Young Friends of the Earth

Impressions from the 2013 Young FoE Europe network gathering

Sat, 11 May 2013 11:02:00 -0400

Richard Sagar (steering group member for YFoE and recently elected steering group member for YFoE Europe) writes about his experience of the recent YFoE Europe network gathering, which took place in Croatia from 11th- 15th April.

“Numerous Workshops, energizers, wrestling with a Norwegian, learning Croatian curse words and having the opportunity to meet some of the most committed and inspirational environmental activists across the continent. These are just some of the memories I have of the 2013 Young Friends of the Earth Annual General meeting.

The setting for the AGM was the aptly named sunny village in Jagnedovec. Located in the beautiful Croatian countryside with some of the best vegetarian and vegan food I’ve had the pleasure in tasting.

As this was my first time at the Young Friends of the Earth AGM I felt a little apprehensive of meeting so many new people from all over Europe, it became apparent that my fears were unwarranted. I was immediately made to feel welcome. Though I suspect liberal quantities of Rakijia played no small part in this.

While we had a packed agenda to get through there was plenty of time for games and socialising. Some of the most memorable experiences of the whole AGM came from the time I spent sharing jokes around a campfire.

Among the many stimulating sessions and activities that I took part in, the one that I felt was most rewarding was hearing what each group in the network had worked on in the past year. From opposing dirty energy to battling unsustainable food production, it became apparent that young people face the same challenges across the whole of Europe.

Along with members of Young Friends of the Earth Europe we were also joined by guests from three international Friends of the Earth groups- Christian from Otros Mundos/ Friends of the Mexico, Yun-Sung from the Korea Federation for Environmental Movement/Friends of the Earth South Korea and Megan from Groundwork/ Friends of the Earth South Africa. While I had always known that Friends of the Earth was a international federation, hearing first hand what their groups were engaged in, and having ample time to interact with them, really made me feel I was part of a global grassroots network engaged in the struggle for environmental justice. A talk from Jagoda Munić, chair of Friends of the Earth international, further cemented this impression in my mind.

Perhaps the most invigorating thing I took away from the whole experience was that this is just the beginning. Having been elected to the steering group I’ll have the pleasure of working with such engaged and inspirational young people in the year to come. I only hope I can ensure that the network grows from strength to strength.”

Meet us! ...and...Fundraising!

Tue, 07 May 2013 12:58:21 -0400

Hey Young FoE’ers,

Check out our new ‘Meet us’ page where you can see who is in the steering group.

——

Charlotte and Miriam from the fundraising working group recently completed the Big Green Bike Ride, a 40 cycle around the New Forest run by our parent organisation, Friends of the earth.

Quick plug! You can still sponsor them at www.justgiving.com/treecycle and www.justgiving.com/Miriam-Chapman, thanks!

Now fundraising are itching to strike out!

The team would love involvement from the wider network, so here’s the first opportunity to join a working group! By working, we mean fun. As in fun-draising. We want to ensure the sustainability of the group and take advantage of all the keen creative minds out there.

The team will be raising funds to support YFOE’s first campaign, which will be decided in the next few weeks. It is a commitment, but hopefully a very rewarding one, and should take up about 5 hours of your month, including a group skype call.

Just send a quick email at fundraising-yfoe@googlegroups.com with your name, skype name, any previous experience in fundraising/ voluntary sector/ climate activism, and one fundraising idea you have. You must fit loosely into the age bracket 18-30 and have a passion for making a difference (and money!).

Please forward to any friends who may be interested as well, and don’t hesitate to email us with any questions. We look forward to hearing from you!

Campaigns? Let's vote!

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 17:33:39 -0400

Hi YFoEers!

Miriam here from the Campaigns working group.

We’re in the early stages of creating our own fabulous yfoe campaign. We’d love your thoughts on which direction to go in.

As a group we’ve compiled a list of pretty much everything we might ever want to campaign on. Have a look, email back your top three favourites. Let’s get an interesting conversation started!

Nuclear
Fracking
Renewables
Energy we can all afford
The G8
Corporate influence, and impact on the environment
Tax dodging
Biodiversity
GM
Green jobs
Equality (environmental/economic/social)
The Future (What does our future look like? What do we want it to look like - and how can these two futures become one?)

Don’t just ‘lurk’. We’re excited to hear your views.
Email campaigns-yfoe@googlegroups.com

The campaigns team :)

Young Friends of the Earth Strikes Back!

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 13:10:00 -0400

We thought we’d let you know that even though things have been quiet, Young Friends of the Earth is still very much alive and kicking.

We’ve now set up a YFOE steering group to help get things off the ground and running and have set up working groups on structures, campaigns, fundraising, communications and networking. We’ve been holding various working group Skype chats and are coming up with exciting ideas.

If you have any ideas about any of these things please feel free to get in touch at info@youngfoe.org.uk

Here’s some information about our working groups:

STRUCTURES

Gaining organising and facilitation skills
Working as part of a team to shape Young FoE’s future plans and strategies
Seeing your own ideas progress from initial development to implementation
Last and by no means least, we hope you will have fun in the process!

FUNDRAISING

The Fundraising Working group will raise the funds to cover the running costs of Young Friends of the Earth
Some fundraising ideas could include bike rides, marathons, swimming the channel, hitchhiking across europe? -Where could your passion for the planet take you?

COMMUNICATIONS & NETWORKING

We’re planning on developing our online communication channels in the year ahead, focussing on things like video, blogging, podcasts and social media
The group has a huge amount to do and we’d love to hear from you if you’d like to get involved. It’s a great chance to build on or learn some key skills in things like website management, press and new media and public relations.
To forge links with other youth groups and promote our name and work to a wider audience
Finding ways to work together and creating a bigger impact
Find out about other events/activities going on we can attend

CAMPAIGNS

Working on the campaigns that Young FoE will be involved in & creating our own campaign (see next post)

The YFOE steering group also featured in the recent Change Your World article - take a look

Why not sign up to our facebook page to get updates and share what’s going on near you.

Thanks for sticking with us. Together we can start making waves for Young Friends of the Earth across the UK :)

Save the Bees at Summer Sundae Festival!

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 13:29:00 -0400

Young Friends of the Earth were at Summer Sundae Festival 2012 this year, campaigning to save the bees and collecting signatures for the Save the Bee Campaign!

It was great and we had a fantastic response from festival-goers, collecting more than 250 petition postcards in total - everybody we chatted to wanted to save the bee.

We chatted to people about the importance of bees for the food chain - without them many of our favourite fruits and foods would not be around! It was also fun dressing up as bees and enjoying the festival atmosphere, but there was a serious point behind it.

Wikipedia has a long list of all the fruits,vegetables, nuts and spices that we know are pollinated by our friendly bees. These foods are not only tasty to eat, bees are absolutely essential for food security and support the food chain for us and other species.

This important campaign is trying to prevent the loss of our wild bumble bees, who are rapidly being wiped out by pesticides and the changing climate. The British Beekeepers Association has announced that wild bees are almost EXTINCT. So we are now relying on honey bees.

It was really disappointing news to hear that the government have decided NOT to ban the neonicotinoid pesticides, despite evidence from Stirling University scientists which shows the impact they are having.

Despite this strong evidence, for some reason, the government has not heeded these warnings. Why? Do they really want to live in a world without blueberries, strawberries or avocado? Or where we have to pollinate all these by hand?

Save the BEES!

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 07:35:00 -0400

Did you know?

The humble bee pollinates 84% of crops in the European Union, particularly our fruit and vegetables.

In fact the value of pollination worldwide amounts to 153 Billion euros.

Did you know that the wild bumble bee has almost gone extinct?

Friends of the Earth has launched a new petition to help SAVE THE BEE:

http://www.foe.co.uk/what_we_do/bee_cause_all_actions_35034.html

I recommend you sign it and pass it on, as it is an urgent cause.

Bee populations have been collapsing, partly caused by reckless use of pesticides which the EU needs to ban.

Without the bee, much of our food would be impossible to grow. Was it Albert Einstein who said:

“If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live”.

Tar Sands Action! Save the Date.

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:19:22 -0400

The Push Europe campaign are planning an action on 5th May to campaign against the Tar Sands:

http://www.no-tar-sands.org/

Please stay tuned for more information or join the mailing list!

Why is oil from the tar sands so bad?

It takes three to five times as much energy to extract than conventional oil, and is resulting in massive environmental degradation:

Before and after image of tar sands extraction in Canadian forests:

More information about the campaign can be found here.

New Young Friends of the Earth Europe Website is Launched

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 09:45:29 -0500

Young Friends of the Earth Europe has just launched it’s brand new website.

Here you can find details of all the Europe-wide campaigns, including the new campaign on Food and Agriculture.

Young people in the network are concerned about the European-wide subsidies going towards unsustainable farming and factory farms which destroy the environment, institutionalise animal cruelty and over-consumption and produce unhealthy food. We feel this is not an appropriate use of EU taxpayers subsidies and requires urgent reform in the Common Agricultural Policy. This is why Young Friends of the Earth is launching the new ‘ReCAP’ campaign.

Check out this great new video made by YFOE Birmingham! :-) You...

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 20:16:00 -0500

Check out this great new video made by YFOE Birmingham! :-)

You can sign the Final Demand Petition here:

http://www.foe.co.uk/what_we_do/final_demand2_32882.html

Government's solar cuts are ruled illegal

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 20:08:00 -0500

Last month, the government announced they were going to massively cut the support for solar panels, effectively wrecking the UK’s solar industry. What’s more, the “public consultation” was due to end weeks after the changes were meant to come into play! Friends of the Earth took this to court, and it has just been announced the High Court case has ruled the government’s action illegal.

What’s the Feed in Tariff and why did the government want to cut it? It is a policy following the successful example in Germany of support solar panels by paying those with panels a special rate for the green energy produced. Effectively the policy was a victim of its own success, with government (who are cutting everything at the moment) taking a chainsaw to the policy. Chris Huhne argued solar panel costs had fallen by 30% in the past year, but this does not justify cutting the tariff by 50% so rapidly.

Government’s own impact assessment found there would be hardly any added cost from reducing the subsidy more gently. In fact, one of the reasons that the cost of solar panels had come down is that there are more companies installing solar, more installers and solar suppliers, which had created thousands of jobs in new emerging industries. The government’s actions threaten to wipe out these jobs at short notice!

Why 6 weeks notice? The government set an arbitary deadline for the changes to be put into place. Councils, schools and community projects that were about to install solar panels have had to be scrapped, especially since many of these projects still require planning permission to put up a few panels! Planning permission itself takes 6 weeks to get, so these community projects had no chance…

The emerging solar industry in the UK is under threat of being crushed by incompetent and rushed policy changes. This is at a time when thousands are losing their jobs in other areas. Even the key green industries don’t seem important enough for DECC to save. Is the government forgetting about the support given to fossil fuel industries in the past? Even as recently as 1997, it was estimated the UK government was subsidising fossil fuels with £100 of public money for every £1 that went to renewables. This historic inequity needs to be redressed! Let’s hope that now the governments actions have been ruled illegal, they will re-think.

- Helena

We had an amazing action camp - as you can see from the...

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:56:43 -0400

We had an amazing action camp - as you can see from the photos.

You can get involved - the first step is to join our event on Facebook and find out how to make a difference with a single penny! :)

We need to show the government that real commitment to tackle climate change could create thriving future for all.

- Natacha, Scotland

Attend our Facebook event, and find out more how easy to make a difference!

Press release: Young people call for European climate action

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 14:39:00 -0400

Ogden Moor, near Halifax, Yorkshire, UK, Thursday 18th August 2011

Members of Young Friends of the Earth have gathered this weekend at Ogden Moor wind farm to support the ‘Push Europe’ campaign on climate change. The campaign group, made up of young people aged 18 - 30 from across the UK, are calling on the UK and the European Union to take immediate action to tackle climate change.

Helena Wright from Young Friends of the Earth said:
“Taking real action to tackle climate change would generate more jobs and opportunities for young people. Clean technologies like wind turbines will play an exciting role in building a green and sustainable future. This is desperately needed in the current environment where so many young people are suffering from unemployment.”

Push Europe is a youth-led campaign, pushing Europe for immediate climate action in line with science and equity. It is calling the European Union for an immediate 30% domestic greenhouse gas emissions cuts, as this is the bare minimum towards 40% domestic emission reductions by 2020.

Recent research by the Potsdam Institute has found that a stronger climate target would create 6 million “green jobs” across Europe. This would help tackle youth unemployment and start off a transition to a low carbon future.

The European Union must make these emission cuts under the legal framework of the Kyoto Protocol, as it recognises the developed countries’ historical responsibility for causing climate change. Without this legally binding framework, the world could face a warming up to 5 degrees globally. This would have catastrophic consequences for billions of people and young people around the world, especially in developing countries, would suffer most of its impacts – having contributed the least to the problem.

Over the next few months, starting this weekend, Push Europe is calling everyone to send a symbolic ‘1 penny’ down-payment to government departments, showing that they need to invest in a low-carbon future. This will show that young people are ready to take action and are calling for opportunities in a greener world, but Government’s need to support that with the right policy and action.

Marco Cadena, UK Campaigns Co-ordinator of Push Europe said:
“Youth around the world are greatly concerned by seeing how politicians are gambling with our future. This is completely unacceptable. Short-term corporate and political interest cannot be the priority over the long-term future of humanity. It is time for the younger generation to express a loud voice – demanding immediate action to tackle climate change. It is about our future on which we can’t compromise.“

Ends

For all the images, click here: http://bit.ly/pBzU22

To find out more:

http://www.pusheurope.eu

http://www.facebook.com/pusheurope

Check out the amazing images of the Push Europe...

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 14:27:00 -0400

Check out the amazing images of the Push Europe camp!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67002681@N06/sets/72157627560247464/

Young Friends of the Earth Summer Camp ... in the UK!

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 05:45:00 -0400

We are organising a Young Friends of the Earth Summer Camp on 19th - 21st August 2011!

Don’t delay - click here to apply now for the summer camp!

We will be camping near a scenic nature reserve and wind farm in Yorkshire to support the Push Europe campaign calling for green jobs.

The camp will be two action-packed days with music, games, workshops, entertainment near to the stunning wind farm on Ogden Moor in Yorkshire…

We will be supporting the Push Europe campaign - www.pusheurope.eu - the youth-led campaign to push the EU to increase it’s ambition on climate change and create green jobs. A recent report found that stronger climate targets would create millions of green jobs for young people.

We will camping together, cooking in a sustainable way, with music, workshops and entertainment. Camping near the wind farm, we will also be getting up close to one of the green energy resources of the future!

Places are limited and we will be able to provide funding towards the transport costs for the first 15 participants!

Never been involved in green campaigns or activities before? No problem - this is your chance to get involved! There’s no cost, just bring yourself and your camping gear.

We’re also offering the opportunity to hold workshops, so if you have a great idea and want to share it please let us know!

Don’t delay - click here to apply now for the summer camp!

We hope to see you there!

From Helena and the YFOE Team

Young Friends of the Earth Europe Summer Camp 2011 in Hungary

Wed, 18 May 2011 16:06:00 -0400

Hello! Szia!

We are happy to be able to invite you and your groups members to this years Young Friends of the Earth Europe Summer Camp!! This year we are excited to say that we are going to be hosted in Hungary from 14-19th July 2011.

We have a limited number of places, so if you hope to come it is important to get your applications in as early as possible. We can invite you to apply for 1-3 participants per country, member group or organisation.

For more information and to APPLY NOW please visit the Young FoEE website. Applications are open until midnight 5th June 2011.

Why join the YFoEE Summer camp?
The YFoEE Summer Camp is a once a year chance for young campaigners and activists to get together and share knowledge and experiences from all over Europe on a variety of issues that we are campaigning on. The camp will allow time for members to interact with the schedule to gain the maximum benefit for you and your group.

We also have:

Skill share activities
Learning about and participating in actions
Sessions and activities lead by our new Food and Agriculture Group
Training and information on the exciting launch of the new YFoEE Climate Justice campaign and you and your group can be involved this Autumn
Opportunities to explore the Hungarian countryside

Further details about the camp, and our online application are available on the YFoEE website.

We are urging Young FoE and FoE groups to help spread info about this event and help select people from their organisation to participate. Please help by openly discussing within your group and organisation who should come, and using this as an opportunity for your group to learn and share key skills and experiences with the rest of the network! Places are limited, and we are expecting a high rate of applications.

Food and accommodation costs are covered; however we do ask that you pay a minimum of 30% of your own travel costs.

Deadline for application submission is Midnight on Sunday 5th June- but please submit before that if you can and to be sure of getting a place!

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact sophie.manson@foeeurope.org

Looking forward to hearing from you! Várja, hogy a tárgyaláson meg!

Sophie, Tina, Paul, Marci and Klara
The YFoEE Summer Camp Organising Team!

Special Invitation: "Climate Justice - more than words"

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 04:05:59 -0400

This message is passed on from Bundjugend, all are invited….

+++++++++++++++++++++++please spread widely!+++++++++++++++please spread widely++++++++++++++++please spread

Dear young climate activists all over Europe,

I am glad to invite you, in the name of BUNDjugend (Young Friends of the Earth Germany) and our partner organisations within the Young Friends of the Earth Network, to join our Seminar for Young Europeans: “Climate Justice - more than words”.

40 participants from different European countries will meet for eight days full of discussion, exchange and ACTION!

You can find further information on the website: http://www.bundjugend.de/termin/climate-justice/

Please find attached the flyer/colourful invitation. In case you have difficulties to open it, the text is here:

Seminar for young Europeans

„CLIMATE JUSTICE -MORE THAN WORDS!“

from June 10th to 18th 2011, in Bonn, parallel to the UN-intersessionals

Global warming is already seriously affecting our planet.

Our generation has to deal with it.

If we don‘t act fast enough by changing our policy, economy and society, it will cause

enormous ecological, economical and social damage.

People in developing countries are hit first and hardest by climate change, even though

it is the industrialised countries that are largely responsible for climate change.

How can we stop global warming? What is Climate Justice? How can we achieve it?

We would like to discuss these questions with experts from NGOs,

affected people from the global South and policymakers.

We, young climate activists, will exchange experiences in political mobilisation

and action, ask for political action on climate change and take action.

Apply here www.bundjugend.de/termine/cjseminar

Questions? Contact: ruth.gassauer@bundjugend.de

Meet Up at 6 Billion Ways!

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 13:01:00 -0500

Some of us are meeting up at the event (below) to discuss next steps. It would be great to see you there!

Subscribe to the Yahoo Foe Mailing List at youngfoe-subscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk to find out more, and here is the event website again:

http://6billionways.org.uk/

6 Billion Ways Event in London - 5th March 2011

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 17:23:31 -0500

On Saturday 5th March there is a free day of events happening in London that Friends of the Earth are involved in!
Here are the details:-

“6 Billion Ways is back to unite activists and non-activists alike in a day of action and inspiration.

We’ll be taking over East London’s Rich Mix on 5th March 2011, bringing speakers, artists and activists under the banner of global justice

Join Patrick Bond, Walden Bello, and Bolivian ambassador to the UN Pablo Solon - as well as many others - for a day of debate, film, music and art.”

http://www.6billionways.org.uk/
and
http://www.foe.co.uk/news/6bw_2011_26847.html

Youth Survey finds massive support for Renewable Energy

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 10:35:00 -0500

On December 2nd, to coincide with the international Climate Change Talks at Cancun, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)’s Youth Advisory Panel released their Report: “Energy - how fair is it anyway?”.

The DECC Youth Advisory Panel was made up of 15 young people from various youth groups around the UK, including Young Friends of the Earth. The Panel went on visits to see different forms of power generation around the UK (e.g. Coal, Gas and Renewable Energy sources) and interviewed people. The Panel’s Report also included a survey of a sample of 300 young people’s views on the fairness of using different energy resources.

The full report entitled ‘Energy - How fair is it anyway’ can be found by clicking here. The results of the survey found that while 95% of the young people think solar power is fair, only 2.2% thought coal power is fair! Infact, over 80% of the respondents felt that coal power was “unfair” or a “raw deal”!

A key part of the Panel’s work was testing out responses to DECC’s 2050 pathways calculator, which was developed along with Chief Scientist David Mackay to explore options for delivering the UK’s target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.

At the launch event on 2nd December 2010, held at the DECC offices, there was also a satellite video link-up with Brussels and Mexico. In Brussels, they linked up with the European Youth Climate Justice Convergence while the video link with Cancun, Mexico connected to some young people at the UNFCCC conference, including UKYCC.

A full copy of the press release can be found by clicking here and the video of the launch event which was streamed LIVE can be found here.

The DECC Youth Panel are now hoping to encourage more young people to get involved in discussions about our energy future.

CALLING ALL YOUNG ACTIVISTS.

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 10:05:00 -0400

Join us in Brussels this December, as hundreds of Youth from all across Europe demand climate justice and real action from the UN Climate Talks in Cancún.

From 26th November to 12th December 2010, Young Friends of the Earth Europe are organising a two week convergence for young climate justice activists from all across Europe and Belgium.

A daily programme of activities and open space will take place for YOU to participate in where we will learn about, follow and react on the issue of climate justice, in parallel with the negotiations in Cancún. What will be happening?

The two week convergence starts with being part of the European Climate Justice Assembly (http://climateassembly. wordpress.com/ 26- 29th November). The proceeding two weeks programme will include a mix of activities for: exchanging our knowledge, ideas and expertise through workshops & skill shares; the online following of negotiations & daily political briefings as events unfold in Cancún; demanding climate justice by creating actions and our own media relevant to the political climate in Brussels, Cancún and around the world.

All these activities will be taking place at an organised space in the city centre of Brussels hosted by Young Friends of the Earth Europe, but open to all who want to be a part in the above activities and use the space themselves to share, learn, plan and build further the movement for climate justice. We can support you in finding accommodation and are also currently searching for affordable hot daily meals to be provided throughout the event. How to get involved?

We’re calling out to all other networks, organisations and youth groups in Europe to be a part of this event. We hope it will be part of a longer process in which we build a movement that doesn’t only fight climate change, but that achieves climate justice. If you or other activists from your organisation are interested in joining us as individuals, please let us know by filling in the form here. https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dG13Mk54SlJwQWZJSGc0OTljVW1oUFE6MQ If you represent an organisation planning to bring a number of activists we ask you to help us by filling this form instead, and as soon as possible, so that we can help accommodate the numbers you intend to bring! https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dG13Mk54SlJwQWZJSGc0OTljVW1oUFE6MQ You are still welcome to join if you don’t fill out this form, but it will help us organise logistics and contact you with updates. Please also feel free to get in touch with us directly and ask any questions about the event and call out, practical information and how you can participate.

Contact Femke at Young Friends of the Earth Europe: femke.muylaert@foeeurope.org Telephone: +32 2 893 1008 or visit our website Please spread this call out widely to people who would be interested in joining, or organising the organising activities and workshops. Thank you and we are very much hoping that you can join us in Brussels! Young Friends of the Earth Europe

Femke Muylaert

Young Friends of the Earth Europe

Climate Justice Event

Rue d’Edimbourg 26 1050 Brussels Belgium

email: femke.muylaert@foeeurope.org

phone: +32 2 893 10 08

skype: femke.muylaert www.youngfoee.org