Achievements
2009
In 2009 we aimed to build the Australian youth climate movement to become one of the strongest in the world.
We conducted three major projects:
- Power Shift – Australia’s first national youth climate summit, with 1500 youth leaders
- Youth Decide – the world’s first national youth vote on climate change (with World Vision)
- AYCC International – Australian Youth Delegation to the United Nations Climate Conference
We conducted three minor projects:
- Project Survival Pacific – A support program for Pacific Island youth and Pacific Island government’s to elevate vulnerable voices in the international debate.
- Switched On Schools – A national schools program of speakers, school conferences and mentoring.
- Youth Climate Leadership Program – A national youth training and leadership program.
We conducted significant advocacy work (meeting many major global and domestic players), gained national media coverage and profiling throughout the year and grew our membership from 5000 to 50,000 and our volunteers to 2000. Youth Decide was the second biggest youth mobilization on climate in the world and the biggest on a per capita basis.
Key successes:
- Building a youth movement:
o 50,000 individual members (ten fold increase from 5,000 at the start of 2009)
o 30 youth organisation members
o 37,400 youth participated in AYCC campaigns.
o Over 25,000 youth participated in our events
o Over 2000 young people had the opportunity to work on our projects in 2009
- Media profile
o AYCC reached approximately 2 million people through the Australian media outlets included: 7pm Project, Lateline, Q and A, ABC national, state and local news radio, ABC2 Breakfast, Radio National Life Matters, Channel 10 Weather, all major TV news channels, Triple J Hack, Dolly, Girlfriend, The Melbourne Magazine, The Sydney Magazine and local papers throughout the country.
o Three climate change ads shown on Channel 10 and 1 on Sky
o Our “Westpac spoof” most viewed video on Fairfax for the 1st week in Copenhagen (150,000 views)
o 45th most viewed non-profit youtube channel in the world (155,000 views)
- Partnerships
o Youth organisations
o Ambassadors
o Climate movement
o Universities
- Advocacy: avenues to decisions makers
o In 2009 we met with most of the key decision makers including: Prime Minister Rudd; Climate Minister Wong (5 meetings in 2009); Environment Minister Garrett; Shadow Climate Minister Hunt; Martin Parkinson, head of the Department of Climate Change; Premier Brumby; Premier Rann; Premier Rees; Senator Milne; Senator Xenophon – to name only some!
o We also met and built relationships with key influencers, for instance Dr Pachauri, Prince William; Victorian Governor De Krester; Tim Flannery and U.S. Ambassador to Australia Jeffrey Bleich
- Doing things differently
o Not just the usual crowd: AYCC is truly a DIVERSE movement
o Using internet based tools and strategies
o Volunteer/organiser opportunities and involvement
We completed an ambitious agenda in 2009, which was recognised with the award of the Banksia Foundation Environment Minister’s Young Environmentalist of the Year to Co-Directors Amanda McKenzie & Anna Rose, and Switched On Schools Director Ellen Sandell.
2007 & 2008
Achievements of the Coalition include:
· Founding Summit: A founding Summit held in Melbourne in November 2006 was attended by more than fifty youth leaders from thirty organisations. Over three days, attendees were given factual information on climate change, discussed how they could reduce their personal carbon footprint, wrote a policy declaration articulating a shared vision for action and change on climate change, and developed a structure for the AYCC.
· Cinema advertisement: Two months later, the Coalition launched with a powerful cinema advertisement featuring young people from across Australia speaking about the impacts of climate change and the need for action. We purchased 200 screenings of the ad during targeted sessions at cinemas in the electorates of then Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull and opposition spokesperson Peter Garrett.
· Official launch: The official launch took place around the country on 17 February 2007, World Environment Day. In Sydney, Channel Seven’s Sunrise program made two live crosses to youth gathered on Bondi Beach, interviewing AYCC committee members and playing the cinema advertisement. Further events were held in Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, Hobart and Brisbane to present the declaration to politicians and city councillors.
· Live Earth: The Live Earth concerts were held simultaneously on seven continents in 2007 to raise awareness about climate change. The Coalition participated in NGO planning for the Sydney concert and had a strong presence at the event, including a stall and a roaming Polar Bear mascot. We provided discounted tickets to young climate activists.
· Adopt-A-Politician: With 2007 being a Federal Election year, the Youth Climate Coalition developed a non-partisan campaign called Adopt-A-Politician to put local and national pressure on politicians to make serious policy commitments on climate change. Central to the campaign was an interactive website, a Facebook group, and a weekly email/SMS with simple ways to get involved, as well as posters, stickers, and stalls. We employed local organisers in marginal electorates – Stirling and Hasluck (WA), Makin and Adelaide (SA), and Wentworth and Lindsay (NSW) – to develop grassroots activities, including meetings with almost all the candidates. AYCC also co-organised a large youth presence at the Walk Against Warming.
· Parliament House panel: A major youth event was held on 9 August 2007 at Parliament House, Canberra. More than 300 young people came along on the day, many of whom were recruited through Facebook. Music and presentations from key speakers outside Parliament were followed by a panel discussion inside featuring Lynn Allison (Democrats), Barnaby Joyce (Nationals), Bob McMullan (ALP), Christine Milne (Greens) and Russell Broadbent (Liberal Party).
· Training & Resource Sharing workshop: AYCC’s education program seeks to strengthen our member groups’ existing efforts and fill gaps in the climate change education area. A national two-day training workshop was held in early October 2007, facilitated by The Change Agency. The workshop provided practical skills for the youth leaders present to become better ‘climate messengers’ and train others, as well as space to share each group’s experiences and resources with school-based climate education. A plan was also developed to facilitate further collaboration in 2008.
· Switched On conference: Also in 2007, one hundred high school and university students from across the country came together in the Blue Mountains for a four-day conference organised by the Australian Student Environment Network (ASEN) and AYCC exploring climate change issues and action. Targeted at young people relatively new to climate activism, the conference provided solid background information on climate change, practical skills workshops, a friendly atmosphere for leadership development, and a framework to take back to schools and universities.
· Action Kit: Working together with ASEN, the AYCC has created a vibrant curriculum resource including action tips, posters, stickers and other materials designed as a onestop package for new AYCC volunteers, teachers and students in peer-education initiatives. The kit is currently being piloted by the Switched On Schools participants and will be further developed in the coming year.
· United Nations delegations: In December 2007, AYCC sent a ten person delegation to the United Nations conference on climate change in Bali. Delegation members kept in close contact with the Australian government, spoke to the conference plenary, organised a powerful photo opportunity that received international media coverage, and helped coordinate an International Youth Conference for youth from around the world. One year on, AYCC increased its presence at the UN negotiations by sending twenty people to the international climate conference held in Poland in December 2008.
