POWERSHIFT. The future starts here

Transcription

1 1 POWERSHIFT The future starts here

2 2 CONTENTS Introduc)on What is Powershi3? Why Do We Need A Powershi3? Timeline How Will Powershi3 Look? 8 9 What Makes Powershi3 Different? 10 What Support is Required 11 Find Out More 11

3 3 INTRODUCTION The challenges we face today due to climate change are unprecedented. An increasingly unstable climate can trigger a growth of extreme and unpredictable weather events crea?ng a chain reac?on of effects causing turmoil for many people and other species. Rising sea levels and resul?ng forced migra?on; changes in rain seasons affec?ng crop growth; or changes in ocean temperatures damaging precious eco systems are but a few examples. It s not surprising that the sheer scale and complexity of the problem o)en leads to apathy, disempowerment or even denial. And that s why the environmental movement needs to give posi?ve support to both inspiring and building the skills of young people to take ac?on and to strengthen its voice and taking forward the solu?ons to prevent further clima?c changes. With the fallout of the UN Copenhagen summit on climate change s?ll being a disappointment to many people, 2011 is an important year for upli)ing and unlocking the poten?al ac?vity for change that groups hold. The opportuni?es are endless if they are seized. So, we are calling for an interna?onal Power Shi). Power Shi) will be simultaneous events mobilising young people in countries across Europe, with training in current climate change issues, building solu?ons to the problems, and empowering them to become community leaders to take forward subsequent ac?on. Power Shi) is modelled on previous summits that have happened globally with successful execu?on. At the same?me, Power Shi) will ac?vely strengthen and broaden a European youth climate movement working in unity for a future we can all look forward to. In order to make this happen, this proposal is cri?cal to gathering the support and commitment of a wide array of players across Europe. We need na?onal policy makers with an understanding of na?onal priori?es, youth organisa?ons with the ambi?on to deliver a Power Shi), and organisa?ons with a reach across the con?nent to support the project. With the pressure ever increasing with climate change, a common direc?on is needed and the?me and appe?te is ripe for fresh opportuni?es to learn and take ac?on. If not us, who? If not now, when? We hope you will join us in making a Power Shi) a reality. Powershi) UK Powershi) Australia

4 4 WHAT IS POWER SHIFT? Power Shi) is 4 day event that brings together young people, youth organisa?ons and partners from all across a country to share and learn the skills and knowledge to become effec?ve, innova?ve and engaging leaders against climate change. A HISTORY OF EMPOWERING YOUTH MOVEMENTS Power Shi) events have been taking place around the world over the past 5 years, and each year it con?nues to mul?ply and grow in its size, ambi?on and crea?vity. Already Power Shi) conferences have been held in India, the UK, America, Canada and Australia that collec?vely mobilised more than 25,000 young people. GOING ONE BETTER Power Shi) Europe aims to go one bewer a con?nent wide event which acts as a catalyst for the crea?on of a new, diverse and connected movement of young people calling for green jobs and a clean energy future whilst crea?ng youth leaders in the process. Led by young people, for young people, Power Shi) 2011 will be a series of mobilisa?ons across a number of European na?ons where young people are trained in community organising, innova?ve communica?ons and sustainable living, whilst also building a European community in the process. STRENGTH IN DIVERSITY Power Shi) events across Europe will awract a combined total of 25,000 50,000 young people between the ages of 18 25, ranging from students to young entrepreneurs, and from experienced campaigners to those who simply come with an interest in protec?ng their futures. Power Shi) will welcome people with an interest in social development, economic opportunity, biodiversity protec?on and even those whose primary interest is increasing youth engagement with European poli?cs. In doing so, these events will show that you don t have to be an environmentalist to be a part of the movement against climate change, indeed we are instead building a movement for an increase in opportuni?es, wealth, health and security. Powershi) Australia

5 5 WHY DO WE NEED A POWER SHIFT? 1@ BECAUSE NATIONAL YOUTH CLIMATE MOVEMENTS NEED A KICK@START. Despite the need for a European movement that recognises the importance of cohesive and united work in order to achieve change at the interna?onal level, many countries are yet to have a unified youth movement at a na?onal level. While the passion, understanding, engagement and crea?vity is there in each country, what has been missing is an ambi?ous and exci?ng event that will raise awareness and bring together young people who share the same vision and kick start a sustainable youth movement on climate climate change. Par?cipants are all poten?al na?onal leaders who need equipping with the skills and confidence to organise on such a large scale and it is through Power Shi) 2011 that this valuable knowledge can be passed peer to peer from young pioneers already making waves in countries around the world. 2@ BECAUSE WE NEED A STRONGER EUROPEAN YOUTH CLIMATE MOVEMENT. For years environmental and climate organisa?ons have tried to unite European campaigning under one banner, one united message that would bring everyone together to create effec?ve and con?nent wide change. But with so many different countries comes a plethora of different languages, campaigning styles and poli?cal, social and economic landscapes. In turn this creates an equally diverse set of demands and messages, fragmen?ng a movement that needs to be cohesive. Young people have the power to overcome these na?onal differences. With the common star?ng point of protec?ng our own futures, we already have the beginnings of an overarching narra?ve one of inves?ng in the jobs, energies and technologies that secure our shared vision of a clean, just society. By crea?ng this unified movement we can create the poli?cal and public mandate for governments, nego?ators and decision makers to invest in the world that we as a wider environmental movement strive for.

6 6 BECAUSE EUROPE NEEDS TO REGAIN IT S POSITION AS A COMPETITIVE LEADER IN A FORWARD@ THINKING SOCIETY. Recognising the need for a shi) to a low carbon sustainable economy, China and India have become embroiled in a great power race to become the world s leading innovator of clean and renewable energy. In stark contrast, Europe is s?ll reeling from the effects of the recession and looks set to fall behind missing a unique opportunity to boost development, provide young people with key transferable skills, increase engagement with democra?c structures, and to reduce our dependency on foreign oil and gas. 4@ BECAUSE WE NEED TO BUILD MOMENTUM, AWARENESS AND ENGAGEMENT IN THE RUN@UP TO COP17. COP16 in Cancun showed that there needs to be some momentum building in the run up to each COP. Nego?ators and poli?cians need to know that the world is watching them and that they need to create an interna?onal agreement that protects our genera?on as well as those to come, and by crea?ng a mass mobilisa?on earlier on in the year, Power Shi) will raise the profile of the Durban mee?ng, and the sense of urgency that the impending Kyoto Gap requires. Powershi) Australia

7 7 TIMELINE JANUARY 2011 Partner organisa?ons will be invited to support the project and become delivery partners. Young people from across Europe will be contacted to take the lead on organising respec?ve na?onal conferences. DECEMBER 2011 United Na?ons climate nego?a?ons taking place in South Africa, COP17. APRIL 2011 Applica?ons by regional leads will be submiwed to the European funders for the European training and seed funding for the na?onal conferences. At the same?me focus will be placed on recrui?ng na?onal organising teams and on working with partner organisa?ons to submit funding applica?ons for the na?onal conferences. MAY 2011 A central team of volunteers visit na?onal organisers to offer support and advice on tailoring the conferences to meet na?onal social, poli?cal and campaigning needs. This will be to ensure the messaging is relevant to young people in those na?ons. SEPTEMBER 2011 Organising, prepara?on and outreach for the na?onal conferences by the na?onal leads and partner organisa?ons. SEPTEMBER 2011 Outreach programme in the final stages with volunteers awending universi?es to generate support for the na?onal conferences. OCTOBER 2011 Mass mobilisa?on of young people across Europe through the Power Shi) programme. Commencement of Power Power Shi) projects. Powershi) UK JANUARY 2012 Mee?ng with all delivery partners and na?onal organisers to evaluate the success of the na?onal events and agree where the European Youth Climate Movement should go next.

8 8 HOW WILL POWER SHIFT LOOK A FOUR-STAGE APPROACH STAGE ONE, TRAINING The first stage is set to take place over the course of the spring of 2011, where a group of young environmental leaders already experienced in building youth climate movements and running Power Shi) events will travel around Europe, working with a core group of organisers in each country to look at: What they would like their Power Shi3 to look like; What messaging, targets and aims work best in each country; How to build a sustainable youth movement in the context of each country s social, poli)cal and campaigning climate and in light of each group s organising capacity. The training will also be used to discuss what specific messaging and narra?ve themes work well in different countries, allowing common threads to emerge (e.g. a 30% emissions reduc?ons target by 2020 or a temperature rise cap of 1.5 degrees etc) which can be used by the movement without aliena?ng audiences. STAGE TWO, ORGANISING Even a)er the trainers have le), these young organisers will be supported by a network of partner organisa?ons as well as a central youth coordina?on team to organise their na?onal Power Shi) conference in October The central organising team will provide overarching support to the growing movement, ac?ng as a focal point for collabora?on with Europe wide organising partners, and for the applica?on and dispersal of European funding. Ideally the team would feature one person from each region (e.g. Balkans, Scandinavia, Central Europe etc) to ensure equitable representa?on by all. STAGE 3, POWER SHIFT Friday: arrival of young people from across their respec?ve countries in a single loca?on ready for a weekend of climate ac?on. Saturday and Sunday: training and workshops aimed at empowering young people to become community leaders.

9 9 Monday: day of ac?on across Europe calling for investment in green jobs and renewable energy, and put their training into ac?on. A central ac?on (with a target audience of 5000+) will take place in Brussels to focus media awen?on and to put pressure on the European decision makers based there. STAGE 4, POST@POWER SHIFT In order to avoid was?ng the energy and skills created through Power Shi) Europe, other sugges?ons are being collated for projects that could be run off the back of Power Shi). Ideas include Adopt an MEP building on the success had by various na?onal Adopt an MP campaigns in Canada and Australia. WHEN? Power Shi) Europe will take place in October 2011 (dates to be confirmed based on a consensus amongst organisers). Powershi) America

10 10 WHAT MAKES POWER SHIFT DIFFERENT? By young people, for young people Unlike many events aimed at young people, this project is en?rely the making of young people. Being so, every event, however small, becomes a symbol of the strength, ambi?on, tenacity and ability of the youth climate movement, and is therefore an inspira?on not just to campaigners and organisa?ons within Europe but to the wider Interna?onal Youth Climate Movement. By avoiding being prescrip?ve we stand a much bewer chance of crea?ng a sustainable movement for ourselves, which we feel ownership over and rightly proud of. A strategic plan for a sustainable outcome Power Shi) isn t just another flash in the pan event. It has come about through strategic planning and has been built with the outcome of a sustainable movement in mind. Taking the training to them By travelling to each group (or if needs be groups of neighbouring countries) individually the quality and usefulness of training will be vastly increased. Too o)en training events ask par?cipants to travel to one hub loca?on to receive a generic set of training which they must then apply to their community. Taking the training to them allows it to be tailored and therefore the chances of success not only in organising a Power Shi) but also in crea?ng sustainable na?onal youth climate movements will be vastly increased. Not just about COP The wider climate movement has, on several occasions, fallen into a trap of concentra?ng on the interna?onal nego?a?ons and pushing for an global climate deal. Whilst this is a vital ac?vity of the climate movement, it shouldn t be the sole focus. Again and again a deal hasn t been struck and the environmental movement becomes down trodden, less ambi?ous, and less able to engage at the grassroots. Power Shi) is designed in a way that includes building the movement towards COP17 in Durban, but is focused on building a sustainable European movement, innova?ve new na?onal movements and on building las?ng collabora?ve projects. By having projects ready to launch off the back of Power Shi) we prevent our first group ac?vity being centered on a UNFCCC event.

11 11 WHAT SUPPORT IS REQUIRED? At the?me of wri?ng this proposal, Power Shi) is s?ll in its early stages. As a result, this document has been prepared for the awen?on of a select number of stakeholders and partner organisa?ons who we believe will be crucial in ensuring that this project is a success. Primarily we are looking to iden?fy a number of organisa?ons who work across the European Union who can support this project as delivery partners assis?ng the many young people from around Europe who are already working to make Power Shi) happen. This support could range from recrui?ng par?cipants to events to ensure they are well awended, to helping organise specific elements of the event such as the day of ac?on on the third and final day. Similarly, environmental organisa?ons with experience in policy, research and communica?ons are crucial to assis?ng the main delivery partner. We are also eagerly looking for young people or youth groups who can and will step forward as the na?onal organisers, receiving training and working with the steering group and na?onal and interna?onal partners to deliver the project. Although we are not directly asking partner organisa?ons for funding, it is a crucial element in ensuring that Power Shi) 2011 is a success. Experience shows that the vast majority of efforts in organising these events is in securing funding, and to help each group overcome this biggest obstacle is vital. The steering group, with specific help from the UK Youth Climate Coali?on will endeavour to submit applica?ons to European grants and funding pots, which would then be used to support the na?onal organisers in submimng applica?ons to domes?c sources. Should you be interested in suppor?ng this project in any capacity, please refer to the contact details below. FIND OUT MORE This project is currently being facilitated by the UK Youth Climate Coali?on. If you want to find out more about Power Shi) 2011, or to discuss other ideas, you can contact Ellie Hopkins, UKYCC Co Director, in the following ways: ellie@ukycc.org PHONE: +44 (0) SKYPE: ellie.ukycc WRITE TO US: Broom Bank, Sandy Lane, Woodbridge, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP13 6LW

12 12 uk youth climate coalition uk youth united for a clean, just future hello@ukycc.org +44(0) facebook.com/ukycc twitter.com/ukycc The UK Youth Climate Coali?on Limited, trading as the UK Youth Climate Coali?on (UKYCC), is a not for profit company limited by guarantee with no share capital. Incorporated on 2nd July 2009, our company number is Our registered address is: Broom Bank, Sandy Lane, LiWle Bealings, Woodbridge, Ipswich, IP13 6LW.