The Young Greens mission is to convince a disillusioned youth that the Greens are more than a single-issue party.
Given its relatively young age, the prominence of the Young Greens has grown rapidly. In schools, universities and local communities, the youth wing of the Green Party has united youth activists across the country. This success is partly due to an increasing environmental consciousness amongst the population at large; however, the success is also due to the enthusiasm and determination of the Young Greens. It has been up to us to convince a disillusioned youth that we are not just a single issue party, but that we offer a radical alternative to the monotonous social polices that the mainstream parties churn out. Alternatives such as equal access to education, consistent opposition to war in Iraq and, unlike Cameron and Blair, we have been warning of the effects of climate change for decades, not weeks.
All around the country vibrant groups of Young Greens are spreading this message. For example, in East London Young Greens have been campaigning for several years to prevent the closure of Queens Market, perhaps Europe’s most ethnically diverse market, that provides fresh food to thousands of working class people in the East End.
At the London School of Economics, Greens have been campaigning for a ‘Living Wage’ for their cleaners, against their university’s investment in the arms trade and against the appointment of Peter Sutherland, the current Chair of BP, as the Chair-Elect of the School’s Governing Body. Such enthusiastic and principled activism is being mirrored at more and more campuses every year as Young Green groups are founded and continue to prosper. Nationally, Young Greens have campaigned against tuition fees at national marches and are this year focussing on issues regarding xenophobia and against Trident, a policy which has clear ramifications for generations to come. We have also canvassed (successfully) for local parties such as Oxford, Norwich and Islington, gaining valuable experience and providing a valuable resource for the wider Party.
Ironically, even this New Labour government recognises the campaigning work of Young Greens. Last year, Young Green Sofia Zabolotskih was named as one of the Government’s Climate Change Champions after a competition was organised to encourage young people to warn of the effects of climate change. But offering a viable alternative is not just about protesting against polices we disagree with, but about implementing those that will make our society more socially just and environmentally sustainable.
Young Greens are being elected across the country and are a growing force in the student movement. Last year saw the first ever Young Green, Joe Rooney, elected to the National Union of Students (NUS) National Executive. Around the country Greens are being elected in their universities’ own campus elections; in Nottingham, Chloe Cheeseman was elected as one of the University’s NUS delegates with more first preferences than nearly all of the other candidates put together.
Agitate, educate and organise
Perhaps the most meteoric rise has been that of the LSE Green Party where the Greens are the largest political party with around 30 per cent of the Students’ Union Executive. As more and more of Britain’s population is educated at university, the Young Greens will play an increasingly important role in enabling people to make the connection between voting Green and getting the effective and necessary change required to achieve economic and ecological justice, both locally and globally. It is therefore essential that the Young Greens are given the support and resources to continue to ‘agitate, educate and organise’ amongst the youth of today, if we are to ever achieve the better tomorrow that we all want to see.
Given its relatively young age, the prominence of the Young Greens has grown rapidly. In schools, universities and local communities, the youth wing of the Green Party has united youth activists across the country. This success is partly due to an increasing environmental consciousness amongst the population at large; however, the success is also due to the enthusiasm and determination of the Young Greens. It has been up to us to convince a disillusioned youth that we are not just a single issue party, but that we offer a radical alternative to the monotonous social polices that the mainstream parties churn out. Alternatives such as equal access to education, consistent opposition to war in Iraq and, unlike Cameron and Blair, we have been warning of the effects of climate change for decades, not weeks.
All around the country vibrant groups of Young Greens are spreading this message. For example, in East London Young Greens have been campaigning for several years to prevent the closure of Queens Market, perhaps Europe’s most ethnically diverse market, that provides fresh food to thousands of working class people in the East End.
At the London School of Economics, Greens have been campaigning for a ‘Living Wage’ for their cleaners, against their university’s investment in the arms trade and against the appointment of Peter Sutherland, the current Chair of BP, as the Chair-Elect of the School’s Governing Body. Such enthusiastic and principled activism is being mirrored at more and more campuses every year as Young Green groups are founded and continue to prosper. Nationally, Young Greens have campaigned against tuition fees at national marches and are this year focussing on issues regarding xenophobia and against Trident, a policy which has clear ramifications for generations to come. We have also canvassed (successfully) for local parties such as Oxford, Norwich and Islington, gaining valuable experience and providing a valuable resource for the wider Party.
Ironically, even this New Labour government recognises the campaigning work of Young Greens. Last year, Young Green Sofia Zabolotskih was named as one of the Government’s Climate Change Champions after a competition was organised to encourage young people to warn of the effects of climate change. But offering a viable alternative is not just about protesting against polices we disagree with, but about implementing those that will make our society more socially just and environmentally sustainable.
Young Greens are being elected across the country and are a growing force in the student movement. Last year saw the first ever Young Green, Joe Rooney, elected to the National Union of Students (NUS) National Executive. Around the country Greens are being elected in their universities’ own campus elections; in Nottingham, Chloe Cheeseman was elected as one of the University’s NUS delegates with more first preferences than nearly all of the other candidates put together.
NO MORE OIL, TIGERS EXTINCT AND CLIMATE CHANGE HITTING HARD - HOW YOUNG PEOPLE SEE THE WORLD IN 25 YEARS
In 25 years the oil will run out and tigers will be extinct in the wild, according to a uniquely wide-ranging survey of young people’s expectations of the future by the sustainable-development charity Forum for the Future and the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Those surveyed believe lifestyles will need to change radically if human civilisation is to survive into the next century. And they see themselves becoming much more environmentally active in the next decade to help do their bit towards achieving this.
The Future Leaders Survey 2006-2007, a major report published on 24 January, provides a fascinating insight into the hopes, fears and expectations of 54,240 of the UK’s brightest young people - respondents to a questionnaire sent to all university and college applicants aged 17-21 for the academic year 2006-2007. The findings suggest a widespread sense that today’s business and political leaders are failing us on climate change but provide a powerful mandate from young people to take radical action. Young women are shown to be significantly more concerned about the future than men - and more environmentally active.
Asked to consider what the world will be like in 25 years, a narrow majority of people expect quality of life in the UK to have improved but 91% think climate change will be hitting hard and 80% think inequality between rich and poor countries will grow. Two thirds believe global oil reserves will have run out, 74% expect to be talking to their computers instead of using a keyboard and 70% think tigers will be extinct in the wild. Most are optimistic that human civilisation will survive into the next century, but 76% believe lifestyles need to change radically across the board or in many areas for this to be achieve.
Source: Forum for the Future / UCAS
The Future Leaders Survey 2006-2007, a major report published on 24 January, provides a fascinating insight into the hopes, fears and expectations of 54,240 of the UK’s brightest young people - respondents to a questionnaire sent to all university and college applicants aged 17-21 for the academic year 2006-2007. The findings suggest a widespread sense that today’s business and political leaders are failing us on climate change but provide a powerful mandate from young people to take radical action. Young women are shown to be significantly more concerned about the future than men - and more environmentally active.
Asked to consider what the world will be like in 25 years, a narrow majority of people expect quality of life in the UK to have improved but 91% think climate change will be hitting hard and 80% think inequality between rich and poor countries will grow. Two thirds believe global oil reserves will have run out, 74% expect to be talking to their computers instead of using a keyboard and 70% think tigers will be extinct in the wild. Most are optimistic that human civilisation will survive into the next century, but 76% believe lifestyles need to change radically across the board or in many areas for this to be achieve.
Source: Forum for the Future / UCAS
