We just shared an update about Power Shift in China, and the equivalent of Taiwan’s Power Shift also took place in July. Here is the report:

This July, the GPS Taiwan team led a successful workshop with more than 200 youth leaders around Taiwan on the climate movement. Since the summer of 2011, the two-day event has been hosted by Taiwan Youth Climate Coalition (TWYCC), Taiwan’s first youth environmental NGO with legal status, under the name of Conference of Youth Taiwan (COYTW), a smaller version of COY held by the youth constituency (YOUNGO) every year prior to the UNFCCC’s Conference of the Parties (COP). The GPS Taiwan team partnered up with TWYCC to incorporate power shift elements learned from GPS Phase 1 in Turkey, placing emphasis on water-related issues as opposed to just climate change, which happens to coincide with the United Nations’ theme this year. Two COYTWs were organized; one at Soochow University in Taipei and the other at Wenzao University in Kaohsiung. More than 130 youths aged 18 to 25 years attended the events.

The main purpose of COYTW is to encourage more youth actions thereby enhancing the momentum of youth climate movement in Taiwan and across the world. The conference always begins with an inspiring speech given by a keynote speaker. The honor was given to Zhi Rong (Eva) Li this year, one of GPS Taiwan’s delegates, who questioned why Taiwan, one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, only had an environmental movement and not a climate change movement. She also questioned why climate change efforts were so scattered both at local and global levels. Climate change has no geographical boundaries and pollution knows no borders; everyone affects and will be affected, which is a surprise why a pressing issue like this is not taking center stage in Taiwan.

The COYTW attendants then proceeded to participate in parallel workshops, each focusing on 10 completely different topics. The workshops were led by young speakers leading the A Hundred Water Stories project, members of the Beautiful Formosa Beach Cleaning Team, past COP delegates who are knowledgeable on the Green Climate Fund, the UNFCCC’s Clean Development Mechanism and the 2013 Climate Justice Project, and a medical student who shared his story on ways a medical students can join the climate movement. All attendants then joined a power shifting action workshop led by Liang-Yi Chang, another of GPS Taiwan’s delegates, where they were put to work in different teams to formulate different actions on how to engage the public. The teams then took to the streets to implement their planned actions and return to the main venue to share the highlights of their experiences. They not only performed flash mobs, but also gathered signatures for a petition formulated during the workshop.

Planning and hosting COYTW is no easy task, especially for a relatively new youth NGO with limited funding. TWYCC and the GPS Taiwan team agreed to make this event free of charge to students, as they believe environmental education should not have a price tag. Aside from funding challenges, the GPS Taiwan team also experienced minor setbacks co-hosting the event in Taipei, as the island was hit by typhoon Soulik during mid-July. The Taipei workshops had to be readjusted and condensed into one day. Nevertheless, it still received more participants than expected. The GPS Taiwan team will continue their work on supporting the A Hundred Water Stories project until the end of 2013, collecting local water-related stories from all corners of Taiwan to bring to light the urgency of developing efficient policies for climate change and water.

Stay tuned for more to come from Taiwan!