Global Power Shift

Thailand Power Shift Video!

Even before the event was fully finished, the incredible Thailand Power Shift team put together this video from their event!

Thailand Power Shift

We are joining 60 climate leaders and activists across Thailand. Thailand Power Shift highlights the need for grassroots collective action while linking it to the global efforts to shift power beyond dirty and destructive energy sources like coal and mega-dams.

Last night, the room radiates with so much love and hope as we lit a candle remembering the survivors and victims of Typhoon Haiyan. Participants send out their hearts to the Philippines as they stood up for Climate Justice. Participants from frontline communities also shared their local stories and determination to take action.

It was an amazing day and now we are headed to Day 2. According to Supanuth Bell, 350 Thailand Team Leader, “…if we move people’s hearts, we can move the world!”  And I couldn’t agree with her more. We needed people whose hearts are ready and open to change the world.

Follow #ThailandPowerShift on Twitter and Facebook at Thailand Power Shift.

Rwandan GPS team keeps growing

Valentine Dushimiyimana was the unique participant selected to attend the Istanbul summit last June from Rwanda. This country is among those where tough decisions have to be made to select only one talented and skilled applicant for phase 1. However, this 27 year-old young lady worked hard and demonstrated competency and leadership.

Valentine with other activists from different organizations successfully filled in the country mapping document and developed the national strategic plan. She was the team leader who mobilized her peers in collecting and uploading the critical data needed for future plans development. Moreover, since her return from Istanbul, Valentine continued to grow the number of supporters and allies to the Power Shift initiative. Experienced and talented young professionals from various groups, private and public organizations are now coming together under a new group called “Rwanda Green Initiative’, the group behind Power Shift Initiative in Rwanda. (more…)

Taking That First Step Together

In the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, a group was formed with like-minded people interested in helping the environment, going past national climate change efforts to focus on helping people and students in rural areas. Because they are so poor, they don’t have much time to think about their education. Not enough education means that they’re not aware of how best to maintain their environment for a better future, especially important since most of the impacts of climate change occur in their rural areas. And yet, at the same time, many people still require assistance in their day-to-day lives: some places don’t have enough food or water for survival.

People living in the countryside have always faced challenges with food, water, and climate change. They don’t have any food security, water security (by virtue of its scarcity), health security, or security for their livelihoods and development out of poverty. No matter how hard it is to solve the problems they pose, they must do so every day without the assistance education. Given this situation, if we want our friends in the countryside to take climate change matters into their own hands we need to support them in their struggles for basic needs before taking our message to them.

Our Myanmar Youth Group brought together people willing to help our environment and travel to meet monthly. We are not only focusing on climate change but also initiatives to donate books and other supplies for students living in rural areas, with the ultimate goal of raising awareness in youth as a part of our plans for Global Power Shift Phase 2 in Myanmar. The youth are the most important people in creating our better future. If they know why climate change is so important today, they will care for our environment tomorrow as adults. It’s our way of sustaining the environment.

So, we did what we could for the environment. On August 25th, 2013, we visited a school two-hours by bus from Yangon, also known as Rangoon. Most of the students are very poor and had limited knowledge on environmental topics. Following our Phase 2 plan, we tried to change that by providing these countryside students with environmental awareness. Before we visited the school we had arranged to provide many games and activities related to climate change. Unfortunately, we couldn’t communicate our message too much because of the weather and time considerations.

Our group has decided to motivate students just like these, the poor and undereducated, while providing them with knowledge on the environment so they can create their own positive actions and activities. This event was our own first activity, a first step in the fight requiring many steps for a better future.

(Post by Myo Myat Min, our GPS participant from Myanmar. Special thanks to Susan Kim who helped with the editing)

60 Leaders. 20 Cities and Provinces. 1 Shared Belief

Over 60 enthusiastic participants attended I AM A CLIMATE CITIZEN, a national workshop for young leaders acting on climate change. The closing ceremony was a great success and was held on October 4th, 2013 at the ERC International Institute (88 Huynh Van Banh Str., Ward 15, Phu Nhuan Dist., Ho Chi Minh City).

The participants are all youth, the youngest being born in 1997, from twenty of Vietnam’s cities and provinces. They all differed in race, religion, perspectives, and beliefs, but each of them had two difficult rounds of screening to go through. Some of them are 350.org members, others knew some basic information about climate change, while some were simply ambitious youngers. Regardless, they came together in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) for four days to meet and connect.

After the press conference hosted by 350.org Vietnam, I AM A CLIMATE CITIZEN was one of the first Vietnam Power Shift events to come forward under the patronization of CHANGE, a local NGO working on climate change and sustainability. It was also the first workshop about climate change that attracted such a varied and large number of participants. After joining our workshop, these leaders had the essential knowledge and skills to develop local climate movements in their hometowns.

Mrs. Hong Hoang, 350.org East Asia Organizer, said, “Our secured budget for the workshop would have been just enough for about 20-25 participants from the same region. We held many meetings with the core team to come to a decision that 60 young leaders from throughout the country will join with an unchanged budget. I believe in the power of people in grassroots movements, and so we need to engage and build capacity for young people from as many communities as possible”.

“In order to make that possible, we mobilized all possible resources: a parish in the city provided their rooms, and built two new toilets and set up Wi-Fi network to host 40 of the participants; milk was donated from a big corporation, and location by ERC International Institute. Our volunteers have learned how to build a community movement relying on the support of the communities, and that’s a key skill they should have to sustain our movement,” she added.

Workshop guests and speakers generously agreed to cover their own accommodation expenses without complaint. The partner NGOs and organizations including CECEM, ICS, LIN, Flyingbay Art Creation Center, Board of Youth of Vietnam Television, and Water.nl each sent their best speakers and trainers to the workshop. The workshop’s agenda was composed of 11 main training sessions, 6 optional sessions, and many regional sessions, which were all customized to fit with the participants’ capacities and expectations, to include essential topics such as campaign building, project management, power mapping, diversity, communication strategies, creative campaigning, digital campaigning, public speaking, funding, and of course, leadership.

Approximately ten music clubs from ten universities, and some favorite pop stars, joined the Singing for Climate event on the third evening, attracting nearly 500 youths and the media to come and learn about Vietnam Power Shift.

The workshop forged a strong alliance among the “Climate Citizens.” They may not be professionals but we’re certain that their passion will make them great leaders, daring to think and act for a common belief. After coming back to their homes, they have been keeping in close touch, and are planning their provincial actions for the coming National Day of Actions for Energy and Climate on 10 November.