This is not a moment, it’s a movement.
And it’s not enough to say you sent an email.
Some of you may recognize the title from the musical, Hamilton. I’ve always liked it as it sets expectations straight. A moment means short term effort, focus on immediate goals and has little requirement to think about long term goals or community building. It’s a blip and it’s going to fade out at some point.
What we need is a movement. What we are trying to build at least within SCGC is a regional movement that can hopefully inspire, collaborate and build with others including those who are outside of our existing communities, and more importantly, those already in our communities who have either not been engaged or invited.
As an example, I often hear a lot of talk from adults within the movement blasting the young generation for not leading local movements. “Where are the youth? Why aren’t they here? Why don’t they care?”
Of course it’s frustrating to feel like only the same age group is showing up. I often wonder ‘where are the middle aged parents like myself?’ because we’re not coming out in high numbers either. Sometimes I may be the only person under 55 on organizing calls. So it’s not just about teenagers and 20 somethings who are missing from these spaces.
I tend to think of it this way - who is not in the room and why? It’s very simple to project blame on the absent parties and assume things about their commitment, character and priorities. That’s the toxic crap that stunts movements and leaves them as mere organizing moments. Why? Because as soon as you focus on the wrongdoings of others, you cease to look for opportunities to be better, take accountability for your actions and collaborate.
By no means am I a perfect practitioner, so here are things that I have done (and sometimes still do) that stymie the participation of youth in our organizing efforts. Maybe there are some bullets you recognize:
Hosting meetings/events/rallies at times that conflict with school schedules
On site meetings that are only accessible by car or complicated transit schedules or not being accommodating with hybrid (online and onsite meetings) meeting models
Sending out cold emails assuming that notification was enough for them to attend
Setting an agenda where adults consumed most of the talking space
Inviting them to initiatives that are already determined and we just need agreement; no thought about co-creating an action
Not understanding the unique challenges that youth organizing faces
Not understanding their needs and what they want their organizing to achieve
Assuming that they’d agree with our position and prioritization of issues
Not attempting to meet youth in youth-dominant spaces to listen and learn
Now some of you may ask, “Well what about what they have to do? It can’t all be on us to accommodate and take initiative”.
My response is borrowed from a psychology line I’ve heard before, “You can either be right or you can be happy, but you can’t be both.” So, are you more concerned about building a movement and therefore will own the effort to build it or would you rather avoid the effort so you can have a self-fulfilling prophecy that the youth don’t come out and can continue to be right?
Of course, there may be lots of valid reasons why you haven’t put forth the effort - time, lack of volunteers, money, energy. You shouldn’t feel guilty if you have had limitations on getting others involved. My point is stop complaining that a certain demographic or generation isn’t attending your meeting/rally when you know there’s been little investment in inviting them into your community or building that relationship. Sending a ‘save the date’ email isn’t enough!
Our goal this summer is to welcome two Environmental Youth Advocacy Interns to our team as paid staff earning a living wage. I’m sure we will learn more about how our adult-centred organizing could be improved, how we can better support youth and make space for them to lead. You’ll probably even see a few Whale posts this summer from our interns to help all of us learn together. It’s an attempt to make space in our organization to amplify youth voices, give them access to decision making/power and build an understanding of youth organizing in the area from the perspective of youth.
Building a movement is intentional. Including diverse perspectives is intentional. Effort is intentional. Maybe the last thing you want to hear is that more effort is needed to get the results we want, but this isn’t a moment. This can’t be a blip and we can’t just allow justice, climate action and environmental sustainability to fizzle out. We need a movement and sending an email isn’t enough.
PS - I appreciate that you could switch out youth to any other marginalized minority group and this article would still make sense. Exclusion (intentional or not) looks the same across the board.
Weekly News Digest - “The Blowhole”
Here are some emerging stories and events that we think will have an impact on our region that we’re keeping our eye on.
Upcoming Summer Jobs Opportunity - As I mentioned, if you know a youth aged 15-25, let them know about our 8 week job opportunity as a Communications Specialist. They will be involved in social media, writing, researching, organizing events and an opportunity to learn about issues around Simcoe County. The job starts July 4 paying a living wage of $20.70 for 35 hours per week. Opportunities to work from home as well. Resumes can be sent to margaret@simcoecountygreenbelt.ca until May 30, 2023.
More Bypass Shenanigans - As you know we’ve been advocating with our allies for better traffic solution than a carbon spewing highway in the Holland Marsh Wetland Complex (aka the Bradford Bypass). This week we learned about the increasing costs and lack of transparency about how this highway will be paid for. You can read it here: https://www.thetrillium.ca/news/municipalities-transit-and-infrastructure/bradford-bypass-to-cost-at-least-1-billion-infrastructure-docs-show-6928164
Lots of houses but not enough water? New Tecumseth has a groundwater shortage problem while they wait for more water to come from Georgian Bay via Collingwood (2026 at best). To deal with water shortages, New Tec is about to implement a policy that forces developers to advance projects to keep their water allocation or else they’ll lose it. We’ve been watching water issues across this municipality for years. Despite this, MZOs have been approved in the municipality that just further exacerbate the water stress. This isn’t the only municipality in Simcoe County that has seen their growth projections limited by dwindling groundwater resources. It’s why we advocate for protection of source water regions from development and smart growth.
Join the Pod
Like what we talk about and want to engage with our coalition more? Check us out on social media or drop us a line if you’d like to volunteer: info@simcoecountygreenbelt.ca
