People Power
Both climate change and the role of community were frequent themes in the speeches at the recent Capital Women conference, which saw over 5,000 women from London gathered at the event to talk about issues that matter to them.
I thought Maria Adebowale, Director of Capacity Global made a powerful case for people getting together to create change. Quite rightly I think, she positioned climate change very strongly as a social issue, not just an environmental one. She highlighted some of the links between climate change, poverty and health, and the positive impacts on wider social issues that could emerge through us engaging with the difficult circumstances generated by climate change. These are themes echoed in some of the applications to the Big Green Challenge. Maria also higlighted for voluntary and community organisations Every Action Counts and the Third Sector Declaration on Climate Change.
Social Justice Activist and scholar Angela Davis made a plea for people to continue to build connections (and ways of connecting) within diverse communities and to harness the strength that comes from working together for positive social change. Nicky Gavron, Deputy Mayor of London talked about the need for collective action to creative positive change for our environment. Nicky Gavron, Samantha Heath from the London Sustainability Exchange, and performer Ife Piankhi talked about some examples of community and regional government led action in London. Harriet Bulkeley, Associate Director of the Centre for the Study of Cities and Regions, talked about the power of disruptive innovation and of community responsibility, believing that collectively we can do something about climate change.
The overall message was definitely one of people power, and as I look through some of the Big Green Challenge applications I’m encouraged to see real evidence of this growing across the UK.
Thank you and well done to everyone who managed to submit an application to the Big Green Challenge. We were delighted to see so many groups of people across the UK with the enthusiasm and commitment to work together to find new ways to tackle climate change.
We will be working hard over the next month to read all your applications in detail and select up to 100 competitors for stage 2 of the competition.
We hope that all of you who have shown an interest, regardless of whether you submitted an application or not and whether you are selected as a finalist or not, will continue to work together to develop your ideas and make them happen. For more ideas and support whatever your position, keep an eye on our links page.
We’re looking forward to announcing the competitors in early April, so watch this space!
Take a dip into our blog archive
Now that initial applications for the Big Green Challenge have closed, I thought it’d be good to look back at some of the key themes we’ve covered on the blog over the past few months.
1. What is the Big Green Challenge? Our launch video with Sarah Beeny is a good place to start if you’re looking for an overview of the competition.
2. Community. We explored what community means and Dick Strawbridge gave us his tips on getting your community organised.
3. Innovation. We looked at what innovation is and Doug Richard shared his advice on coming up with ideas. We also had some great comments when we asked where people come up with their best ideas.
4. Inspiring case studies. Get inspired by other groups and communities that are already taking steps to reduce their carbon emissions - check out our case studies from around the UK and from developing countries.
The tags and monthly archive links in the sidebar are a good way to browse the rest of our content - and remember you can keep up to date with future blog posts by subscribing to our web feed.
Don’t miss your chance to be a part of the Big Green Challenge - get your application in by 11.59pm tonight!
If you have any last-minute questions on how to apply, we’re here to help. Call the helpline on 020 7438 2664.
