Crisis of Conscience
Howdy Generation Green. You are an inspiration and I hope one day we can all chill at some solar-powered chalet in the Boreal, after saving it from Kimberly Clark and the Yellow Pages. (I once heard that 50% of paper consumption in the US is for catalogs, flyers and phone books. Insanity.)
I just wanted to post in the interest of transparency and honesty... while I think I could be a kickass organizing chair I'm concerned about the implications for the environmental youth activism I'm doing now and will continue in 2007... and so I'd like to ask for you, my fellow candidates, current YGC council, and interested peeps across Canada, for advice.
I'm doing a lot of climate change activism, have been for the past couple years. This fall, I organized a group of 20 young Canadians from across the nation (www.cydnairobi.ca) to make their voices heard and represent the young environmental movement in Canada to the world at the United Nations Climate Negotiations in Nairobi, Kenya - and we rocked. At a time when Canada's international reputation is slipping, the climate is changing, and the foundations of our social system - the ones that made Canada one of the best places in the world to live and internationally respected - are being hacked away by vicious neo-cons, we stood up, loud and proud, and we said NO - Canada CAN and WILL meet its commitments to the world, the atmosphere and the planet. We had the largest youth delegation from anywhere in the world, we were professional, we were honest, we were forthright about our concerns and our intentions to see the negotiations through, and we were incredibly effective, meeting with delegations from all over the world, with the Secretary General of the UNFCCC, with Sir Nicholas Stern, with the President of the COP (the Kenyan Environment Minister), with the Canadian Delegation and the Minister... Now, we are preparing for a follow up meeting with the federal government in January, to discuss climate change, youth engagement, Canada's international commitments, review best practices, and chart a path forward to COP 13, in Bali, Indonesia next December.
I'm working to secure full or part time employment continuing this engagement in 2007. I believe I can do that and also develop and implement a kick ass youth engagement campaign, but I'm concerned about being labeled partisan because of close association with a particular political party. I'm not entirely certain what conditions there are with this kind of work, but one of the major groups I work with, the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition, is expressly non-partisan (www.ourclimate.ca). A friend said I had nothing to worry about - that I can switch hats as necessary and have no need to fear accusations (though, of course, they will inevitably come - such is the nature of our politiks). I believe I can do both, should I be elected. And truth be told, I want to. I'm committed to the Greens as much as the next young green-freak and would love to build the party, and give young Canadians a vision to believe in. But in situations where I am not certain, I always seek the advice of friends.
So dish it out - please. The election period starts today, and if it ain't right, i don't want to take any votes from the other kickass candidates, Jared and Dave.
All the best-
Cam
I just wanted to post in the interest of transparency and honesty... while I think I could be a kickass organizing chair I'm concerned about the implications for the environmental youth activism I'm doing now and will continue in 2007... and so I'd like to ask for you, my fellow candidates, current YGC council, and interested peeps across Canada, for advice.
I'm doing a lot of climate change activism, have been for the past couple years. This fall, I organized a group of 20 young Canadians from across the nation (www.cydnairobi.ca) to make their voices heard and represent the young environmental movement in Canada to the world at the United Nations Climate Negotiations in Nairobi, Kenya - and we rocked. At a time when Canada's international reputation is slipping, the climate is changing, and the foundations of our social system - the ones that made Canada one of the best places in the world to live and internationally respected - are being hacked away by vicious neo-cons, we stood up, loud and proud, and we said NO - Canada CAN and WILL meet its commitments to the world, the atmosphere and the planet. We had the largest youth delegation from anywhere in the world, we were professional, we were honest, we were forthright about our concerns and our intentions to see the negotiations through, and we were incredibly effective, meeting with delegations from all over the world, with the Secretary General of the UNFCCC, with Sir Nicholas Stern, with the President of the COP (the Kenyan Environment Minister), with the Canadian Delegation and the Minister... Now, we are preparing for a follow up meeting with the federal government in January, to discuss climate change, youth engagement, Canada's international commitments, review best practices, and chart a path forward to COP 13, in Bali, Indonesia next December.
I'm working to secure full or part time employment continuing this engagement in 2007. I believe I can do that and also develop and implement a kick ass youth engagement campaign, but I'm concerned about being labeled partisan because of close association with a particular political party. I'm not entirely certain what conditions there are with this kind of work, but one of the major groups I work with, the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition, is expressly non-partisan (www.ourclimate.ca). A friend said I had nothing to worry about - that I can switch hats as necessary and have no need to fear accusations (though, of course, they will inevitably come - such is the nature of our politiks). I believe I can do both, should I be elected. And truth be told, I want to. I'm committed to the Greens as much as the next young green-freak and would love to build the party, and give young Canadians a vision to believe in. But in situations where I am not certain, I always seek the advice of friends.
So dish it out - please. The election period starts today, and if it ain't right, i don't want to take any votes from the other kickass candidates, Jared and Dave.
All the best-
Cam
posted by Cam Stiff @ 11:30 AM
3 Comments:
At 6:41 PM, December 22, 2006,
Jared Giesbrecht said…
Hey Cam, Sounds like you are doing some great work! From my perspective, there is absolutely no problem being involved in activist groups outside the party--even if they are non-partisan. I think the partisan issue would only be an issue for the non-partisan groups.
In my mind the only concern would be whether or not you would have enough time and energy to dedicate 100% to the Young Greens Council. The first year of Council, especially, will be a huge time and energy commitment. But, I have no idea about your situation--this may not be a problem at all.
Keep up the good work and thanks for being open about your thoughts on this issue.
At 3:45 PM, December 28, 2006,
Cam Stiff said…
I'm not worried about time - in fact, considering it's 100% volunteer and a large number of candidates seem to be students, I would think that the time commitment wouldn't be huge. My initial thoughts were 5-10 hours/week, at first, and then intensifying as the campaign season gets under way.
You are pursuing a law degree at one of Canada's most prestigious universities. How much time are you expecting to give to the YGC?
At 4:14 PM, December 28, 2006,
Jared Giesbrecht said…
Sounds good. I think your estimation of about 10 hours a week would be about right (with more during election times). (Because it is the first year of Council, this is a bit of a guess). Also, because it is the first year, it may take a bit more than we expect to get things set up. Thanks again for your honesty about your non-partisan commitments and good luck with the campaign.
Jared Giesbrecht http://www.organizingchair.blogspot.com
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