New Department of Energy and Climate Change
The latest Government re-shuffle has some potentially big implications for those working to tackle climate change, in the guise of a new Department of Energy and Climate Change. The new Department will be headed by Ed Miliband. This is promising news for our Big Green Challengers, as he was previously Minister for the Cabinet Office, which included responsbility for the Third Sector. Let’s hope this means he will have the confidence to recognise the role community-led groups can play in tackling climate change, not just in raising awareness but in devising and implementing innovative, relevant solutions. The details, and the real potential impact, of the new Department are still to be revealed, but this is certainly a welcome piece of news.
Round up of opportunities
Quite a few opportunities that might be relevant to the type of people and groups that have been taking part in the Big Green Challenge have landed in my in-box recently so I thought I’d round them up here.
Before I do I also want to remind you about the Low Carbon Communities Network conference taking place this Saturday, which I blogged about back in June. This is a really exiting and growing network of like minded community groups, and the conference should provide lots of inspiration. The main events are taking place in Llangollen in Wales, with Hyde Farm CAN (one of our Big Green Challengers) hosting a linked event in South West London.
So about those other opportunities:
Mind has announced the launch of Ecominds, an open grants programme being run as part of the Big Lottery Fund, Changing Spaces programme. From the guidance: “The programme has £7.5 million to distribute to around 125 new and existing projects focusing on mental health and the environment around England over the next five years.”
The BURA Awards for Community Inspired Regeneration are seeking entries from grassroots projects making a difference to their local communities. Sounds promising! The closing date for these awards is 15th October 2008 so you have just a couple of weeks to get entries in.
One Planet Culture (OPC) launched on 25th September on the Capacity Global website. It’s a new resource for ”armchair activists” with a passion for film, arts and media. From DIY film events to green reads and the latest news and reviews, OPC aims to offer inspiration and information to help people and the planet. The resources has been funded by Every Action Counts. Capacity Global was founded by one of our Big Green Challenge Judges, Maria Adebowale.
The UK Youth Delegation (UKYD) is now accepting applications to participate at the Fourteenth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Fourth Conference of the Parties serving as Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP14 and COP/CMP4). Hmmmm. Luckily they translate this into real language and explain that they are looking for young people (age 18-26) to travel to Poland this December to help the first ever UK Youth Delegation have a strong voice in the negotiations. Deadline for applications is October 10th. There are a series of questions you need to answer to apply to join the delegation. For more information email ukydpoznan@gmail.com
The Centre for Public Policy at Northumbria University are hosting a public debate on sustainable development on October 7th at 7.30pm. To register contact Oliver Moss at Northumbria University: email: o.moss@unn.ac.uk; Tel: 07809213214.
Images and video from Finalists annoucement
Video of our Finalists being annouced on 11 September can be found on
YouTube, and images are on
Flickr.
Videos and audio of all the speeches from the evening are available on the
NESTA website, including a typically rousing speech from
Sir David King.
We have now annouced our 10 Finalists, who will be putting their ideas into practice over the next year to compete for a share of £1 million. (more…)
More recognition for people power
The Green Awards is a scheme to recognise companies and brands that are successful in communicating green messages. This year they have also introduced a new ‘people-powered’ category. They are accepting applications for ‘Campaigner of the Year’, to recognise creative and committed individuals who get their message across using their own contacts, funding they raise or donate, and good old ingenuity - which we know exists in abundance in our Big Green Challengers! The deadline for entries has been extended until 17th September. You do have to pay £23.50 to enter though - I wonder, as an individual or not-for-profit campaigner, does this put you off applying?
