Two BIG opportunities for youth in India — and some exciting news for people of all ages in the subcontinent!
First for youth: starting in just 9 days, from the 18th to the 23rd of July, hundreds of Indian youth will be converging in New Delhi for the second Indian Youth Summit on Climate Change — Badlaav 2009, Be the Change — and it’s not too late to join in! Young people from across the country will be trained on skills of organizing, running projects, lobbying, direct action, presentations, and renewable energy implementation. There will be concerts, cultural performances, film festivals, a green jobs fair, climate solutions mela, a spiritual and faith tent, and opportunities for you to create joint artworks. This will be one of the really key turning points in the Indian youth climate movement. Your energy and your passion can add tremendously to the summit. Young (or not so young), can you help spread the word to all young people you know.
You can apply online and find more information at https://www.badlaav.co.cc.
Around the globe young people have been at the forefront of the climate movement. And it’s no different in India. Already, throughout 2008 and 2009 youth in India have been leading the 350 charge. Check out this incredibly inspiring and exciting slide-show of actions from our friends at Kids for Tigers, the Indian Youth Climate Network, and others:
The second opportunity for youth to connect and train among peers is the South Asian Youth Summit on Climate Change (SAYSoCC) on 3 – 6 of September. You can register or find more information at https://nyca.net.np/saysocc09.
For everyone: by no means is the movement only of and for youth! Yes, our team is largely made up of youth — myself, Roselin, Will, Rishab, and Ruchi in India, and more around the planet — we are mostly 25 and under. Yet, we are very excited to announce that one of our not-quite-so-young team members and 350.org co-founder, Bill McKibben, will be in India in the coming weeks. He is a tremendously inspirational author, speaker, and leader, and if you are in New Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi, or Mumbai, we hope you will attend some of the events where he will be speaking in the coming months. You can find more information here: https://www.350.org/billinindia
One of the most exciting events in that line-up will be a gathering of several thousand people at Teen Murti Bhavan on 28 July in New Delhi, where we will be forming a huge aerial image in collaboration with Kids for Tigers. In the course of all these events and actions coming up, pretty soon the it is going to become quite clear that the movement for 350 in India is far too strong for political leaders at all levels to ignore. What is already a beautiful and growing movement will soon transform this country.
If none of the events and announcements in this email are options for you to attend, we most definitely still invite you to take part if this critical effort. You can sign up to organize a 350 action in your community on 24 October here: www.350.org/oct24.
Be the change you wish to see!