Looking Back, Turning Forward: the words of 9 student leaders

I am proud to unveil a (second annual) project I did during the holiday break called Looking Back, Turning Forward: the words of 9 student leaders.

It is a popular education project identifying the problems, solutions, needs, and next steps of student sustainability groups in Ohio. The OSEC Resources working group plans to turn this into a zine for distribution to Ohio students at Power Shift 09.

Purpose
Much of the purpose of these conversations was intrinsic – that is, it gave these 9 leaders the opportunity to reflect on their own thoughts and feelings. Mattie served as an active listener while they worked through each of the questions. The calls also finished with some specific planning conversations.

Beyond this immediate gain, these conversations have led to the creation of this document, which we hope can be a tool to inform the larger youth movement for sustainability. This is here for us all to see, reflect on, and act from.

Lessons Learned
There are many lessons from this process, some simple and some deep. Here are 4 key takeaways as I see them:

● PROBLEMS: Many of our problems are internal.
This speaks volumes about how much these leaders are thinking not only as activists but as organizers, as people who invest in lasting and democratic organizations. It also demonstrate that our socialization, based largely on hierarchy and authoritarian decision-making, has created an enormous hurdle for us. Young people today have a lot of work to do to unlearn the lessons of our past, while we build a future worth fighting for.

●MOTIVATIONS: We are motivated by community, responsibility, and justice.
These students fill a number of different roles and overall they feel very good about the work that they do. Most of them describe today as a time of exploration and trying new things, with varying levels of success. All are motivated by a sense of community and responsibility, and most by justice.

●ACTIONS: We could benefit from doing more action and strategic planning.
Looking at the responses under “Review Actions”, there really just isn’t much there. At a time when everything we hold dear is threatened, and when it’s easy to seek information, find evidence of wrongdoing, and share solutions, we should transition towards strategic campaign planning and direct action. We should be physically and urgently building the world we want while resisting the ones we don’t. Power Shift 2009 stands out as a significant opportunity to do just this.

●NEEDS: Networks play an important role.
People learn from each other and have the ability to do great things together. To the extent that it benefits local groups, we as a movement should invest more in state and regional youth-led networks – these can and should be a source of new energy and ideas, and a rewarding and productive experience for rising leaders.

About Mattie

Mattie is a member of the Ohio Student Environmental Coalition's Steering Committee, an organization he founded at Power Shift 07. He is proud to support a growing statewide network of student groups working for a clean, safe, and just future for all. Mattie originally got involved as a Syracuse University student who saw a pressing need for climate action, later as an Energy Justice Network intern who began to realize the human impacts of coal, and finally as an OSEC organizer committed to building an economy and climate worth fighting for. He also has a degree in women's studies and sociology, is a founding member of the Mountain Justice Spring Break Planning Collective and an intentional community in Columbus, and is the convener of the Energy Action Coalition's Anti-Oppression working group.