Teens Launch "Inconvenient Youth" Network
Inconvenient Youth, a new non-profit, non-partisan network for and by teens has started recruiting and training young people to fight global warming, according to an Aug. 15 press release. Today the group launched with a three-day workshop on climate change at Stanford University attended by youth from around the world.
The group held a three-day workshop on climate change Aug. 15-17 at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. Eighty students from as far away as New York and Japan are learning how to educate others about global warming and what they can do to fight it. Sessions included environmental science backgrounders, breakout discussions, brainstorming, and plenary meetings. Keynote presentations will be delivered by Mary Doerr, founder and executive director, Inconvenient Youth; Steve Shenbaum, president, GameOn Media; Adam Metz, president, Metz Networks; and Raj Shukla, project coordinator, The Climate Project.
Inconvenient Youth is a network founded and driven by a team of four teenagers based in Menlo Park, Calif. Their goal is to mobilize young people to educate their communities about environmental science and solutions using a youth-focused version of "An Inconvenient Truth." The network is working to build enough momentum to make a real impact in solving global warming. Among the actions recommended by the group are grass-roots campaigns, forming campus climate clubs, and video recording sessions with city council and congressional members.
"The world's youth have a huge personal stake in global warming," said Inconvenient Youth founder Mary Doerr, a high school senior. "After all, it is our future that hangs in the balance. The Inconvenient Youth network will give a voice to the many youth around the world who want to make difference now."
Miles Alkire, director of operations for Inconvenient Youth and a college freshman, added, "We believe the climate change problem can be solved and youth will make a difference. This group of 80 trainees will tap into their local communities and quickly grow to a network of over a thousand youth. We're already working to schedule sessions at campuses across the nation."
The student leaders of Inconvenient Youth believe their information-drenched, socially-networked generation can have a major impact on the problem. Doerr added, "We're going beyond Facebook to get this issue 'in the face' of adults and other teens. Together we can solve it."
For more information, visit www.InconvenientYouth.org.