Newsletter May 2010

Welcome to the Young FoEE newsletter! Keep reading to find out what Young FoE groups from all around Europe have been up to over the past months, what we have planned for the next months and what we have been doing collectively as European youth. The ACT NOW team heads back to the UN climate talks in Bonn, there’s updates from the groups and Annual Network Gathering, and don’t forget the Summer Camp. Enjoy!

News from the Network Contents:

BUNDjugend (Young Germany) News from the Network p1 New Climate Action group formed: A group of activists Upcoming Network Activities p2 from BUNDjugend have formed a group called the Young FoE Back in Bonn p3 ‘Climate Compass Group’ to work together continuously Network Gathering; Steering Group Update p4 and intensively on BUNDjugend’s main climate issues in Young FoEE in 2011 p5 2010. Members of this new group include many of those Working Groups; Mailing Lists p5 who were active with the Young FoEE 2009 Act Now Diary dates p6 team, and very active members of the German climate team. Party for their congress on a new climate law. The group next plan to hand the document and their recommenda- So far the group have been busy writing a position paper, tions across to the German Minister of Environment. which was recently adopted by the whole organisation at their AGM at the beginning of May, and has since been Climate Poker Action, May 3rd handed over to the Social Democrats Parliamentary BUNDjugend organised the “Climate Poker Action” in Bonn, alongside a meeting of environment ministers from 43 UN countries, demanding that these countries raise their targets up. The action will be repeated on the 5th June at the Bonn UN climate negotiations.

<<< Images: Klimapoker action with BUNDjugend

Young Friends of the Earth Europe: Newsletter May 2010 1 Upcoming Network Activities

YouPEC 2010- European Youth Perspective Conference on Biodiversity 1-6th July, Geel, Belgium From 1st- 6th July, JNM invites you to come to Belgium for the third edition of YouPEC: five days of workshops, lec- tures and networking, which will surprise, enrich and inspire you!

2010 is the year of the Belgian presidency of the Euro- pean Union (July – December) and the year of the inter- national Countdown 2010 project on biodiversity conser- vation. Those were the two key factors in choosing biodi- versity as the topic of this conference.

Biodiversity is everywhere around us: in the genetic variation, the variety of species and all the different in- of coal power and climate change, and has four key ele- teractions between these species that constitute ecosys- ments to it: to live sustainably for one week; taking part tems. Mankind depends on these species, as humans in workshops, seminars and discussions; participating in indeed, are species too. Biodiversity supplies us in basic political protest; and networking with peers. human needs such as food and clean water, but also For more information and to register visit helps us, for example, dealing with our (organic) waste. www.klimakamp2010.de These are just some examples of the ecosystem func- tions that we can get for free from our natural environ- FoE Scotland: Are interested in getting involved with ment. If we want to preserve these free services, we Young FoEE activities and setting up a Young FoE group! must protect the biodiversity we have still got left, foster They’ll be running a campaigners weekend on 12-13th it and give it the space it needs to endure climate change June, with a workshop on getting more young people and related environmental threats! involved, plus they’ll be joining YFoEE in Bonn and at our Summer Camp in Poland. For this, we are looking for 150 enthusiastic people from all over Europe, aged between 18 and 30. Funding and Young FoE Ukraine training course spaces are still available to some countries and you’ll YFoE Ukraine (MELP- Youth and Environment League of have the chance to meet lots of other YFoEE’s working Prydniprovya) have opened applications for an interna- on biodiversity campaigns. tional training course called "Ambassadors for Sustain- To find out if you can still join this event, contact anne- ability- and Climate Change Dimen- [email protected] sions" with 25 places available to motivated and active young people from across Europe and Young FoEE. More information: www.jnm.be, www.youpec.eu, www.countdown2010.net The training course will be taking place the Dnipropet- rovsk region of Ukraine, from the 17th to the 23rd of July, 2010.

The packed programme includes lectures, interactive workshops and excursions to local community sustain- able initiatives, on the theme of climate change and re- newable energy. Klimacamp 2010, Germany: th To take part in this event, and travel to Ukraine to meet For one week, between 21-29 August, BUNDjugend the Young FoE group, email [email protected] North Rhine-Westphalia will be running a climate camp before 10th June for an application pack and copy of the in Erkelenz, and invite young people from across Europe programme to join. A group of 10 from Young FoE Hungary are al- ready signed up to take part. The camp, which will be taking place near the border of the in West Germany, will focus on the topic

2 Young Friends of the Earth Europe: Newsletter May 2010 Young FoEE Summer Camp tion form from: [email protected] and keep 31st July- 5th August checking the website for updates. There will be two places available per group, so please also communicate Hosted by FoE Poland, Young FoEE will be heading to the with your group who should be going. countryside around Gdansk in the north of Poland, for 5 days of learning and networking with other Young FoE We are still looking for people who want to run work- groups and activists this August. shops or have ideas on issues and training we should run, On the programme will be training on key skills to help email [email protected] with any sugges- you develop your Young FoE group and run great actions tions! If you want to get more involved in the camp, you and campaigns. We’ll also be sharing the tools and tech- can join the working group and mailing list. niques that we each use in our own YFoE groups and the campaigns and issues we are working on, plus Young FoEE will be presenting and planning our climate justice campaign for 2010 and 2011 and how you can get in- volved. There will of course also be lots of time to enjoy the sun and sea and get to know the Young FoEE net- work.

If you are interested in applying, please get an applica-

Young FoEE Back in Bonn—Climate ber, and a Young FoE network action for the autumn. th Justice Action 2-5 June On the 4th June, we’ll be delivering a workshop at the Young FoEE and the BUNDjugend ‘Climate Compass Klimaforum (an alternative two day civil society platform Group’ are heading to Bonn this June, for the next round taking place alongside the UNFCCC conference), where of the UNFCCC negotiations, as follow up to the Act Now we’ll be bringing together lots of other young people, 2009 project. under the title of ‘Building the youth movement for cli- mate justice: tools, tactics and techniques for a just fu- We’ll be staying together at the climate camp from the ture’. We’ll be facilitating interactive discussions to cre- 2nd June until the weekend to take part in a mass rally ate a common understanding of climate justice amongst and anti coal actions that will be taking place outside the young people, what this means from a youth perspec- UNFCCC conference centre, as well as another edition of tive, share stories of the climate justice work we are the Climate Poker action on the 5th June! each doing, and explore how we can reach out to more youth and build the movement. On the 3rd June, we will be spending a full day, along with BUNDjugend, planning the next stages of our 2010 and For more information about YFoEE in Bonn, contact 2011 climate justice work- including a seminar in Decem- Björn at BUNDjugend: [email protected]

Young Friends of the Earth Europe: Newsletter May 2010 3 Young FoEE Network Gathering Hilversum, the Netherlands 23-26th April 20 people joined the now annual Young FoEE network FoEE, should be invested in more. Climate Justice will gathering, which this year took place in the Dutch coun- continue to be our core issue and focus for projects and tryside, and was hosted by JMA (Young FoE Nether- activities in 2010 and 2011 will be worked on further by lands). Representatives from the following groups joined the newly set up Climate Justice Working Group (open the meeting: Young FoE Ireland, Young FoE Hungary, for all to join). Global 2000 (Austria) activist group, Green Action (Croatia) activist group, BUNDjugend (YFoE Germany), Further, an organising group and mailing list to plan and FoE Flanders and JNM (Belgium), YFoE Ukraine, JMA run the 2010 YFoEE Summer Camp was set up, and will (YFoE Netherlands), FoE Finland. be working on the agenda, participants and logistics of this event. More info about the Summer Camp can be After 3 years since Young FoEE was established, it was found on page 3. about time that we took some time to reflect on every- thing that we have done in this short time, and the scale And last but not least, a new Steering Group of 7 people on which Young FoEE has grown and developed! We was accepted by the meeting to coordinate the Young looked back critically at the structure that Young FoEE FoEE network for 2010/11. The new Steering Group runs on, and where it lacks capacity, and the ways that stayed an extra day after the Network Gathering for an we can all get involved to make it more effective and intensive induction and handover session, and will be sustainable, and explored what was the purpose of the having monthly conference calls, every second Tuesday network and what we can and should be doing to bring evening of the month, as well as being separately in- about social and environmental justice in the world. volved in facilitating working groups and areas of work of Young FoEE. There was clear indication that having working groups to lead on areas of work and projects made up of volun- Full and summary minutes from the Network Gathering teers from across the network, and for these to interlink are available on request from between other working groups, the Steering Group and [email protected]

Steering Group Laura Grainger, FoE Flanders, Belgium/Australia, The Steering Group for 2010/11 is a team of 7 people main areas of work: Laura will start her active involve- whose role is to maintain overview of the network and ment with the Steering group after August. She is cur- facilitating communications, discussions and decision rently involved in the climate justice working group making with the network, events and campaigns. Duncan MacKenzie,UK Zoë van Mansfeld, JMA, The Netherlands main areas of work: internal and external communica- Areas of work: External and internal communications of tions of YFoEE YFoEE, specifically the YFoEE newsletter and yearbook

Márton Török, YFoE Hungary >>> Image: Young FoEE Network Gathering 2010 Main areas of work: internal and external communica- tions of YFoEE, specifically focusing on devel- oping Young FoEE’s website and online pres- ence

Anna Yeliseyeva, YFoE Ukraine Main areas of work: Structures and member- ship development of YFoEE

Anna Holzamer, BUNDjugend, Germany Main areas of work: facilitating the Climate Justice Working Group, International network building

Jeroen Robbe, Belgium Main areas of work: facilitating the Climate Justice Working Group

4 Young Friends of the Earth Europe: Newsletter May 2010 Young FoEE in 2011

We are already looking for groups who want to help out with and host Young FoEE events next year. Our past YFoEE Annual Gatherings have taken place in Vienna in 2008, Brussels in 2009, and the Netherlands in 2010, with a big question mark open for where the 2011 one will take place. If you'd like to host it and have a place in mind that can bring 20 people from across Europe to- gether for 3 days in March, please get in touch.

We are also interested to hear if you have ideas for a campaign, issue or event for the YFoEE network to run next year, and your thoughts and ideas for a youPEC theme and location for 2011.

Working groups: Get Involved YFoEE is developing its working group structures, to Summer Camp 2010 Working Group make sure we can carry out all the work that we want to We need your help to make the Summer Camp 2010 a do, and give everyone within the network the chance to successful, useful and fun event for the YFoEE network. get actively involved. The current working groups are as This means, helping to decide what sessions and work- follows, but smaller working groups for specific projects shops should take place at the summer camp, helping to or discussions are free to spring up as and when needed! run these yourself, or finding the right people to run Each working group needs one or two contact people them. We also need help thinking about and running fun who are responsible for linking up their discussions and and team building activities during our free time- such as plans with the other working groups, the Steering Group games, excursions and evening activities. All ideas and and the office. Within working groups, people take turns people interested in getting involved are very warmly to coordinate meetings and ensure that they take place, welcomed! are facilitated and good minutes and action points are mailing list: [email protected] recorded and followed up. Communications Working Group To join any of the working groups contact A new Communications working group has recently set [email protected] up, with Márton Török from the Steering Group coordi- nating this. We’ll be developing a new website for Young Climate Justice Working Group, for the organisation and FoEE, internal communications systems and structures to running of the climate justice campaign work that YFoEE help individuals and working groups organise together does. There are and will be several sub groups who or- more effectively, as well as improving the communica- ganise upcoming events. Currently this includes one tion between member groups in the network and Young group preparing Young FoEE and BUNDjugend’s activities FoEE. People interested in actively working on these ar- in Bonn in June. eas are very welcome to join and participate in our Skype meetings, taking place every second Wednesday. Contact person Jeroen Robbe Mailing list: [email protected]

Mailing Lists open to sign up to: [email protected] for information and announcements on our work around climate justice in YFoEE. This is an open list that anyone signed up to from YFoE groups can send emails to all the recipients.

[email protected] our general mailing list- receive monthly announcements of our events to take part in, and the YFoEE newsletter (every 3 months

[email protected] for nominated people from your group who want to receive updates and news from YFoEE and other YFoE groups regularly, and communicate this back to your national group.

Young Friends of the Earth Europe: Newsletter May 2010 5 Diary dates:

June 2nd -5th Young FoEE in Bonn, Germany at UNFCCC climate negotiataions, climate camp and Klimaforum

June 10th Applications close for YFoE Ukraine training course on climate change and renewable energy

June 19th - 22nd FoEE AGM, France

June 25th Ecotopia climate action biketour starts, UK- France- Belgium- Netherlands- Germany http://www.ecotopiabiketour.net/

July 1st -6th YouPEC on Biodiversity, Geel, Belgium Young Friends of the Earth Europe is a grassroots net- 17th- 23rd July YFoE Ukraine’s ‘Ambassadors for sustain- work of young people and youth organisations in ability’ training course, Ukraine Europe, who are also part of the Friends of the Earth International network. If you want to find out if 31st July- 5th August Young FoEE Summer Camp, Gdansk, there’s a group or active young people in your coun- Poland try, or how you can get involved, please get in touch!

1st- 21st August, Ecotopia Intercultural gathering for sus- tainable living, Flaming, Germany Young Friends of the Earth Europe http://ecotopia2010.org/ Rue d’Edimbourg 26 1050 Brussels 21-19th August, Climate Camp, organised by BUNDjugend Belgium Berlin and joined by Young FoE Hungary and other inter- national youth. Location: Erkelenz, Germany Phone: +32 2 893 1009 http://www.klimacamp2010.de/ E-mail: [email protected]

6 Young Friends of the Earth Europe: Newsletter May 2010