I came across this story on my Facebook page and it was just too good not to share. It was written by local 350 Indonesia organiser – Mega Aisyah Nirmala – after attending the recent 350.org East Asia workshop in Bogor, Indonesia. If it gives you reason to want to be part of a 350 workshop – then good news, there’s plenty of them planned – check out the website: workshops.350.org
By Mega Aisyah Nirmala
Mid July, 2012. It was the time I joined an event which changed the way I act and the way I think of something. Well, it wasn’t the first climate movement workshop I’ve ever joined. But still, I got amazed by this workshop.
Joining this workshop meant getting new knowledge and skills and also meeting new people. I got new friends from throughout South East Asia and the facilitators who came from four different countries, Indonesia, Vietnam, US, and New Zealand.
There are a couple of questions that come up within the workshop that I always keep in mind. One of them is “Why would I join the climate movement?” It’s a simple question yet difficult to answer. Well, anyway, I always convince myself that you don’t have to think twice to do good things. Joining a climate movement for the sake of the Earth and its living things is a good thing. Why wouldn’t I join? Further, life is too short for doing things that aren’t meaningful, isn’t it? So I won’t think twice to join this climate movement since it’s more than worth for the Earth. However, there is no coincidence in this life, so I know this climate movement, join this movement, and being part of it is not a coincidence either.
One of my facilitators said that if only one person changes the behavior toward the climate change, it is maybe not enough, because what we actually need is a massive and global change about it. However, Earth needs a massive change. So that’s why, a climate global movement is extremely needed.
There are many things you can do for joining the climate movement. One of the examples is using public transportation or biking to work/school to decrease the consumption of fossil fuels. One person might not give any impact, but when we do it altogether, right now, we’ll see the difference and we’ll be able to save our lovely planet.
And talking about the participant of this workshop, I felt so lucky to be in this workshop together with the other young, brilliant, talented, and inspiring people. I really got inspired, seriously! I am so thankful that these people are really motivating me. They make me realize that what I’ve done and what I’ve learned so far are probably nothing compared to them. After this workshop, I promise myself that I will struggle a lot more than before. I will learn and study a lot more than before. I believe that when we’re working with fabulous people, we’ll be a part of them.
One thing which is different from this workshop is that we have such strong networking. After the workshop was done, the facilitators and the participants have a Skype conference every two weeks as the follow up of the workshop. In the conference, we keep updating news with each other; we keep updating climate movement plans with each other; discussing about the hot issues happening in the world in regards to the climate change; and other stuffs. Further, everyone is welcome to join this Skype conference. In the last conference, we talked about coal issue in the world. Well, if there is not this kind of conference, I probably would not have learnt about the coal issue, especially in Indonesia. Realizing that Indonesia is one of the biggest coal exporters in the world is sometimes miserable. We are seeing a destroyed environment in Kalimantan Island as the impact of being the biggest coal producer in Indonesia. I am wondering if the government can make a strong regulation about the coal mining. And I also wondering if the government cares more about the environment, our earth would have a better future condition.
Anyway, this coming October 2012, 350-Indonesia will be working with GSI/IISD for a workshop with the first topic about “movement to move beyond fossil fuels” located in Jogjakarta and Surabaya – Indonesia. So, if you do care about the earth, let’s join this movement – it’s the Earth that needs us!