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Conference of Youth 2012
On Friday, I walked somewhat nervously into a large ballroom, took my seat and was greeted by the COY bottom-liners. To set the mood for the weekend, they asked us to take part in an anti-oppression workshop. We were asked to stand if questions that were read aloud applied to us. Questions about our socio-economic background, if drugs and alcoholism have affected our lives, if we had ever experienced gender exclusion and if war was part of our daily lives. As I stood up and down according to the questions that were applicable to me, I looked around and realised that there were people from all over the world in one room, who have all experienced different trials and tribulations.
We are all here fighting for the same thing, yet people’s journey to get here had been immensely different and they have defied the restrictions that human society has placed upon itself and them to be here. Not only cultural restrictions, but economic ones too- most youth raised the funds themselves to be here, an inspiring fact considering the developing countries that were represented.
COY is in its 8th year, and this year it attracted more than 400 young people from 83 countries. Throughout the conference I meet some truly amazing people. I met a young girl from Palestine that defied a war in her country to be at COY/COP18 to demand change. A passionate young man from the Congo who wanted to spread the message about climate change in the African basin. Youth who recently established the Arab Youth Climate Movement.
I was further inspired during a session called “A World of Achievement”, during which participants could share their accomplishments in fighting climate change in their own countries; stories from youth around the world emerged, highlighting that we are not alone in this fight. Bill McKibben also let us know this, through a video he had addressed to us, and a visit from Christiana Figueres (Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) gave us a peek of the face behind the UN. To finish the weekend we listened, many of us in awe, to an inspiring speech from Ali Fakhry, head of Indy Act and an inspiring political activist who played a vital role in the Arab Spring.
My personal input throughout the conference varied from day to day; I was both a participant in workshops, and ran one of my own. I was giving the privilege of sharing my knowledge on a subject I’m really passionate about: non-violent direct actions (NVDA). Though I planned my workshop in advance, there are some things you just can’t plan for- questions from participants from places such as China, the Arab region and Africa where NVDA is illegal, and how to utilize NVDA as a strategy during times of war and conflict. On reflection, I realise how lucky we are in Australia to have the freedom to protest.
On the third day of COY, I was given another amazing opportunity to contribute to the international climate movement through Doha’s first action. I put together a working group which in 18 hours planned logistics, messaging and spread the word about what would come together towards the end of the conference. And at 1pm, youth from around the world came together to create a human sign spelling out عمل which conveys the message of “act” or “work hard” in Arabic.
My time at the Conference of Youth was absolutely incredible. I met so many wonderful people, learnt so much and realised that we all united by a common agenda for a common purpose! (That being CHANGE!)
Written by Katie Higgins, AYCC International Team Actions Co-Coordinator
The AYCC is building a generation-wide movement to solve the climate crisis
www.aycc.org.au
2012-11-27 08:23:38
Source: http://aycc.org.au/2012/11/27/conference-of-youth-2012/
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