Today the global youth powered up for Young and Future Leaders Day! Yay! It is to celebrate that YOUNGO finally became a constituency. Because of this constituency status YOUNGO was able to get funding and give out shirts to any/all YOUNGO members. They are awesome bright orange shirts that youth wore today so that we cou
ld be recognized. On the front they say, "How old will you be in 2050?" (which is a common youth slogan for climate change) and the back says (in brackets), "Don't bracket our future." It was really amazing to see so many people wearing these orange shirts today. They really stood out against everyone's black business clothes. I never realized how many youth there really were until today because most of us had been dressing up everyday. Katie, Deon, Jessica, Mr. Johnson (tall) and I are in this picture above. See if you can spot us!
A ton of other youth actions have been happening today even starting with last night.
Last night: There was a meeting held here in Copenhagen with American's for Prosperity that was a meeting that was set up by American climate skeptics. US youth delegates went and crashed the event by going to the meeting in stealth mode and then loudly displaying their message. Here's an amazing video of what happened.
Outside of the Bella Center this morning: US youth again did an action where they stood outside in as little clothes as possible, some people were in their boxers and underwear and they were wearing orange youth scarfs. And just so you know it's about 40 degress here, which is pretty cold when you are standing outside in almost nothing. Everyone involved chanted things like "Don't leave us out in the cold," to show how youth are important towards this COP and how they deserve to be able to make decisions.
Around 2 o'clock today: Between two halls in the conference center about 75 youth got together in their orange shirts and did a raindance which Jessica and I participated in. A raindance is just where you make noises to sound like rain such as snapping, rubbing your hands together, chest beating, and feet stomping. This may sound a little disorganized but there was one person conducting the group and it actually sounded really cool and much like rain. A banner was held up that said "We will not die quietly." After the dance two youth spoke about climate change in their home countries which were the Maldives and Fiji. "...this isn't just about science, it's about people," said the woman from Fiji. This is a super long video with the dance and the speakers, worth taking a look at.
ld be recognized. On the front they say, "How old will you be in 2050?" (which is a common youth slogan for climate change) and the back says (in brackets), "Don't bracket our future." It was really amazing to see so many people wearing these orange shirts today. They really stood out against everyone's black business clothes. I never realized how many youth there really were until today because most of us had been dressing up everyday. Katie, Deon, Jessica, Mr. Johnson (tall) and I are in this picture above. See if you can spot us!A ton of other youth actions have been happening today even starting with last night.
Last night: There was a meeting held here in Copenhagen with American's for Prosperity that was a meeting that was set up by American climate skeptics. US youth delegates went and crashed the event by going to the meeting in stealth mode and then loudly displaying their message. Here's an amazing video of what happened.
Outside of the Bella Center this morning: US youth again did an action where they stood outside in as little clothes as possible, some people were in their boxers and underwear and they were wearing orange youth scarfs. And just so you know it's about 40 degress here, which is pretty cold when you are standing outside in almost nothing. Everyone involved chanted things like "Don't leave us out in the cold," to show how youth are important towards this COP and how they deserve to be able to make decisions.
Around 2 o'clock today: Between two halls in the conference center about 75 youth got together in their orange shirts and did a raindance which Jessica and I participated in. A raindance is just where you make noises to sound like rain such as snapping, rubbing your hands together, chest beating, and feet stomping. This may sound a little disorganized but there was one person conducting the group and it actually sounded really cool and much like rain. A banner was held up that said "We will not die quietly." After the dance two youth spoke about climate change in their home countries which were the Maldives and Fiji. "...this isn't just about science, it's about people," said the woman from Fiji. This is a super long video with the dance and the speakers, worth taking a look at.
2 comments:
Good job on the reporting Tara:
Your decriptions along with the youtube footage gives a much better sense of what it is like to be there. I wonder if all of the energy focused on getting media attention puts the various groups in an ackward situation. To get noticed you have to do things that lean a bit towards spectacle. Specacle doesn't lend itself too well to honest discourse which is what many groups would say is the ultimate goal. To get a seat at the table you need to get noticed. Unfortunatley, how you get noticed is what will later define you.
I thought two of the three events you described seemed to do a good job of getting the observers to think outside the lines of strict policy and economic flow charts which tends to be a bit dry. It put a little bit of soul and humanity on what the UN talks are all about.
The youth group which "crashed" the Americans for Prosperity meeting succedded only in gaining sypampathy for the A for P. It was no doubt a great event for them to have youtube footage of their meeting disrupted by the youth who clearly didn't want any kind of an open dialog on their differences in opinion. Don't be too suprized if the A for P uses the event in Copenhagen as a way to spur for future fundraising.
Keep up the good work.
Nathan Nelson - Northfield, Minnesota
Thanks for your input Mr. Nelson! It's so great that we have people back home who are helping to support us and keeping tuned into the blog, it means a lot. :]
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