climate chance, presentation for university of hong kong medical school freshmen

This is a presentation by Jessica, Network Coordinator of Climate Chance, a youth network based in HK. Script: Warm up interactive question CO2 trend graph Stand up if you know about climate change. Stand still if you have seen and understood the graph shown on the screen. (If there is somebody standing up, I will ask him/her to explain the graph. If not, I will explain it to all) Why am I here? I don’t dare to say that I’m representing the whole group to give this talk. People join us for different reasons therefore they have different stories, so I can’t generalize. I’d rather to say, today I’m here, representing myself to share my story with you, which is part of the network’s story because we grow together. It's always fascinated me the idea of finishing your life and then being analyzed on it. It was in my second year of studying, I suddenly had a strong feeling that my life means more than the GPA I can gain, the promising future I can fight for. So I made a decision, to step out of the living cycle I get used to and go out to find out “what is more” to me. So my story starts with going to Canada and volunteered for Greenpeace. It is my voluntary service that taught me this. Video on Global Warming Simpsons I hope you enjoy the video. It is a good reflection of the basic scientific and political facts of climate change. Once I acknowledge and recognize it, the moral imperative to make big changes seems to me is inescapable. AYCS slideshow UNFCCC COP13 slide show So upon my return to Hong Kong, I participated in the Asian Youth Climate Summit, which gathered over 100 youth delegates from 23 countries all over the world. During the summit, we discussed about climate justice, carbon trade market and came up with a youth statement that later on served as a guideline for Asian youth to organize campaigns on campus. What I found out was more amazing is that the summit was organized by a group of young HKU students, just like me. They went to the United Nation Conference on Climate Change and got inspired. Upon their return, they established Hong Kong Climate Change Coalition, which is now known as Climate Chance. So I asked myself, “If they can do this, what can I do?” Then I become part of them and we organized campaigns together — Video of Fung’s fashion show We also go around the world to make our voice heard in China Hubei Debate In Turkey Jamie, 350.org In Geneva Kofi Annan In Australia U21 And even in Antarctica Penguin The great minds we’ve met and the great discussion we’ve participated constantly question us in the same way, what fundamentally caused climate change? Is climate change only an environmental issue? Well, we finally come to the answer “NO”. We see climate change as a symptom of a larger ill and unsustainable pattern of development our current social, economic and political structure is based on. The structure is based on extraction, manipulation and transportation of resources towards centralized locations. A mode of thinking of the industrial age, which is now over. So that’s why we rename ourselves climate chance. We don’t see climate change as a threat but an opportunity -- an opportunity for me to find out how I want to live with my life, an opportunity for us to proactively create the world we envision, an opportunity for you to find yourself part of something bigger. Here is the chance. This year in December, world leaders will gather in Copenhagen to try to come up with a climate agreement. So this semester, on Oct 24, we are having a campaign, as part of the global youth movement to speak up and ensure us a just and sustainable world. 350 Global Action Day Video We also have a series of campaigns that lead to the Global Action Day by collecting snapshots to spread out the message. 350 snapshot video The video is made by our members. I feel grateful to have a bunch of like-minded friends supporting