Powershift for Australian Youth
The Australian Youth Climate Coalition is kicking goal after goal. Their latest project, PowerShift, a national conference for youth concerned about climate change, promises to be a seminal event in the Australian Youth calendar. The event is being held at the University of Western Sydney, Parramatta Campus from Saturday 11 July to Monday 13 July 2009.
What’s happening
Trainings: Conference attendees will learn the best practices of climate organising, including: campaign and event planning, recruitment, media, public speaking, lobbying, leadership development, coalition-building, campaign strategy, and community and campus organising.
Keynote Speakers & Bands: Attendees will be energised by leaders of the climate movement in Australia and worldwide. Speakers include Dr Tim Flannery, author of The Weather Makers, and Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Well-known Australian artists will help us celebrate our movement to solve climate change with a Saturday night concert.
State/Regional Break-Outs: After splitting into geographically-based groups, youth will identify upcoming state and regional opportunities to realise tangible climate progress and plan coordinated campaigns and events to make them happen. We will also facilitate the coordination of upcoming youth actions on climate change across the country.
Presentations: Diverse speakers will enlighten youth about the connections between Climate and Faith, International Security and Climate Change, How Combating Climate Change Leads to Job Creation, Climate Change from Indigenous peoples’ Perspectives, and many more presentations that will help build our movement and add new perspectives to the discussion.
Green Job Fair: Employers on the cutting edge of our energy transition will meet youth looking for the jobs of tomorrow in non-profit, clean energy, and other sustainably-focused sectors. We have invited the Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard to open the career fair.
2010 and Beyond: Leaders of all major parties – candidates for the Prime Minister of Australia at the next election – have been invited speak to their plan to reduce Australia’s GHG emissions to safe levels, forcing them to justify their policies to the generation that will be most affected by them.
Powershift defies the contemporary view of youth as a bunch of Gen-Y slackers looking shortcut their way to the top. The event has been planned meticulously and seeks to truly inspire informed behavioural change across the country. I know many young people who really do see their future imperilled by the policies of their elders, and who see the best hope for change being their own actions. Ticket prices are cheap and there will be competitions in the lead-up to Power Shift with the chance to win tickets. Register your interest now! — DS