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Canadian Youth Climate Change Summit
Sept. 8-10th in Toronto
Hello!
I'm writing in regards to the Canadian Youth Climate Change Summit, which will be
held in Toronto (Sept 8-10). This will also be the founding meeting of
a national climate change coalition. We are trying to bring together a
group of young people with different organizational focuses to: form a
climate change plan with the input of a broad group of people, convince
the government that broad swaths of the population care about climate
change, and figure out ways to take action.
If you chose not to send a member to the conference, your help is still
invaluable in the following ways:
* Sending input on the Youth Climate Charter
* Joining our Action/Campaign planning and implementation group
* Adding your organization to the list of supporters
The email below has more information the Coalition. Please don't
hesitate to contact me with questions. We would really value your
participation, you bring many strengths and a valuable knowledge base to
the table.
Thank you,
Barbara Hayes
416-821-2560
*"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
We want to invite your organization to be part of a newly forming
coalition of environmental and social justice groups working to build a
youth climate coalition in Canada.
*OUR VISION: *
*to build a coalition of youth and youth-friendly groups *
*that will work together to change the way Canadians act and think *
*about climate change and climate justice.*
We hope that you will join us in catalyzing this coalition of Canadian
youth to pressure our local and national leaders to pass meaningful
policy and to join with us mobilize and activate more Canadian youth
across the country.
Founding Summit-- September 8-10, 2006 in Toronto ON
We will be hosting a Founding Summit to launch the coalition from Friday
September 8 to Sunday September 10, 2006 in Toronto ON (Friday --
Sunday). We hope that a representative from your organization will be
able to attend in order to shape and join this coalition and galvanize a
movement of active youth across Canada.
(See http://www.globalexchange.org/war_peace_democracy/oil/cycc.html for more
details).
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, and
4. engage a broader base of youth in taking action on climate change in
their local communities and (when possible and appropriate) 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 Canada 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 Canada'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 communicated the importance of climate change to young
Canadians.
*The Story so Far...*
In early June members of the Environement Jeunesse, Global Exchange,
Indigenous Environmental Network, Sierra Youth Coalition, and Youth
Environment Network came together to try to address the Canadian
government's unwillingness to exceed (or even meet) our commitments
under the Kyoto protocol, the continued development of the Alberta Tar
Sands and our continued reliance on oil, coal, nuclear and other dirty
energy sources across the country, and to talk about how to kick start a
national coalition of youth to address the most pressing issue of our
times -- human induced global climate change.
The result of that conversation generated a profound conclusion: This is
the challenge of our generation -- acting together, we can substantially
improve Canada's mitigation of climate change, and save our future in
the process. We need everyone concerned about our future to come
together and create a movement too strong to be denied.
*Why are you telling me all this? *
We are writing to you because we would like your organization 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 they would be able to attend the founding summit
September 8-10 in Toronto ON. Find the application form attached or
email Aftab.erfan@mail.mcgill.ca
or
visit http://www.globalexchange.org/war_peace_democracy/oil/cycc.html to
get one. *Applications are due Friday Aug 18th *.
#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 jeca.glorbell@gmail.com or call 416-822-1216.
#3: join one of the four *working groups*, based on our next steps above
(Conference Organization, Outreach, Drafting the Charter, Taking Action,
and Fundraising). Just email jeca.glorbell@gmail.com
or mike at itstimetoriseup@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, invite others and circulate the action guide available at:
http://www.globalexchange.org/war_peace_democracy/oil/Canadians.html and www.syc-cjs.org/sustainable
Provide input into the Youth Climate Charter by emailing
Claire_stockwell@yahoo.ca
and stay tuned
for our request to endorse the Charter once it has been formulated.
For updates on the youth climate coalition please visit us at www.energyaction.net/canada
Hope to see you soon,
In solidarity,
Youth Climate Coalition Committee
Aftab, Ben, Barbara, Clayton, Elaine, Elissa, Elizabeth, Jeca, Jenn,
Jérôme, Joanna, Lindsay, Liz, Mallory, Meredith, Mike, Patrick, Rosa and
Zoë
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