Day 2 (Saturday 11th March): Bright Start

With a bright and early start, today was kicked off with an amazing plenary session on the fossil free movement in universities. Bre, Ray, Emma, and Zane gave some seriously incredible speeches on their own personal experiences in the fossil free movement and the inspiring and moving life events that made them the passionate activists they are now. They showed us their own stake in protecting the environment, and the care and solidarity which resounded in all of us, in the fight for climate justice.

Honestly, I think everybody teared up at some point, and it really brought home for us the reasons why we do this in the first place.

The day was full of intensive learning. I myself participated in workshops around facilitation, action planning, and non-violent direct action. I learnt stuff I didn’t even know I wanted to learn, and the opportunity to learn from others who have had similar or different experiences in the movement was invaluable. After every workshop, we’d leave buzzing with ideas and questions, and then rushing to the dining room for snacks to keep us going through the next session.

It didn’t matter what level of experience we had — the act of coming together and talking through the nitty-gritty of activism brought out something new for everybody.