By Carla Gorton
SYDNEY — More than 100 young people have already registered for the Environmental Youth Alliance national conference, and new registrations are coming in every day.
This conference will be held on Friday and Saturday, April 9-10, at the University of Technology, Sydney. The theme is "young people demand environmental justice".
" The response to the conference has been extremely positive. People from Perth, Lismore, Hobart and all over Australia are coming along", says Zanny Begg, from the conference organising committee. "We even have people from New Zealand attending.
"Young people want to get active. There is a real sense of frustration at the continuing devastation of the environment. We know that the future of the planet is at stake, and yet those in power are doing nothing. EYA wants to change the world so that people and the environment are put first."
Begg has been helping to put together the agenda. She feels that the conference provides a chance for discussion on the "breadth of issues threatening the planet".
"Understanding is crucial to constructive action", Begg says, "so lots of time has been devoted to important issues such as global warming and alternative energies. The main focus of the conference, however, is on how we can get active, because it's only by doing something that we will reverse the current ecocide."
Major attractions of the conference will be two feature panels on the urban environment and Third World environmental struggles. Special guests for the Third World panel will be the Solomons Island SEI! Akson group. SEI! use drama to inform people about environment and development issues. They will talk about cultural action as a method of communicating information and give a demonstration of their work.
The agenda includes plenty of time for discussion of EYA activities and campaigns. "I am looking forward to the chance to talk with other activists about ideas for environmental campaigns", said Begg. "One of the things I would like to see EYA plan is a big focus on World Environment Day. Last year EYA was a main force behind the World Environment Day rallies, and we were able to mobilise hundreds of young people against the
sell-outs of the Earth Summit conference in Rio. This year EYA could plan even more."
Melbourne EYA is bringing about 40 people to Sydney for the conference. Jo Brown, an EYA activist in Melbourne, said that the group was really looking forward to the conference. "We want to be able to network with other EYA groups and develop a strategy for youth environmental action." Brown will be facilitating a session on EYA work on campus.
Rjurik Davidson is active with EYA Perth. He points out, "Perth is very isolated from the rest of Australia, and we really appreciate being able to meet up with other environmentalists at the EYA conference. It's really important that we all work together on environmental campaigns. EYA's greatest strength is its ability to draw together young people into a collective organisation.
"EYA is involved in so many different campaigns it's hard to keep track. The conference provides a good chance to catch up with what others have been up to."
The conference is open to anyone who wants to participate. For further information contact the EYA national office at PO Box R1240, Sydney 2000, or phone (02) 690 1230.