It’s Getting Hot In Here

Last night 19 people sat down in the conference center were the UN negotiations were held and began reading the names of over 11 million people who have joined the call for a fair, ambitious and legally binding deal. I stayed with them in support for what turned out to be one of the most memorable nights of my life. Realizing that hundreds of people were reading our liveblog, posting comments of support and watching the webcast made me realize the power of these names of people from around the world.   In solidarity, Canadian youth sat in at the Prime Minister’s office and today, US youth held a sit in at the State Department continuing the read the names of the 11+ million people who have joined the call for a fair, ambitious and legally binding deal. We need to keep finding ways to be sure these voices are heard. Call for solidarity events have been resonating around Copenhagen and coming from activists in US (here and here.)

Can you hold a solidarity event? Below are just a few resources that may help you out.

Finding the 11 Million Names
You can download the names here. This isn’t all of them, but enough to keep you busy for a long time. If you haven’t signed the petition, you can do that too!

Selecting a location
Right now, the Obama administration is stalling the UN negotiations because the US Congress hasn’t passed a climate bill. A great place for your event is your Senator’s local office. Our Senators needs to realize that their failure to take action is affecting people far outside their state- and that their constituents want to see action.

Invite the media
Collect your local media contacts and send them a media advisory about your upcoming action. Shorter than a press release, media advisories function as an invitation, detailing the date, time, location and other logistical information for attendees. Media advisories can be sent by e-mail or fax, depending on the journalist’s preference. Be sure to call and followup with the reporter to make sure they received your advisory, answer any questions and so you can convince them to come.

At the event, give press the press release from the Copenhagen sit-in as well as a press release for your own action. You can use the Copenhagen release as a good template. List local contact info on your release. After the event send the press release out to your local contacts that were interested but couldn’t make the event.

At the event
As press come, have one person greet them and get their contact information. This will help you track what media covers your event and helps build new contacts for the future.

Begin your event with a short introduction about why you are there and what you’re reading. Identify one or two people to deliver a brief statement at the beginning. This should last no more than 10 minutes. Then begin reading the names. Read them for as long as you planned- either for a given time period, until you are asked to leave, or until you are removed. Be sure your group has agreed on a plan in advance. You are standing in solidarity with over 11 million people worldwide and our goal is to let these names be heard by those who have the power to make sure the US supports a fair, ambitious and legally binding climate deal.

Some helpful resources
This was just a basic couple of hints. Below are a few more resources that may help you out. Thank you for joining us.

Sierra Student Coalition Media Guide and Event Planning: http://ssc.sierraclub.org/resources/organizing-basics/getting-started.html

Ruckus Media Guide- http://ruckus.org/section.php?id=18

If you are having a solidarity event, please email us at rapidresponse@powershift09.org.