Media
Hey, want to know more about Power Shift? Please take a good look around the site and get in touch with our volunteer comms team at communications@powershift.org.nz for any other information, a press release, or to organise an interview.
Contact:
Brittany Packer
Power Shift NZ-Pacific 2012 Media Spokesperson
communications@powershift.org.nz
Phone: 0276579157
Press Kit
Who
Power Shift NZ- Pacific 2012 is being driven by a grassroots network of youth organisers who have built a climate movement across every region of New Zealand, and every Pacific Island nation. It is a collaboration project between 350 Aotearoa (part of 350.org), a global movement for action on climate change, Generation Zero, a organisation of young New Zealanders calling for better climate policies, and other individuals.
What
Power Shift NZ-Pacific 2012 is the biggest youth climate summit our region of the world has ever seen. It will bring together hundreds of young people from across the country and the Pacific in a three-day climate summit which will be part conference, part workshop, part festival celebrating the power of young people to shape their own safe climate future. Attendees will upskill, learn, be inspired, and be empowered to take action on climate change.
Where
Power Shift NZ-Pacific 2012 will be hosted at the University of Auckland. See our map.
When
Friday December 7th to Sunday December 9th, 2012.
Why
Climate change, it’s no longer a side issue, it’s no longer just an environmental issue, and it’s not just a political game anymore. It’s about our futures. We face unprecedented challenges, but the way we as youth respond to these challenges will shape our lives, the lives of people across the entire globe, and the lives of our closest neighbours in the Pacific. Now, more than ever before, we need a powerful youth voice. It’s time for young people to stand up and take action.
The Power Shift NZ-Pacific 2012 Youth Climate Summit will create a powerful movement that will push New Zealand to raise its ambition in tackling climate change, and challenge our leaders to make meaningful change to climate policy.
Power Shift is about having a stake in our future, about having our voices heard, and about getting justice on the most important issue of our time. This is about ensuring a safe future for young people across New Zealand and the Pacific.
More Details:
Key Speakers
- Lucy Lawless
- Bill Mckibben (via Skype)
- Jinty MacTavish
- Dayle Takitimu
- Sean Weaver
- Christina Ora (Pacific)
- Brianna Fruean (Pacific)
- Mike Underhill (EECA)
- the Honourable Len Brown (Auckland Mayor)
- and more still to be confirmed.
Workshops
Throughout the 3 days of Power Shift there will be 5 workshop spaces, each running for one and a half hours, offering a selection of workshops or panel discussions. Here are some of the topics:
- Science of Climate Change
- Communicating Climate Change
- What is NZ doing about climate change?
- Personality types/finding your strengths
- Story of Self
- Using Media in climate change campaigns
- Using online and social media for change
- Facilitation/consensus in groups
- Event organisation
- Campaign strategy basics
- History of Social Movements
- Climate Justice
- Climate Change in the Pacific 101
- Being the Change: Anti-oppression
- Connecting Climate Change with Faith
- What can we do about climate change in the Pacific?
- Impacts of climate change on children in the Pacific
- and more still to be confirmed
Regional breakouts: Regional breakouts will bring attendees from each separate region across NZ and the Pacific Islands together to plan how they can best take their new-found knowledge and inspiration back to their communities.
Action: All participants will be part of a huge awareness-raising action on the streets of Auckland on Sunday December 9 as an incredible end to the event.
Massive 2013 Campaign Launch: We’re partnering with other organisations before and after Power Shift on a massive new campaign calling for climate action. Over the 3 days young people will work together to shape the campaign and then publicly launch it.
Build Up: Events are being held all around the country in the lead up to Power Shift in schools, universities, churches, Pacific youth groups along with creative actions like flash mobs. The colour orange, associated the Power Shift logo, is cropping up in every major city in New Zealand, from people dancing in morphsuits to posters all over towns.
Sustainable Transport: Youth are planning creative and sustainable ways of getting to the event. For example, a cycling delegation is being planned all the way from Dunedin, with youth joining in along the way to Auckland.
History: Power Shifts have been held overseas with great success, sparking and contributing to large and successful climate campaigns, and mobilising more than 25,000 young people across the globe. Now it’s New Zealand’s turn for youth to stand up to the challenge of our generation.
Pacific: Youth who are attending from the Pacific will carry their own incredible stories of being on the frontlines of climate change and inspiring their own communities to take action. Some of these youth will also be available for interviews before and during the event.
Information about Media Spokespeople:
Power Shift Media Spokesperson: Brittany Packer
Brittany is 21 years old, hailing from Nelson and currently based in the capital. She has been advocating environmental issues since she was 8 years old- starting with beach clean ups and moving towards waste minimization biodiversity and climate change. Last year, Brittany was the recipient of the Government’s Green Ribbon Award in the youth sector.
As a New Zealand youth delegate to both Copenhagen and Cancun climate negotiations in 2009 and 2010, Brittany holds strong belief in local community actions as a catalyst for political change. Her passions also include youth development, and she is excited to be a part of supporting and inspiring hundreds of young leaders to take action on climate change.
350 Aotearoa Media Spokesperson: Julia Capon
Julia has been working with not-for-profits since 2007. Her first job out of University was as the marketing manager of Trade Aid (2007-2010), and today works in Wellington at 350 Aotearoa, All Good Bananas and Planet Goodness. Julia is a board member of Global Focus Aotearoa (now the Global Focus Fund). With the closing of their development jobs board in 2011, she decided to launch this website to continue to offer a service for finding jobs that do good. In her spare time Julia likes to: help make films (Julia directed a documentary on Venezuela), direct charity theatre productions, hablar en espanol, ride her bike in a skirt (no lycra thanks!), and get her hands dirty at the local community garden.
Generation Zero Media Spokesperson: Louis Chambers
Louis grew up on a farm in Hawke’s Bay and, after attending the Copenhagen climate negotiations, realised that climate change was the defining issue of our generation. Since then, he’s been busy working with Generation Zero to build a nation-wide youth climate movement. He spent last summer in Washington, DC, working with the Environmental Defense Fund researching climate-related economic and policy issues. He sees Power Shift NZ-Pacific as a unique opportunity to upskill young New Zealanders and build the youth climate movement in New Zealand. Louis is Generation Zero’s national co-coordinator.
Pacific Media Spokesperson: Christina Ora
Christina comes from the remote province of Shortlands in the Solomon Islands, and has been involved with climate activism there and internationally since a young age. In 2009, at 17, Christina Ora addressed the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen, on behalf of world youth. Since then, she has been busy engaging her government and community on how climate change is impacting the Solomon Islands, and coordinating the country’s 350 group. She’s deeply passionate about the future of the Solomons, and her roles as the Youth ambassador for the Solomon Islands and as the youth representative of women, have seen her addressing groups on climate issues throughout the Solomons and overseas.
