A THOUGHT provoking two days at OzGREEN’s YOUth LEADing The World ‘Older Youth Of Bellingen Congress’, led by Sue Lennox, allowed a tight group of five engaged participants, including OzGREEN’s new Youth Activities Coordinator Sam Daykin, to step back from the hustle and bustle of working life and share space for real ideas to start flowing and for their hearts to open wide.

Participants were left overwhelmingly inspired for change.

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The group began with some strategic questioning and deep listening, creating the space for a heart-to-heart talk and learning to really listen to their truest selves.

They looked at the threats we face in these challenging times and developed a vision for a fairer future and ideas to achieve this vision.

Thinking about their concerns today, including lack of time to focus on what is needed owing to long work hours to survive, lack of education about climate change and sustainability and overpopulation, the young group summed up how they would like to live their future life with the following statements.

“We have fair working conditions and time to do what is important.

“We actively care for our beautiful planet at home, work and play.

“Our community is well informed about climate change and sustainability.

“Children learn from a young age how to live sustainably.

“We are living within the limits of our planet with population growth at sustainable levels.

“We have practical hope based on the clear knowledge that we know what to do and we are actively doing it.

“Sustainable living options are accessible and available to all people.”

The group’s Youth Action Plans they will be working on are:

1. An ‘Ancient futures’ community learning event.

2. Vision for 2030 – short film competition.

3. Learn to live sustainably within our limits – sustainability is a journey not a jump.

“The YOUth LEADing The World Congress created a space where my peers and I could listen deeply to each other and allowed us to delve into what our concerns are in this ever-changing world,” OzGreen’s Youth Activities Coordinator Sam Daykin told News Of The Area.

“As a group we learnt that in order to move into a brighter future we must learn from the ancient culture of our land and apply indigenous knowledge towards tackling local issues.

“We aim to create an event where stories and skills can be shared with the community in an interactive and educational way.

“We wish to direct our passion for change towards education without the sugar coating of big issues and to teach people that living sustainably is a journey not a jump,” said Sam.

Sue Lennox AM, Co-Founder OzGREEN and Founder YOUth LEADing The World told NOTA, “It was wonderful to see the group jump into the opportunity to take a deeper dive into the challenges of living in these times.

“Clear thinking, deep listening, strategic questioning helped them define the challenges they face, create a vision for what they would like to see happen, and then work out how they could achieve that vision.

“Frankly, they were brilliant.

‘It was amazing to see them come alive with great ideas.

‘I think they were a little surprised by their brilliance, when so much of their current day-to-day life is just to get through the challenge to make ends meet, while their concerns about the future gnaw away inside, untended and put aside.

“It was a privilege to hold space for them and show them how to hold space for each other.

“Watch this space.

“They nailed it – I love what they are planning to do.

“This is what OzGREEN does,” said Sue.

By Andrea FERRARI