UK Student Climate Network

Last updated

UK Student Climate Network
UK Student Climate Network Logo.jpg
UKSCN's current logo, designed in March 2019.
Founded1 December 2018;3 years ago (2018-12-01)
FounderAnna Taylor, Ivi Hohmann, and Daniela Torres Perez.
Founded at London, England, United Kingdom
TypeStudent-led environmental organisation
Purpose Climate change mitigation and Youth voice
Area served
England and Wales, previously Northern Ireland
Volunteers
>7 (as of April 2021)
Website www.ukscn.org

UK Student Climate Network (UKSCN) is a student-led climate justice organisation operating in England and Wales founded by Anna Taylor, then aged 17, on 1 December 2018, along with Ivi Hohmann and Daniela Torres Perez. [1]

Contents

UKSCN are a group of mainly under 18s who have been calling for strikes from school since February 2019, as part of the Youth Strike 4 Climate movement, with the ambition of getting the Government of the United Kingdom and the Welsh Government to take action on the climate crisis by fulfilling their demands. [2] Their strikes have seen thousands of students across England and Wales, with Fridays For Future Scotland, and Youth Climate Association Northern Ireland organising youth climate strikes in Scotland, and Northern Ireland respectively, leave or not go to school on Fridays. [3]

Demands

The network has four demands:

DEMAND 1-SAVE THE FUTURE The Government is to declare a climate emergency and implement a Green New Deal to achieve Climate Justice.

DEMAND 2-TEACH THE FUTURE The education system must be repurposed and reformed around the climate emergency to better teach young people about its urgency, severity, scientific basis and methods of mitigation. This demand has now evolved into the Teach the Future England campaign which is supported by the School Group Developmental working group [4] as well as SOS-UK and various partner organisations.

DEMAND 3-TELL THE FUTURE The Government communicate the severity of the ecological crisis and the necessity to act now to the general public.

DEMAND 4-EMPOWER THE FUTURE

Young people must be included in policy making, and no one should be excluded from participation in our democracy on the basis of age, citizenship, permanent address, incarceration or anything else. For as long as UK democracy is conducted through a representative system, everyone living in the UK over the age of 16 must have the right to vote in elections, conducted via proportional representation, so that everyone's vote is reflected in our government and is worth the same. [5]

Structure

The organisation is divided into the regional groups of: South East, South West, Midlands, North East, North West, Wales and, as of July 2019, London. UKSCN is part of the Youth Strike 4 Climate movement in England and Wales. The rest of the UK is covered by separate organisations, in Scotland by Fridays For Future Scotland, in Northern Ireland by the Youth Climate Association Northern Ireland (YCANI). YCANI previously were affiliated with UKSCN, however, split away from the group due to cultural, legal and political differences between the two groups respective operating countries. FFF Scotland were asked to join UKSCN soon after the founding of both organisations, however, declined for similar reasons.

Isle of Man Student Climate Network are a separate group who organise strikes in the Isle of Man, a Crown Dependency of the United Kingdom. Isle of Man Student Climate Network coordinates with UKSCN, but are an independent organisation, founded in March 2019 by Ciara Sowerby, Archibald Elliott and Emily Thompson.

UKSCN does not directly organise strikes, they act as a support network for over 120 active local groups and strikes in over 300 locations around England and Wales. [6] It has a national organising team that is split into several working groups that take part in campaigns and work with other movements. The number of volunteers assisting the group grew from around 30 in early March 2019 to an estimate of 300 by the end of April that year. In addition, it provides a platform for connection to around 350 youth strikers, whom are unaffiliated to the group specifically.

History

Youth Strikers in Bristol in February 2019 Bristol Youth Strike 15.02.19.jpg
Youth Strikers in Bristol in February 2019

UKSCN's first strike was held on 15 February 2019, under the name YouthStrike4Climate. It saw 15,000 English and Welsh school students strike from schools in protest, with strikes in Scotland and Northern Ireland organised by different organisations. [7] [8]

This was followed by a second strike on 15 March 2019 which was coordinated with global Youth Strike 4 Climate protests that were held across the world, which saw 1.6 million students go on strike. [9] The organisation's demonstrations have grown in popularity, with an estimated total of 20,000 people in attendance at the demonstration held outside Parliament Square in London on 15 March and 50,000 across England and Wales. The strikes are in solidarity with other Youth Strike 4 Climate protests taking place across the world. [10] [11]

Strikes have since taken place on:

The only nationally coordinated strikes of 2020 were on 17 January and 14 February. Local group Bristol Youth Strike 4 Climate organised and held a strike on 28 February 2020 that was attended by over 30,000 people along with Greta Thunberg. [14] Any further demonstrations were paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic; [15] however, youth strikers have been engaging in online actions such as Fridays for Future Digital and Polluters Out's Twitter Storm.

Related Research Articles

Solidarity Federation

The Solidarity Federation, also known by the abbreviation SolFed, is a federation of class struggle anarchists active in Britain. The organisation advocates a strategy of anarcho-syndicalism as a method of abolishing capitalism and the state, and describes itself as a "revolutionary union". In 1994 it adopted its current name, having previously been the Direct Action Movement since 1979, and before that the Syndicalist Workers' Federation since 1950.

Young Liberals is the youth and student organisation of the British Liberal Democrats. Membership is automatic for members of the Liberal Democrats aged 30 and under. It organises a number of fringe events at the Liberal Democrat Federal Conference, which is held twice each year.

Socialist Students is a socialist organisation with branches in universities, further education colleges and sixth form colleges in the United Kingdom. Socialist Students was established in the late 1990s by members of the Socialist Party (SP) who had built support for the Save Free Education Campaign amongst students in the battle over the introduction of fees when the Labour Party under Tony Blair was elected in 1997.

Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) is the national membership organisation for the third sector and volunteering in Wales. Its aim is to work towards 'A future where the third sector and volunteering thrive across Wales, improving wellbeing for all'.

UK Youth Climate Coalition Youth climate empowerment organization

The UK Youth Climate Coalition (UKYCC) is a non-profit youth organisation in the United Kingdom. The organisation is run entirely by unpaid volunteers, who are all aged 18 to 29.

Climate movement Nongovernmental organizations engaged in climate activism

The climate movement is a global social movement focused on pressuring governments and industry to take action addressing the causes and impacts of climate change. Although its roots stem from the broader environmental movement, climate activism gained significant momentum in the 2010s, particularly following the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2016.

Extinction Rebellion Environmental pressure group

Extinction Rebellion is a global environmental movement with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk of social and ecological collapse. Extinction Rebellion was established in the United Kingdom in May 2018 by Gail Bradbrook, Simon Bramwell and Roger Hallam, along with 8 other co-founders from the campaign group Rising Up!

September 2019 climate strikes Fridays for Future global school climate strikes

The September 2019 climate strikes, also known as the Global Week for Future, were a series of international strikes and protests to demand action be taken to address climate change, which took place from 20–27 September 2019. The strikes' key dates were 20 September, which was three days before the United Nations Climate Summit, and 27 September. The protests took place across 4,500 locations in 150 countries. The event is a part of the school strike for climate movement, inspired by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. The Guardian reported that roughly 6 million people participated in the events, whilst 350.org—a group that organised many of the protests—claim that 7.6 million people participated.

School Strike for Climate International youth movement for climate action

School Strike for Climate, also known variously as Fridays for Future (FFF), Youth for Climate, Climate Strike or Youth Strike for Climate, is an international movement of school students who skip Friday classes to participate in demonstrations to demand action from political leaders to prevent climate change and for the fossil fuel industry to transition to renewable energy.

Earth Strike Climate activist movement

Earth Strike is an international grassroots movement that called for a global general strike for climate action. Their aim was a global general strike lasting from 20 until 27 September 2019. The movement has had public support from organizations including Extinction Rebellion and Fridays for Future, as well as public figures including Noam Chomsky. The Earth Strikes were part of the worldwide September 2019 climate strikes, which gathered millions of protesters.

Beth Doherty Irish youth climate activist

Beth Doherty is an Irish climate activist. A follower of fellow climate activist Greta Thunberg, Doherty is a member of Fridays for Future. Beginning at age 15, Doherty has raised awareness of efforts to fight climate change.

Extinction Rebellion Youth Youth environmental pressure group

Extinction Rebellion Youth is the autonomous youth wing of the global environmental movement Extinction Rebellion (XR), made up of activists under the age of 30. It has the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk of social and ecological collapse. XR Youth was established in the United Kingdom in February 2019 by a collective of young environmental activists from XR. In contrast to the rest of XR, the youth wing is more centred around climate justice and consideration of the Global South and indigenous peoples. As of September 2020, there are over 200 branches globally, including over 80 in the UK.

Noga Levy-Rapoport is a Israeli-born British climate activist, speaker, and volunteer within English climate strikes at the UK Student Climate Network.

Teach the Future

Teach the Future is a youth-led campaign pushing for broad climate education in the UK, with specific branches in Scotland, England and Wales. It is formed by a volunteer base of students studying across England, Scotland and Wales at all levels of education - from secondary to tertiary - who believe that sustainability and climate change need to be taught across the curriculum, equipping generations to come with the skills and knowledge needed for the green jobs of the futures.

The Youth Strike For Climate Protests on 14 February 2020, also known as the Valentines Day Youth Strike for Climate, was a series of Climate Strikes organised by local groups of climate activists across the UK, mostly affiliated to Youth Climate Association Northern Ireland, Scottish Youth Climate Strike, UKSCN, XR Youth or Fridays for Future. They urged students across the country to strike in their city. Cities such as London, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness, Belfast, Omagh, Durham, Glasgow, Brighton and more had students march in their centres. In London, students marched outside of the Houses of Parliament, being led by chants, similar to other parts of the country. Also in London, flares were thrown and police were involved with some not so peaceful protesters while the large group was marching through the streets.

Bristol Youth Strike 4 Climate Youth environmental pressure group

Bristol Youth Strike 4 Climate is an environmental advocacy group that was established in February 2019. in response to the international Fridays for Future and Youth Strike 4 Climate movements. Run by a team of student volunteers aged 14 to 24, the group have organised 10 climate strikes as of September 2020, calling for climate justice and drawing attention to the climate and ecological crisis.

Saoi O'Connor is an Irish climate activist, who began the Fridays for Future strike in Cork, Ireland in January 2019.

Mitzi Jonelle Tan is a Filipino climate justice activist. She lives in Metro Manila, Philippines.

References

  1. Salter, Steve; de Pressigny, Clementine (11 February 2019). "why are thousands of students striking from school?". i-D.
  2. "Our Demands". UK Student Climate Network. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  3. "Hundreds of pupils demand climate change action". ITV News. 15 February 2019.
  4. "Schools". UK Student Climate Network. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  5. "Demands". UK Student Climate Network. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  6. Taylor, Anna (26 April 2019). "Our school climate strikes have been a success and we're only getting started". The Guardian .
  7. "Schoolchildren strike for the climate". Bright Green. 15 February 2019.
  8. Sharma, Ruchira (15 March 2019). "Thousands of students across the UK march in second climate change strikes". inews.
  9. Barclay, Eliza (15 March 2019). "Photos: kids in 123 countries went on strike to protect the climate". Vox. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  10. Lucas, Caroline (14 March 2019). "Wake up, Philip Hammond. The climate crisis needs action, not lip service". The Guardian .
  11. Carrington, Damian (12 April 2019). "Fresh wave of youth climate action protests expected across Britain". The Guardian .
  12. "UK Student Climate Network on Instagram: "For the last 6 months, the youth have been striking from school to demand climate action, on an issue that is set to displace 25 million to…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  13. "YouthStrike4Climate on Instagram: "THOUSANDS: people turned out across the UK today. It was epic. 🔥 To keep hearing from us, sign up: LINK IN BIO!"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  14. "Greta Thunberg joined by crowds of 30,000 at Bristol Youth Climate Strike". ITV News. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  15. "YouthStrike4Climate on Instagram: "Here's a shortened version of our official UKSCN statement about COVID-19 and it's[sic] impact on the school strikes! Link in bio for the…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2020.