For years, the Sierra Student Coalition along with many other youth environmental activist groups have been engaged with Power Shift, an online community of young people working across the U.S. to empower one another to act on climate. And next month, Power Shift is going global. The Ghana Youth Environmental Movement and the Ghana Youth Climate Coalition will initiate Power Shift Ghana.
The three-day summit will be the largest gathering of youth coming together to call for clean energy in Ghana’s history. Young people will gather to learn how to run clean energy campaigns and implement environmental policy. The event also seeks to give voice to those who have been affected by climate disruption. Agbobloshie, a neighborhood in Accra, Ghana, has been named one of the 10 Most Polluted Places in the world, highlighting the urgent need to shift from coal plants, illegal mining, and dangerous oil exploration to clean energy.
Power Shift Ghana seeks to pressure the Ghanaian government to make necessary change, but emphasizes that Ghana does not face these issues alone. A keynote address by a UN Special Envoy on Climate Change as well as Q&A Sessions from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, & Innovation, the Ministry of Energy & Petroleum, and the Ministry of Land & Natural Resources will give Power Shift Ghana major momentum towards their goals. But there is still much left to do.
Here’s how you can support Power Shift Ghana:
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Spread the word about their project and goals by e-mailing 10 friends.
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Tweet and share this blog post on social media.
- Visit Power Shift Ghana’s IndieGogo fundraising site and donate. If the groups are not able to raise their target funding, they will have to cut down on the number of participants for Power Shift.
President Obama just set the first-ever limits on climate disrupting carbon pollution from all U.S. power plants. Now we must continue this incredible momentum by working toward international climate action.
Sample tweets:
Power Shift #Ghana is ready to #ActOnClimate. Here's how you can help: http://sc.org/PSGhana
Agbobloshie, Ghana is in 10 top most polluted places in the world. Power Shift #Ghana can change that: http://sc.org/PSGhana #ActOnClimate
Power Shift #Ghana will be the largest gathering of youth to #ActOnClimate in Ghana's history. Here's how you can help: http://sc.org/PSGhana
--Victoria Keller, Sierra Student Coalition and Online Organizing Intern