09-25T16:32:00.000-07:00

“We are playing Russian roulette with features of the planet's atmosphere that will profoundly impact generations to come. How long are we willing to gamble?” - David Suzuki

OUR VISION:
To build a coalition of youth and youth-friendly groups that will work together to change the way Australians act and think about climate change and climate justice

We invite your organisation to be part of a newly forming coalition of environmental and social justice groups working to build a youth climate coalition in Australia.

We hope that you will join us in catalysing this coalition of Australian youth to:
• pressure our local and national leaders to pass meaningful and effective climate change policy
• mobilise and activate more Australian youth across the country.

Founding Summit– November 19-21, 2006 in Melbourne

We will be hosting a Founding Summit to launch the coalition from November 19-21 to 2006 in Melbourne, Victoria. We hope that a representative from your organisation will be able to attend in order to shape and join this coalition and galvanise a movement of active youth across Australia.

At this summit we aim to:
1. Develop and adopt a coalition mission and operating principles,
2. Identify strategic opportunities for youth involvement and plan coordinated action to affect the political and broader national debate on climate change,
3. Create a Youth Climate Charter that lays out our vision for a clean and just climate future,
4. Engage a broader base of youth in taking action on climate change in their local communities and (when possible) at the regional, national, and international levels.

We are currently raising funds to hold the summit and we hope to have a few scholarships available for travel.

Why a youth climate coalition?

Young people have one of the most legitimate voices to speak out on climate change because it is OUR future that is at stake. The climate does not have time for voluntary commitments; we need drastic reductions, binding commitments and bold leadership today… so we want to build it!!

Fortunately, it’s not too late to turn the political tide in Australia but we need your voice, your energy, and you body in action to do it.

There is no doubt we can solve this problem. In fact, we have a moral obligation to do so. The time to come together to solve this problem is now – IT’S TIME TO TAKE ACTION.

This Coalition will allow us to:

Perform strong, targeted national and local actions to raise awareness and pressure policy makers.
Create and advocate for a better vision of Australia’s future, with broad support and diverse input.
Share knowledge, resources, creativity and good humour to solve the most pressing problem of our generation.
Develop coordinated media and campaign strategies to more effectively communicate the importance of climate change to young Australians.

Why are you telling me all this?

We are writing to you because we would like your organisation’s support and participation in this coalition building process. We want to bring as many different youth voices to the table as we can because this is an issue of national concern and scope while its affects and responses will vary locally.

We need your voice. We need your actions.

I LOVE IT! Now what do I need to do?

#1: Let us know whether you would be able to attend the founding summit November 19-21 in Melbourne. Find the application form attached or email anna.starr.rose@gmail.com or visit www.asen.org.au to get one. Applications are due Wednesday November 1st.

#2: Give us any suggestions or comments to help this process. In particular if you know of any groups working on climate change or energy issues from a social justice perspective, please let us know to invite them to this process in order to make it as diverse and inclusive as possible. Email wennytheresia@yahoo.com.au.

#3: Join one of the five working groups, based on our next steps above (Conference Organisation, Outreach, Drafting the Charter, Taking Action, and Fundraising). Just email anna.starr.rose@gmail.com and tell us which working group you would like to be a part of. You can also request more detailed descriptions of each working group.

#4: Spread the word, and invite others. Provide input into the Youth Climate Charter by emailing us and stay tuned for our request to endorse the Charter once it has been formulated.

In solidarity,

The Youth Climate Coalition Organising Team