It's a long way from Copenhagen

As an archipelago of small islands in the Pacific, the Solomon Islands are feeling the direct impacts of climate change on communities and the environment. For AYAD Gillian Cook, raising awareness on not only the impact but also possible responses to climate change is a community affair that needs to reach an international audience and the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen is an important step in that process.

Seventeen year old Christina Ora sat in front of thousands of people and delivered a strong message from the entire youth constituency at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

“You have been negotiating all my life,” she said. “You cannot tell us that you need more time. Please commit to these decisions now, because you hold our future in your hands, and survival is not negotiable.”

This young woman, chosen to represent the hundreds of youth at the conference and the millions concerned about climate change worldwide, comes from Solomon Islands, one of the least developed countries in the world and one of the most vulnerable to climate change. Her poise, confidence and determination were reminders to everyone that vulnerability doesn’t equate to weakness. It seemed to me as though there was barely a dry eye in the room.

I will never forget the moment I found out that three young Solomon Islander women had been successful in their application to secure funding to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. One of the young women, Maylin kept saying “oh my gosh are you serious?”, Christina laughed and gave me a huge hug and there was a gaping silence on the end of the phone from Gina before she said “What?”. I felt like I had announced that they had won the lottery, and I guess in a way that is how they felt. After four months as an AYAD in Solomon Islands, this was one of the highlights of all my achievements so far and I had achieved more than I had hoped I could.

There are a number of AYADs working in climate change roles in Honiara and our combined effort means that climate change related activities, projects and level of public awareness has increased over the past few months. A friend even joked to me recently “You have turned the Solomon Star (national newspaper) into a climate change journal!”.

The Climate Change Division in the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Meteorology was created at the beginning of 2008 and while it is still in the early stages of development, it has incredibly hardworking staff. I feel extremely privileged to be part of such a new Ministry, filled with passionate people who want to protect their unique environment and culture. Fellow AYAD Kellie Raab is working in a policy role in the Climate Change Division.

There is plenty of work to do in my role as a Media Awareness Officer in the Climate Change Division. George, my counterpart, and I are tasked with raising awareness about climate change and educating the public. We have conducted workshops in schools and communities, planned radio programs and made posters in Pijin which address climate change impacts and give communities simple adaptation ideas.

We have worked with non-government organisations (such as Red Cross where AYAD Steph Smith is placed) by collaborating on projects such as international youth day, international climate action day and climate change speaking competitions in order to raise awareness about climate change and more importantly, to help people adapt to its impacts.

During this time we worked alongside many passionate young Solomon Islanders and when an opportunity came up through Project Survival Pacific with the Australian Youth Climate Coalition for some of them to apply for funding to attend the conference, the Ministry and Red Cross worked together to support their applications.

Out of the hundreds of youth from the global south who applied, three were successful from Solomon Islands. But before they could get there, we had plenty of work to do. One of the girls didn’t have a passport, and none of them had warm clothes. Plus we had to organise visas for them in only a couple of weeks.

Overcoming logistical problems was something we could do as a small team. Solving the greater challenge of climate change was something the girls were about to contribute to on an international stage in a way that would be meaningful not only for them but also for their country and for the world.

Within Solomon Islands, there are many low lying islands, coral atolls and artificial islands. Communities are already experiencing salt water intrusion in their crops, severe coastal erosion, higher king tides flooding their houses and fresh water shortages. People living in river delta areas are also suffering from increased flooding of their crops and houses during the wet season.

The world needs to hear these stories. And they would, at the biggest climate change conference of all time, from three passionate young women.

Gina, Christina and Maylin would be working with young Australians from Project Survival Pacific to emphasise the urgent need to act on climate change to ensure the very survival of small Pacific island countries. They would also be part of the Solomon Islands Government delegation, and would be supporting government negotiators to help them achieve a strong agreement in Copenhagen.

Two of the girls had never left Solomon Islands before and now they were heading to a county where the temperature was at least 30 degrees less than their home; where the city is all cement and brick, rather than overrun with banana trees, frangipanis, hibiscus; where shops sell masses of consumer goods, and where there are only seven hours of weak sunlight in a day.

But these young women were prepared, confident and ready to tell their story. Kellie and I, as well as Steph from Red Cross, discussed with them how best to use media opportunities, how to understand climate change science and how the negotiating processes work. In turn, they enriched our understanding of the real impacts of climate change by telling us their Solomon Island experiences.

Seventeen year old Christina Ora, who recently returned from a very successful climate change speaking tour in Canada with Climate Action Network Canada and Oxfam Canada, found that by telling people her story, she was able to influence how people felt and compel them to act.

“People actually turned to me and said, ‘From your story we are ashamed of ourselves. We have been living in luxury all these years, we have microwave, dishwasher at home. We go to school in vehicles every day, whereas you guys in rural areas, your grandparents actually walk for thirty minutes to their gardens whereas as we just go to the supermarket and get everything there.’”

“They felt like they are to blame but I told them that it is not only their fault because all of us are responsible.”

Christina was hoping to advocate in Copenhagen for a strong response from developed countries on mitigation and adaptation.

Maylin Sese works as a volunteer in grassroots community development activities in Solomon Islands that focus on the environment and livelihoods. She has been working with women from her village to help build their adaptive capacity by giving them skills in accessing markets to sell their vegetables and learning new income generating skills such a floral arranging. She was excited about attending the conference because she saw it as an opportunity to tell the world about how climate change has the potential to displace people from their homes.

“If climate change is not controlled or minimised, it will pull us from our roots – we will have no place to stay. We will be displaced people, and it will be a big problem, because who will accept us as refugees?

“I would like to share with people across the world what I think would be a solution that would be helpful and applicable for my country.
“My passion is working with communities and especially women and youth who are sometimes marginalised from decision making, to all work together to combat climate change at a community level.”

“Young people in the Solomon Islands do not have many opportunities to be educated about issues like climate change, or many opportunities to educate the rest of the world about what they are facing nationally.”

“Young people need to gain experience out of these conferences, to speak out about the issues affecting them, and to be better informed about it when they come home.”

Twenty four year old Georgina Maka’a works as a reporter at the Solomon Star, Solomon Islands’ most popular newspaper. She was looking forward to working with the Solomon Islands Delegation and the Pacific Media Team coordinated by the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme during the conference in Copenhagen, focusing on stories about issues affecting Solomon Islands.

Gina wanted to use the media to pressure countries to agree to a fair and legally binding deal, by advocating for the position of Pacific island nations while she is reporting from the conference. One of her roles was to be filing stories for Solomon Islands media on the progress of the negotiations so that Solomon Islanders understand how this global event will affect their daily lives.

“I believe that the media has an important role in communicating the complex issues associated with climate change adaptation and mitigation and creating an informed and empowered public.”

Gina hoped that by taking part in the conference she will be well equipped to return to her country and continue climate change reporting.

“The experiences I will have, things I will learn, people I will meet will all assist me in gaining a deeper understanding of climate change which will help me to report more effectively on climate change issues when I return to Honiara.”

Maylin, Gina and Christina arrived in Copenhagen ready to tell their story and advocate for a fair, ambitious and legally binding agreement for their people. The atmosphere was intimidating with thousands of representatives from non-government organisations jostling with country party delegates in the vast halls and it was impossible to walk 100 metres without being in the background of a media interview. People were furiously typing on computers, handing out pamphlets and badges and parading around in various fancy dress costumes. Everyone had a story to tell. Everyone had an agenda.

Maylin, Christina and Gina braved the cold and the dark early morning starts and the intensity of such new experiences like catching a train for the very first time and seeing snow and threw themselves into making the most of this opportunity to help people back home.

Through Project Survival Pacific, they teamed up with other Pacific youth to present a performance called Voices of the Pacific where they shared stories, photos, dances, songs, poems and experiences from their respective countries. They met with Australia’s top negotiator, Louise Hand and Climate Change Minister Penny Wong and spoke about what sort of response the Pacific needs from other countries.

Maylin and Christina took part in press conferences organised by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and spoke beside Ministers and Heads of State from other pacific countries outlining their passionate pleas for climate justice, while Gina covered stories like these for media back in Solomon Islands. The young women attended the Solomon Islands Delegation meetings each day and reported back on the work they had been doing raising the concerns of Solomon Islands people.

As part of my role at the conference as a media officer for Solomon Islands I was able to assist the women by contacting journalists and preparing them for interviews with regional and international media outlets as well as for preparing for press conferences. I supported the delegation by finding opportunities for opinion pieces and other stories which raised awareness about climate change in Solomon Islands and made the most of the international media’s heightened level of interest in climate change.

Being able to work towards highlighting the voice of the Pacific and the voice of Solomon Islands was exciting work. It was also tiring and stressful at times because everyone was working so hard and so intensely on issues vital to the lives of so many people. Late nights, early mornings, deadlines, conference centre food, emotions running high and freezing cold weather all seemed irrelevant when compared to the achievements made by the entire team, especially now with the added benefit of hindsight!

While the Solomon Islands and other small island developing states didn’t get all they wanted out of the conference in Copenhagen, it showed what a resilient, strong, and hard working climate change team exists in Solomon Islands. Every member of the delegation was made to feel like a vital part of the team. The Pacific voice was very strong at the conference and the Solomon Islands Delegation were right at the forefront of this united message of survival.

Assisting Maylin, Gina and Christina to attend an international forum where their stories were heard was a great privilege. Seeing what they can achieve back home in Solomon Islands will be one of the highlights of the next six months of my placement.

For more information on the Australian Youth Climate Coalition go to www.aycc.org.au.