The election outcome is undecided, but one thing is certain: beyond the politics and headlines of the campaign, we’ve seen something incredible. It’s the beginning of an unstoppable movement of young people who, no matter who is in power, are joining forces and throwing every ounce of energy into solving the climate crisis.

I want to pause for a moment to thank every single person who has been involved and celebrate what we have achieved in the last month.

Our Climate Elephant, and his uncanny ability to pop up everywhere on the campaign trail, became a national symbol for the failure of big party politics to act on climate change. He was kicked out of one of Tony Abbott’s press conferences wearing red budgie smugglers, scored a surprise interview on Sky News and joined forces with a 400kg fiberglass friend to drive the message home on election day. He was covered by every major media outlet and received no less than a pat, hug and standing invitation to Canberra from Prime Minister Julia Gillard!

Over three weekends, more than 600 young leaders from across the country attended Power Shift summits in Adelaide Canberra and Geelong, where they learned about cutting-edge science and solutions, connected with new friends and were inspired to take action in their communities.

Nearly 6000 people signed up to our cheeky Power Vote initiative and politicians offices around the country were inundated with our climate action robocalls, ruffling more than a few feathers.

We reached millions of people though media coverage on Channel 10, Sky News and major newspapers; sent groups of superheroes knocking on doors; staged flashdances; held beach parties; dropped huge banners and talked to our grandparents about their role in solving the climate crisis. We also reached out to thousands of our friends online at digital doorknocking parties, made hilarious movies and that was all before election day!

We used our amazing grassroots network and online community to get our smile-o-meter scorecard out to tens of thousands of young voters, making sure they walked up to the ballot box knowing exactly where each party stands on climate change.

Over four inspiring, fun, and unforgettable weeks, one thing was clear. Young people want a clear plan to reduce Australia’s pollution, they want it now, and they are prepared to try just about anything to get it.

So where to from here?

Record numbers of people have turned away from the major parties, particularly towards Independents and The Greens and we are undoubtedly entering a new era of politics. We’ve made contact with the key Independent members and The Greens and we will be seeking to form relationships with new MPs over the coming weeks before sending a youth lobby team to Canberra.

So no matter who ends up in the lodge in the coming weeks, we know that we have the momentum, energy and support to hold them to account and get real action on climate change.

Thank you for eveything you do!

––Claire Snyder, AYCC Online Director

Share

Share

Share

Share

“From coal and oil | to wind and sun | this Power Shift | it has begun.” On the last day of Power Shift, marching with hundreds of others along Adelaide’s North Terrace, I quickly handed out our election scorecards to people who had stopped to watch the sight. Power Shift had taken to the streets and, beating drums, chanting, the attendees were making their voices heard. For too long we had stood by while politicians fiddled at the edges and offered us empty rhetoric instead of real steps. In taking action on that day, we built upon all that we’d learned at Power Shift so far and steeled ourselves for the three weeks lying before us – three weeks during which we as young people can act in unison to take Australia forward and reduce pollution.

July 30th was the last day of my life before Power Shift 2010 Adelaide.

In bed that night, I thought back to June 2nd – barely 8 weeks earlier, when Adelaide had hosted a ‘Power Shift Strategy Session’. Attended by almost 20 eager volunteers, the session began a recruitment journey during which every member of the group would challenge themselves, connect with others, and spread a simple message: that Power Shift will give us the tools to build a generation-wide movement to solve the climate crisis.

This post isn’t about the amazing work of all the volunteers in the lead-up to Power Shift 2010 Adelaide though. This post is about the amazing work of all those who made Adelaide’s Power Shift the sensational experience that it was – the participants.

On the morning of Saturday July 31st, I shivered with trepidation as people lined up to register. I handed out Power Shift booklets and chatted with these people about what they were thinking and feeling. Some of these people had heard a talk in their school, or had friends who had talked to them about it. Others had simply got an email or seen a poster, and, perhaps with some hesitation, decided to come along. They were pretty excited, and I was too, as I thought about what lay ahead for us.

Over the next two days, all of us were part of the experience that was Power Shift. I witnessed and heard accounts of registrants experiencing ‘climate moments those flashes of insight in to either the worst of what “climate change” means, or the best of what the future can hold, revealed by the committed people who are doing their utmost to stop the crisis. Scores of young people who have known that the threat of climate change demands a response, who have been yearning to learn how to influence their school, their friends, their politicians, learned things like theories of change, how to communicate climate change, how to engage with voters and how to organise in their communities.

Most importantly, everyone had the chance to take part in a ‘regional break-out’. This part of Power Shift gave people a chance to meet and strategise with people from their own region, coming up with a plan for how to use the upcoming election to achieve better outcomes for the climate. For many, these regional break-outs were an unprecedented step in giving them an opportunity to take what they had heard and learned and to put it in to action. The regional break-outs meant that people didn’t just leave Power Shift with great memories and a recycled-paper booklet. People left Power Shift as members of capable and committed groups, many of them already coming up with plans to take action before the election.

The night before Power Shift, I wasn’t just thrilled by the concept of the next two days. For me, the most inspirational vision was of what the Australian Youth Climate Coalition could be in South Australia in the next few weeks and months. I imagined teams of passionate regional volunteers, in tandem with staff and volunteers across Australia, encouraging people to, when they vote, take responsibility and vote for climate leaders. I imagined these people going back to their schools, faculties, councils and colleges and talking about what they’d learned at Power Shift, engaging others. I imagined these people developing, challenging themselves, and taking on more and more ambitious activities – pushing for the safe climate future we deserve.

The Australian Youth Climate Coalition began in somebody’s imagination, a mere vision of what could be. It now is a reality, of tens of thousands of members, of thousands of volunteers, and it has touched the lives of millions. Similarly, the AYCC SA was once just a dream. It now is a reality, appearing in the media, getting active in communities and, through Power Shift, empowering and mobilising young people from all over the state.

A carbon-neutral Australia, powered by clean, safe sources of power that never run out, populated by healthy, politically-engaged people, serviced by efficient and available public transport, resplendent with biodiversity and natural beauty, prosperous from investment in the technology of the future, is something that, as yet, I can only imagine. For me, Power Shift brought that vision a little bit closer. And in time to come, as we continue to build a generation-wide movement to solve the climate crisis, we can, too, make this vision a reality.

–Joel Dignam is the AYCC’s SA Co-coordinator

AYCC will be joining Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott in this year's election race.

Today the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) launched a national youth-run election campaign in response to Prime Minister Gillard’s announcement that Labor will not reconsider a carbon-trading scheme until at least 2013.

‘We have 53,000 members, who are disappointed that Gillard hasn’t put climate action seriously back on the agenda. Given community backlash after Kevin Rudd shelved the emissions trading scheme, this is a pretty dangerous move’, said AYCC National Director Amanda McKenzie. ‘Our election campaign will mobilise thousands young people to speak to both voters and politicians about the need for stronger climate action.’

In response to Gillard’s announcement yesterday, the AYCC today revealed plans for a nonpartisan campaign driven exclusively by young Australians – the first of its kind in a Federal election. The campaign will bring together hundreds of young people this August for Power Shift 2010, a series of youth summits in key marginal seats. Power Shift will train these young people to do grassroots campaigning throughout August, including doorknocking, meeting their politicians, and holding forums in their schools to talk to their parents about why they should vote for parties committed to taking strong action on climate change.

It also includes a new concept: ‘digital doorknocking’ sessions where young people talk to their friends through SMS and social networking about why they should vote for climate action.
‘Generation Y will make up 20% of the electorate in this year’s Federal Election, they’re also some of the most connected people, able to influence their friends and peers,’ said AYCC General Manager Ellen Sandell. ‘Our campaign will utlise young peoples social connections to influence voters and politicians to take stronger action on climate change, which remains the defining issue of our generation.’

In addition to grassroots campaigning, the AYCC will be working to ensure young people are enrolled to vote – sending mass emails and text messages to their 53,000 young members and physically enrolling people at university campuses across the nation.

‘One in two 18-year olds are not on the electoral roll, but we know from polling that young people are the demographic most concerned about climate change. We are ensuring that young people are correctly enrolled to vote so that they can have their voice heard on the most important issue of our generation,’ said Ms Sandell. ‘In marginal seats which hang on a few hundred or few thousand votes, this could make all the difference to ensure that candidates with strong climate policies are elected.’

The Power Shift summits will be held in Adelaide, Canberra and Geelong on the first three weekends in August. Politicians will attend each Power Shift to defend their climate policies to the hundreds of young people in attendance. Other speakers confirmed include comedian and Good News Week presenter Claire Hooper, IPCC scientist David Karoly, Dan Adams, organiser of the Make Poverty History concerts, and John Thwaites, former Deputy Premier of Victoria.

– If you want to be involved in our election campaign, make sure you’re registered for Power Shift 2010.