I can't believe you're reading this, but if you are, you're awesome. You’ve probably had some form of relationship with us. You’ve heard of us through the grapevine, you believe in our cause, you’re supporting a friend who works with us, you are one of us.
I can’t help but think that you’re here for a reason.
I know it looks like a lengthy message but I promise there’s a point. I just feel like there’s a need for us to reflect on this story before proceeding to any kind of call to action because it’s important to understand our roots and important to keep this personal.
Since our inception in 2009, MyCJN has come quite a way. If you’ve been with us from the beginning, you’d know that we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We weren't sure what we were doing, we just knew we had to. We went from being 5 young Malaysians who simply got a little freaked out about our country’s inaction on climate change to a movement of couple of thousand youth (we think) who are demanding bold and just climate practices from their parents, their family members, their friends, their employers, their government.
We went from aimlessly showing up at public functions where young politicians speak at to ask them “What are you going to do about climate change” and holding up placards at random events (whatever we could get!) to being strategic lobbyists at international climate negotiations, proponents to permaculture and sustainable palm oil and regulars at government-level Stakeholder Consultations on issues related to climate change. MyCJN even sits on one of a two-person Green Technology Advisory Panel of the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHa). Not bad for a bunch of youth who didn’t really know where they were going, huh?
Anyway, post-Copenhagen, when the PM announced a National Climate Change Policy, we came back and thought “Great, now what?” And to be completely honest with you, we never really figured it out. And now, after a long 12 months or so of being in limbo, we thought, it's about time we seriously figure out what we're going to do about it.
So a bunch of us got together and we’ve thought up a plan (we always have a plan :)).
We need fresh blood. So we’ll be organizing our signature "sustainability leadership (read: activist if you prefer) training" some time July.
And as part of succession planning, we shall be selecting some few from this bunch to commit at least a year to beefing up the Malaysian Youth Climate Movement. This bunch will be trained to organize Powershift Asia in 2012 (yes, you heard that right). And part of that training will include lots of traveling (think COP17 in Durban, Africa; Powershift in Sydney, UK, Washington DC, Climate Caravans in Europe); meeting lots of amazing young people from all over the world; lots of learning (enough to fuel a lifetime of love); making lots of awesome memories; and most importantly creating that very change that you want to see.
As for us outgoing MyCJNers who can barely call ourselves youth anymore, we’re going to be instating ourselves into a Panel of Trustees which we shall be defining together with our participants at ESLS in July.
We also want to adopt a series of our own MyCJN “Principles” which we're currently adapting from several different organizations across the world.
Anyhow, if you’ve taken the time to read this til the end, it’s clear that you care about the movement and where it is going. I guess you would know that it is also clear that we aren’t entirely sure where this will take us but we’re willing to try this out simply because we know we can’t just sit here and not try.
Martin Luther King Jr once said, "There comes a time when silence is betrayal" and I feel like this is such a time.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Best,
Khairun
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