Our People, Our Hoods, Our Future

The NYC Climate Justice Youth Summit is right around the corner!

2011-07-22T13:50:00.000-07:00

Hey Folks!

The 2nd NYC Climate Justice Youth Summit: "Our People, Our Hoods, Our Future" is right around the corner! The summit is being held on August 19th- 20th, 2011 at 101 Ave. of the Americas, NY, NY 10011 (32BJ). We are super excited and have an awesome line up of learning circles, full circles, speakers, and performances. If you have not registered yet, please do so. We look forward to seeing you all there!

The struggle continues!

(Quick Recap)

Date:

August 19th, 2011

3:00 pm- 7:00 pm

August 20th, 2011

11:00 am- 8:00 pm

Location:

32 BJ

101 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10011

Summit Rescheduled

2011-04-04T11:10:00.000-07:00

The Summit has been rescheduled for early August!!!

Check-in for updates!

CALL FOR YOUTH ART SUBMISSIONS

2011-02-09T08:58:00.000-08:00

OUR PEOPLE, OUR HOODS, OUR FUTURE:
CALL FOR YOUTH ART SUBMISSIONS

Want to perform in front of an inter-generational audience from all over NYC? Are your messages positive, empowering, and caring about the health of our communities and environment? Are you a young person under the age of 24?

We are looking for conscious rappers/filmmakers/poets/dancers/artists/muralists/etc. to showcase your talents at the 2nd Annual NYC Climate Justice Youth Summit! The Summit will be held on April 29th-30th, 2011 at the Urban Assembly High School for Green Careers.

Please check out our blog for updates: http://uproseyouthsummit.blogspot.com/

Requirements for Submission:

1) Please answer the following questions: Who are you and where do you live? Why do you create? What do you plan on showcasing at the summit and how is it relevant to the themes? How long do you plan your performance to be? (Your content doesn’t have to be explicitly environment related, but we challenge you to look around and try if this is a topic you’ve never approached before.)

2) If selected, you must be able to participate the full summit, April 29th-30th so please mark it in your calendars.

3) You must be able to attend a rehearsal, sometime in early April before the summit. Rehearsal date TBA.

4) Please send to youthjustice@uprose.org by March 27th, 2011. If you are selected, and fulfill all requirements, you will receive a small stipend for participation.

The Second Annual Climate Justice Youth Summit Is Coming in April 2011!!

2011-01-24T21:11:00.001-08:00

Stay Tuned!

2010-04-21T23:04:00.001-07:00

Climbing Poetree were amazing! Hear what "Hurricane Season" means to them!

The Day Arrived!

2010-04-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

The summit was a success! Hundreds of HighSchool and College student's from all corners of New York City came to learn more about Climate Justice and how it affects their communities. Stay tuned for videos, photos, and podcast of the event and visit the blog regularly for more information about Climate and Environmental Justice! We'll keep you posted on more events to come. Check out UPROSE.ORG for more information on how you can get involved!

Volunteers needed. Great way for adults and youth to get involved!

2010-04-06T09:30:00.001-07:00

We need volunteers for both days of the event to help it run smoothly. If you can help out either or both days (April 16th or 17th) please send a quick email to cjyouthsummit@gmail.com and be sure to include your name, your email address, and which day(s) you'd be able to help out. Thanks! (and be sure to spread the word!)

The Guardian: Bolivia creates a new opportunity for climate talks that failed at Copenhagen

2010-03-26T16:33:00.001-07:00

Bolivia will host an international meeting on climate change next month because it is not prepared to 'betray its people'

Bolivia's UN ambassador Pablo Solon-Romero during a press conference. Photograph: Paulo Filgueiras/UN Photo

In the aftermath of the Copenhagen climate conference, those who defended the widely condemned outcome tended to talk about it as a "step in the right direction". This was always a tendentious argument, given that tackling climate change can not be addressed by half measures. We can't make compromises with nature.

Bolivia, however, believed that Copenhagen marked a backwards step, undoing the work built on since the climate talks in Kyoto. That is why, against strong pressure from industrialised countries, we and other developing nations refused to sign the Copenhagen accord and why we are hosting an international meeting on climate change next month. In the words of the Tuvalu negotiator, we were not prepared to "betray our people for 30 pieces of silver".

Our position was strongly criticised by several industrialised countries, who did their brazen best to blame the victims of climate change for their own unwillingness to act. However, recent communications by the European Commission have confirmed why we were right to oppose the Copenhagen accord.

In a report called International climate policy post-Copenhagen (pdf), the commission confirmed that the pledges by developed countries are equal to between 13.2% and 17.8% in emissions reductions by 2020 – far below the required 40%-plus reductions needed to keep global temperature rise to less than 2C degrees.

The situation is even worse once you take into account what are called "banking of surplus emission budgets" and "accounting rules for land use, land use change and forestry". The Copenhagen accord would actually allow for an increase in developed country emissions of 2.6% above 1990 levels. This is hardly a forward step.

This is not just about gravely inadequate commitments, it is also about process. Whereas before, under the Kyoto protocol, developed countries were legally bound to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a certain percentage, now countries can submit whatever targets they want without a binding commitment.

This dangerous approach to climate negotiations is like building a dam where everyone contributes as many bricks as they want regardless of whether it stops the river.

The Copenhagen accord opens the dam and condemns millions. Various estimates suggest that the commitments made under the accord would lead to increases of between three to four degrees celsius – a level that many scientists consider disastrous for human life and our ecosystems.

For Bolivia, the disastrous outcome of Copenhagen was further proof that climate change is not the central issue in negotiations. For rich countries, the key issues in negotiations were finance, carbon markets, competitiveness of countries and corporations, business opportunities along with discussions about the political makeup of the US Senate. There was surprisingly little focus on effective solutions for reducing carbon emissions.

President Evo Morales of Bolivia observed that the best way to put climate change solutions at the heart of the talks was to involve the people. In contrast to much of the official talks, the hundreds of civil society organisations, communities, scientists and faith leaders present in Copenhagen clearly prioritised the search for effective, just solutions to climate change against narrow economic interests.

To advance an agenda based on effective just solutions, Bolivia is therefore hosting a Peoples' Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth on 19-22 April, and inviting everyone to participate. Unlike Copenhagen, there will be no secret discussions behind closed doors. Moreover the debate and proposals will be led by communities on the frontlines of climate change and by organisations and individuals dedicated to tackling the climate crisis. All 192 governments in the UN have also been invited to attend and encouraged to listen to the voices of civil society and together develop common proposals.

We hope that this unique format will help shift power back to the people, which is where it needs to be on this critical issue for all humanity. We don't expect agreement on everything, but at least we can start to discuss openly and sincerely in a way that didn't happen in Copenhagen.

• Pablo Solón is Ambassador to the UN for the Plurinational State of Bolivia. He is a sociologist and economist, was active in Bolivia's social movements before entering government, and is an expert on issues of trade, integration, natural resources and water.

When Young People Talk, People Listen!

2010-02-25T23:39:00.000-08:00

MAS recently sat down with four young people from the Bronx and Brooklyn who are confronting neighborhood planning challenges head-on. Armed with information, enthusiasm and a supportive network of adults, these young people are taking the lead in addressing critical neighborhood issues.

In Sunset Park, Brooklyn, Caesar Alcaite and Celeste Del Brey (pictured at left) have been working with UPROSE, a community-based environmental justice organization. When they came to UPROSE, neither had much knowledge of environmental justice issues. However, after spending more time at the organization and working with youth organizers, these teens quickly learned that there is a connection between their local environment and their quality of life. Since coming to UPROSE these teens have developed strong leadership skills — reaching out to neighbors to inform them of local environmental concerns; helping middle school students map neighborhood assets and burdens; and leading neighborhood environmental justice tours for city officials, other youth groups, and most recently, a group of 50 Columbia University graduate planning students.

Manny De la Cruz and Miguel Rodriguez (pictured at left) of the Kingsbridge neighborhood in the Bronx are part of Sistas and Brothas United, the youth affiliate of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, and the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA). For the past year, these teens have having been organizing alongside other young people in the Bronx to advocate for increased community benefits in the proposed Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment plan. The armory, which is approximately the size of three football fields, is slated to become a large-scale retail destination. Some Kingsbridge residents have expressed concern over the impact of this project and have advocated for changes to better align the proposal with the community’s vision for neighborhood redevelopment. Many young Kingsbridge residents have been at the forefront of the decision-making process — speaking at public hearings, creating literature and even helping to organize rallies and demonstrations. Both Manny and Miguel described this experience as “powerful” and have been inspired to continue working on behalf of their community well beyond the armory conflict.

For most of the teens, this is their first experience with neighborhood advocacy. Miguel describes it as “having the blindfolds removed from his eyes” once he became more aware of the planning-related issues in his neighborhood. Celeste shared this sentiment, noting that her learning experience at UPROSE has only complemented what she learns in school — helping her to think about topics such as civics and democracy in more practical terms.

In a city so young, where over 25 percent of the population is under the age 19, having young people participate in community decision-making is critical to creating a city that meets the needs and reflects the vision of its residents. Although young people are sometimes considered apathetic and disengaged, these teens prove that when equipped with information and a legitimate opportunity to participate; many young people are more than ready to rise to the occasion.

The following podcast is part of a series profiling youth and planning: In A City So Young, Where’s the Youth Voice in Planning? During this third and final installment, these young activists share stories about their experiences and explain what compels them to do the work they do.

© 2010 The Municipal Art Society of New York | 111 W.57th Street New York NY 10019 | T 212-935-396

General Info about the Summit!

2010-02-02T08:56:00.000-08:00

HI everyone!!!

Can you believe it? The NYC Climate Justice Youth Summit: Our People, Our Hoods, Our Future is less than 3 months away! It will come much sooner than you think.

UPROSE and the planning committee is working endlessly trying to create a fun and exciting summit about such an important issue: Climate Justice!

What is Climate Justice? It's the reason many low income and minority youth have Asthma or live close to factories that expose harmful chemicals. It's many things and this blog will help you to understand, what those things are, as we move closer to the date.

Climate Justice is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed by the YOUTH of today. This summit is your space for your voices to be HEARD! In addition, we'll feed you, entertain you and educate you! All for free. Spread the Word! Come!

Save the date!
Friday, April 16, 2010, 3:00pm- 9:00pm
Saturday, April 17, 2010, 9:00am- 9:00pm

Climate Justice affects us in many ways. One: Student Metrocards!

2010-02-01T14:04:00.001-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 28, 2010

“NYC Environmental & Social Justice Youth Groups Protest MTA cuts”

New York, NY—UPROSE, joined by environmental and social justice organizers from all over NYC, will hold a rally and press conference in front of the MTA Headquarters to demand that the MTA not make budget cuts or cut student metrocards.

When: 1:00PM Monday, February 1, 2010

Where: MTA Headquarters, 457 Madison Ave (between 44^th and 45^th St.), NY, NY

Low-income communities of color rely on mass transportation to get our students to school, our parents to work, and our senior citizens around our community. The proposed budget cuts by the MTA will take away the lifeline that many of us have to the resources we need to survive. In addition to the immediate economic and educational impact of the proposed cuts, we at UPROSE want to bring attention to the larger environmental and health related impact of the MTA proposals.

On behalf of our community and all students from low-income communities of color, our youth organizers are protesting to let the MTA know that the generation most affected by climate change is being denied access to mass transit, education, and a healthy future.

We need and support affordable and efficient public transportation for students, the elderly, the disabled and low-income communities of color because we carry the disproportionate burden of the effects of an inefficient transportation system.

In alliance with City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, we ask the MTA to support our demands and proposed budget solution detailed below:

· Reallocate 10% of direct stimulus aid to MTA operating expenses: $91.5 million

· Use budgeted PAYGO capital funds for operating: $50 million

· Reallocate 10% of additional stimulus transit aid to State to operating: $30 mil

· Do not implement any actions without a meeting with NYC students to hear our concerns specifically about Student Metrocards.

The proposed budget cuts are a burden on the poor, a burden on our health, and a burden on the disadvantaged.

We ask the media to join us in covering the many voices responding to MTA budget cuts.

Media Contact:

Joaquin Sanchez

Youth Organizing Coordinator,

UPROSE

166A 22nd Street
Brooklyn, NY 11232-1106
(718) 492-9307

UPROSE (United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park) is Brooklyn’s oldest Latino community-based organization. We work to achieve environmental justice in Sunset Park and Southwest Brooklyn. Our membership is multiracial and intergenerational, and we have dedicated years to fighting for green and open space and equitable transportation for people in Sunset Park and all of New York City.

The official flyer! Check it out!

2010-02-01T13:36:00.000-08:00

The Summit!!!

2010-01-21T11:18:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the official blog for the Uprose NYC Climate Justice Youth Summit, "Our People Our Hoods Our Future".

"People of color in urban communities are the MOST affected by Climate Change. Come and learn more about Climate Change and what it means for your communities and how you can be a part of the movement for Climate Justice. Come rep' your hood at this summit!"

Please bookmark this blog. This will be your way of staying informed as to the events, activities and performances that will take place at one of the most amazing summits to happen this year! So far, we have confirmed performances by both Rebel Diaz and Climbing Poetree, two performing art groups that are beyond phenomenal!

The event will take place @ Urban Assembly School for Green Career (Brandeis High School,) 145 W 84th St NYC, 10024 84th St between Columbus & Amsterdam. Take the 1, B or C train to 86th St

Look forward to seeing you there!

For more information please visit: www.uprose.org
E-mail: info@UPROSE.org
Phone: 718.492.9030