Power Shift Canada! October 22, 2009

An overview of the Conference
The When and Where

Power Shift Canada 2009 will begin Friday October 23rd and will end Monday October 26th.

It will be held primarily at the University of Ottawa (www.uottawa.ca) during October 24th and 25th. Since 1848 the University of Ottawa has been Canada’s university. Located in the heart of the nation’s capital, the University has emerged as a vibrant “centre of learning”, with a total population including students, teaching and support staff – of 40,000. The largest bilingual university in North America, the University is a major player in the cultural and economic development of the National Capital Region. More about the University of Ottawa. More about the university’s environmental commitments and initiatives.

A list of rooms that are being used for the conference will be available soon once they are finalized but for now, click here for location information.

What’s happening?

Training:
Conference attendees will learn the best practices of climate organizing, including: campaign and event planning, recruitment, media, public speaking, lobbying, leadership development, coalition-building, campaign strategy, and community and campus organizing.

Keynote Speakers & Bands:
Attendees will be energized by leaders of the climate movement in Canada and worldwide.

Issue/Regional Breakouts:
After splitting into geographically based groups, youth will identify upcoming state and regional opportunities to realize tangible climate progress and plan coordinated campaigns and events to make them happen. We will also facilitate the coordination of upcoming youth actions on climate change across the country.

Presentations:
Diverse speakers will enlighten youth about the connections between Climate and Faith, International Security and Climate Change, How Combating Climate Change Leads to Job Creation, Climate Change from Indigenous peoples’ Perspectives, and many more presentations that will help build our movement and add new perspectives to the discussion.

Green Job Fair:
Employers on the cutting edge of our energy transition will meet youth looking for the jobs of tomorrow in non-profit, clean energy, and other sustainably-focused sectors.

Lobby Day:
Power Shift Canada will bring together over a thousand of young people to Parliament Hill to met our elected officials face-to-face and engaged with them on the urgent need for action on climate change

And much, much more.

Stay tuned for further details.

What is Power Shift?

On October 23-26, 2009, over 1000 young people from across the country will converge on Ottawa to take a message of bold, comprehensive and immediate federal climate action to Parliament Hill. Power Shift will be two days of training, strategy and action and one mass lobby day to hold our elected officials accountable to for their part to solve the climate crisis, and to build a cohesive and effective youth climate movement. This will be the largest-ever gathering of young people on the environment in the history of this country.

At Power Shift Canada, we will deliver our message of change to our elected officials. Youth of all backgrounds will come together to create a fresh, positive, and inspiring vision of the future, one focused on our potential to overcome the challenges of the 21st century, build a clean energy economy, create millions of green jobs, increase global equity, and revitalize our economy. Now is the time for action. Now is the time for boldness. We will accept nothing less from the people with whom we have entrusted our future: our elected officials, and most importantly, ourselves. 2009 will be a year history will remember.

Strategic timing

There are two key events on the political and environmental horizon: the 15th annual Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP15) in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2009, and the G8 Leaders’ Summit in Huntsville, ON in July 2010. The Canadian public values international leadership and expects to see Canada taking progressive, principled positions on the global stage. Unfortunately, at present there is a disconnect between belief and reality when it comes to perceptions of Canada’s negotiating position on climate change. While a majority of Canadians want the federal government to take bold actions, many are unaware that Canada is an international laggard in this regard. Power Shift will play a key role in directing the attention of media and Canadian society to our government’s role at both events, and in setting expectations for leadership that we can be proud of.

Power Shift: A Global Phenomenon

Power Shift Canada will join a formidable global movement of young people who are stepping up our leadership on climate. In 2007 the United States’ Energy Action Coalition held the first-ever national youth summit to solve the climate crisis Power Shift 2007 (http://powershift07.org/) which brought over 5,000 young Americans from all over the country together and created a shift in the national climate movement. Power Shift 2009 (www.powershift09.org) brought an unprecedented 12,000 to Capital Hill. In July of 2009, the Australian Youth Climate Coalition will bring 4,000 young Australians together at their country’s first Power Shift, and the United Kingdom will do the same in August of 2009.

Official Website: http://powershiftcanada.org