The 2014 WeMatter Campaign: Creating “Collaboration Theatre” in local communities
Summary:
The WeMatter Campaign - Collaboration Theatre is a project of Kids vs Global Warming and the iMatter Climate Change Council of Youth (C3Y) to take place in communities across the United States. The project will be spearheaded by C3Y youth, who will engage with a broad and diverse circle of community members to plan roundtable summits called “Collaboration Theatres,” designed after Xynteo’s The Performance Theatre. The idea behind the Theatre is to bring together leaders in business, government and civil society to re-imagine a thriving community with a sustainable and just economic and energy paradigm. While Xynteo works at a top level with business leaders, we seek to use a similar template to ignite new thinking and change at a local level, with follow up plans for community leaders to turn new thinking into action. The aim of each theatre is the creation, strengthening and implementation of concrete plans of action that will restore carbon sinks, revitalize natural habitats and watersheds, restore communities, and lower carbon emissions to the level needed to protect the youngest and future generations. We envision the summits launching a series of ongoing discussions and actions toward a new way of thinking, living, and acting which will implement and support those plans. The call to collaboration to create a sustainable community action plans from the youngest generation is unexpected and appropriate since it is their futures directly at stake. They are the moral authorities. Concern for our children is perhaps the only currency more valuable than money. The youth call to action can break through the business-as-usual, status quo mindset and allows for a new way of thinking, which is necessary for the kind of epic transformation needed in our society.
What is “Collaboration Theatre”?
Collaboration Theatre is based on Xynteo’s international “The Performance Theatre”, in which a select group of CEO’s are brought together with world-class thinkers and leaders from across disciplines, philosophies, industries and geographies. From their website, “Participants are assembled in a stimulating setting of global historical weight and challenged to deploy their collective experience, knowledge and values to take on the biggest questions of the day – not shying away from taboo or difficulty.” In a similar vein, Collaboration Theatre aims to include a wide-range of thought, ideas, and movement builders for the purpose of providing collaborative fuel to think about community wide transformation in a new way. Our young founder, Alec Loorz, will be participating at the international level with The Theatre of Participation.
Local Collaboration Theaters can draw together local leaders from government, business, NGO and civil society sectors in a theatrical setting and with narrative stories to listen to one another and begin a process of “re-storying” what it means to be in community with one another and with the natural world, with a focus on action. “Listening” and “Re-storying” are accomplished both through dialogue and creative expressions setting the stage for tangible, actionable next steps, ultimately leading to the creation and implementation of Community Climate Recovery Plans. These plans can take many names but include an actionable pathway to restoring carbon sinks and reducing emissions at a rate outlined by Dr James Hansen, former NASA climate scientist, and a team of the world’s top climatologists.
Why This Campaign?
Kids vs Global Warming and the iMatter Campaign has broadly been a part of the youth climate movement as a platform for youth leadership with a variety of projects including the international iMatter March, Congressional/legislative education, legal actions, and educating peers, politicians and public through youth-led speeches, campaigns and presentations. We seek in our campaigns to address the root issues of climate disruption, and influence the mind-sets that have created them.
Climate change is a symptom of a “sickness,” as captured by Alec Loorz, founder of Kids vs Global Warming, in his 2012 video called Lifting the Veil. It is a disease of advanced civilization disconnected from its roots, from its center, and its source. We are all part of the intricate cycle of a living system that has been thrown off kilter by our collective value system. If we are to change the values of our current civilization from our identity as primarily consumers and profiteers to participants and protectors, from “me” to “we”, we need to start speaking that language now, igniting the dialogue, start imagining and sharing a new story of humanity, which will create the opportunities to more deeply and quickly change our systems.
Young people have a unique role in The Transition to a sustainable, just, compassionate society because they are apolitical, without agenda, and are spokespersons for future generations. They can bring people together who might otherwise never interact. Youth are more connected, more technologically advanced, more open to a new story, and the least attached to The Way Things Are. Their voices need to be heard in this process. These young leaders sense that there is very little time to bring about this revolution of mindsets that will result in living on this planet in a way that values nature and future generations more than money and short term convenience
Current C3Y leaders will spearhead the WeMatter Theatre of Collaboration, as we build a model for a global campaign. Our founder, Alec Loorz, will be working with youth from around the world in collaboration with Xynteo, to train and prepare young leaders to interact with global business leaders in their summit in June 2014 in Oslo, Norway. His work with The Performance Theatre and his own Harbinger publications will be used to train and guide the iMatter team and will shape the messaging of the campaign.