Power Shift Will be Biggest Organizer Training Session in History

Power Shift 2011, the biennial national summit of the youth climate movement, begins this Friday in Washington, D.C. The dirty-energy economy poses seemingly insurmountable challenges to the millenial generation: the destruction of our planet's...

April 12, 2011 | Source: Grist | by Brad Johnson

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Power Shift 2011, the biennial national summit of the youth climate movement, begins this Friday in Washington, D.C. The dirty-energy economy poses seemingly insurmountable challenges to the millenial generation: the destruction of our planet’s atmosphere, the poisoning of our political discourse, the dissolution of the American dream. Armed with the vision of a cleaner, greener future, the participants in Power Shift are choosing not just to fight back, but to organize and realize their collective potential.

This year, the conference is focused on movement building, with the intent of being the largest organizer training session in history. As many as 10,000 youth activists will be trained in community organizing, facilitation, and campaign leadership, led by professionals from the New Organizing Institute, founded by Judith Freeman and Zach Exley. The conference is departing from the earlier Power Shifts in 2007 and 2009 with the recognition that the youth climate movement can’t simply be part of the “chorus of advocates simply calling for change,” but must emerge “into a position of leadership”:

 As the largest generation in American history, we are ready to build the green economy city by city, to transform higher education, to join forces on the ground with our religious and local community leaders, so together we can build the future we know is essential for our long-term success as a nation.