On
the morning of 31 July, around forty campers woke bright and early to
board a coach to London. Protest stickers from the Peace tent were distributed
all round and soon we were off to pay a visit to the Greater London Authority
(GLA) in their new ‘egg’ building. Their Environment Committee
were organising an ‘Environmental Youth Debate’ and we were
determined to make some noise.
We arrived in good time, and with Sust’n’Able flanking us, all posed for a picture. The building was amazing, like a gigantic, egg-shaped spiral! In true Woodcraft style we gathered for a circle and said the creed. Then we, Sust and Able made our way through the revolving doors and we were inside the egg!
We were ushered through the building and, to our great delight, offered food and drink! Pizza, sausage rolls, chicken (but not a drop of fair trade juice in sight) …not much was said as we happily munched. When everyone had eaten their fill we gathered together with all the other young people (from organisations including the UK Youth Parliament and the King’s Fund) and were welcomed to the debate.
Then
we were split into four workshops dealing with noise, energy, waste and
green spaces. A member of the GLA environment committee ran each workshop
and for the next hour we debated the issues and aired our views. We drew
up a list of proposals that had come out of the workshops and nominated
a young person to share these with everyone at the next stage of the debate,
which was to be held in the conference room where the Assembly meet!
Excited, we made our winding way up the spiral and took our seats. In front of us was a circular table where Environment committee members, representatives from charities and young people including four Woodies were seated. The discussion began by a presentation by three Woodcraft members on the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Sust’n’Able made an appearance!
A man spoke about a global ceasefire day that would be happening in September, then the representatives from each workshop fed back to all of us. A debate including those from the floor ensued with issues from youth participation to transport discussed.
Everything was noted down and it seemed that the members were genuinely listening although it is a pity that there is no permanent structure for young people to feed into the GLA yet. However, we thought it was great that they were taking this initiative, as it was a good opportunity for young people to have their voices heard. The issues that came up most frequently were phrased as motions and all were passed. A feedback meeting was promised and the day ended on a positive note.
The deputy mayor and committee member, Nicky Gavron, is attending the World Summit and she invited the Woodcraft delegates to a press briefing event being organised by the GLA.
Click here to see the report on the GLA's web site
Cheques and pledges received since the Woodcraft Folk's recent Annual Gathering have added another £2,000 to the Johannesburg fund bringing the total raised so far to around £19,500. The target to cover the costs of the delegation's visit is £25,000.
Woodcraft Folk Summit delegate Matthew Carroll attended the final 'PrepCom' planning meeting for the Summit which took place in Bali. Here are Matthew's reports of the events of Bali:
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Delegation briefing
The Woodcraft Folk's delegation to Johannesburg got together at the end of June for their first intensive briefing weekend. The team discussed the practicalities of the trip, how they would organise themselves, how to share responsibilities and what they knew about the issues to be discussed at the Summit.
Ahighlight of the weekend was a visitor from the oil company BP who challenged the group's ideas about multinational responsibility and accountability.
The weekend was held at the Youth House in Wanborough, Surrey - a delightful venue for getting lots of work done.
Bali
We are delighted to say that the Woodcraft Folk will be represented at the final preparatory committee meeting for the World Summit, which takes place in Bali at the end of May. Delegation member Matthew Carroll, currently a student in Toronto, Canada, will travel to Indonesia for the 'PrepCom'.
Matthew's mission is to find out as much as possible about the issues on the agenda for Johannesburg and to meet the other members of the Youth caucus who our delegation will work with at the Summit.
Delegation
announced
The number of applications received for places on the Johannesburg delegation
well exceeded the expectations of the steering committee. Choosing a selection
panel which was comprised mainly of young people was tricky because so
many of the steering committee were also applicants or had other 'interests'
to declare!
But even worse still was the task which faced the selection panel when the came to consider the applications. In true Woodcraft style they faced up to the challenge and eventually announced the following names as the successful applicants:
- Kate Lyons, Birmingham SE
- Matthew Carroll, Leeds & Birmingham
- William Coulby, Bath
- Rhiannon (Rhino) Johns, Ealing
- Martha Robinson, Ealing
- Lloyd Russell-Moyle, Lewes
- Eleanor Dodd, Leaping Flame Venturers, Solihull
- Rachel Schon, Camden
"I think that what excites me the most about going to the Summit is knowing that we have such a strong mandate from the thousands of people who signed the declaration at and since IC2001" said Matthew Carroll. His sentiments were echoed by Rhino Johns: "I think it will be such an amazing opportunity for Woodcraft Folk and young people everywhere to get involved in the decision making process of a World Summit."
Together with Tamsin Pearce (Chair of General Council), Tilly Sheridan (Administrator) and another leader (to be announced) they will travel to Johannesburg on 24 August. More details about the delegation.
MP support
A letter circulated to MPs and Assembly members about the Johannesburg project has generated a flurry of interest and support from politicians. Amongst the most exciting responses are an invitation to give evidence to the parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee. In his letter, Plaid Cymru MP Simon Thomas wrote:
"I congratulate The Woodcraft Folk on organising the delegation of young people to go to the World Summit and also in succeeding in being accredited by the United Nations. I very much support your declaration and will draw it to the attention of my constituents wherever possible."
And in the latest postbag came a letter of support from John Prescott:
"I was delighted to learn of your work promoting sustainability issues among children and youth both in the UK and internationally in the run up to the World Summit in Johannesburg this August.
"I am also pleased to see that The Woodcraft Folk have been accredited to WSSD by the United Nations, and that you will be sending a group of young people to South Africa to engage with the event first-hand. This will, I am sure, be an invaluable experience for them, and their presence will benefit the adult delegates too.
"I
welcome the inclusion of energy and water issues in your Declaration for
the Summit. The UK Government has also established these as priority areas
for WSSD. We hope that the Summit will result in real progress to deliver
both access to sustainable energy and access to clean water and sanitation
for the millions in the world's poorest countries who live without either."
Members of the Greater London Assembly have also invited us to meet them at the new City Hall, when it opens in July, to tell them more about the project and our ideas on sustainability.
Earth
Centre weekend
Members of the Walesby to Johannesburg steering committee were joined
at the Earth Centre by representatives of IFM organisations from across
Europe for a planning weekend in March.
The international delegates from Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary and the Czech Republic were invited to come and find out about our preparations for the Summit and to share ideas for co-operation within the International Falcon Movement on sustainability projects.
The Earth Centre near Doncaster, visited by many groups during International Camp, provided an interesting and appropriate backdrop for the weekend with chances to see Europe's second largest solar canopy which powers the complex and numerous other examples of sustainability in practice.
The programme included discussions on the various issues which will form the agenda for the Johannesburg Summit along with practical workshops on using the media, the internet, public speaking, and educational materials. Woodcraft participants at the meeting included a large number of Venturers and DFs from all parts of Britain.
Still need money
Fundraising
to get our delegation to Johannesburg is now underway with urgency. About
one quarter of the £25,000 budget for the project has been raised
to date.
"We hope that all our District's will dig deep," said project
administrator Tilly Sheridan.
"The delegation are going to Johannesburg to represent the views of all the young people who took part in last summer's camp so we hope everyone will back them by helping to raise the funds needed for the trip."
Please send cheques, payable to the Woodcraft Folk, to Head Office. You can also make credit card donations on-line here.
Accreditation
The Woodcraft Folk is delighted to announce that its application to the
United Nations for accreditation to attend the Summit has been successful.
This means that our young people will be able to attend and take a full
part in the work of the Youth group and multi-stakeholder dialogue aspects
of the gathering.
The visit to Johannesburg will provide an opportunity to meet and talk
to other young people who share our concerns, amongst expect 50,000 participants.
Your
Wake Up Call
In addition to the group of young people we hope to send to Johannesburg,
the Woodcraft Folk has been invited by the United Nations Environment
and Development Committee UK to nominate two young people and a mentor
to take part in a project called 'Your Wake Up Call'.
The project will send 100 young people from the UK to Johannesburg where
they will be joined in their participation in the Summit by 80 young South
Africans. The group of 180 will meet in Birmingham in April to prepare
for the Summit.
We are pleased to announce that our representatives will be: Sarah-Jade
Franks, a Venturer from East Acton; Emily Hutchison, a Venturer
from Edinburgh; with mentor Ben Young, a Venturer leader from Edinburgh.