Environmental youthquake planned

Environmental youthquake planned

MELBOURNE — "Youthquake Australia" is the title of the second national conference of the Environmental Youth Alliance, scheduled for March 29 to April 1 at Wesley College.

The EYA is a national organisation for young people wanting to organise around environmental and other issues.

The conference will consist of two panel discussions and many workshops, focusing on how young people can influence both the human and natural environments.

The gathering will begin with a public meeting on March 29. Speakers will include ACTU choir and Montreal Protocol team member Sian Prior, and Tom the Poet.

On March 30, the panel discussion will take in themes such as war and the environment, and environmental problems in the Third World. Speakers will include Robert Burrows of the Gulf Peace Team; Jorge Jorquera, an activist in the Latin American solidarity movement; Emma Johnston, a peace laureate; and Danielle Morrell of the EYA and Secondary Students Against the Gulf War.

The March 31 panel will focus on the natural environment. Speakers will be Caroline Pickburn of the Environmental Youth Alliance and the Australian Conservation Foundation, and Bob McDonald.

Workshops will cover women and the environment, technology, the Gulf War, exploitation of the Third World and links between the green and peace movements.

April 1 will be activist oriented, with trips to plant trees and visits to Sherbrooke Forest and the zoo.

The conference will also feature poetry readings and an eco-fair, at which environmental and social justice groups will set up stalls.n

From GLW issue 5