Transcriber: Mai Ngân Nguyễn Reviewer: Keira White
We have to build each other up in the face of uncertainty
in a world that’s designed to knock us down.
We live in a world that’s full of issues,
and in today’s age of technology, it’s almost an all or nothing choice,
whether we want to be overwhelmed by the world’s problems
or just ignore them.
And in spaces like activist groups
that are dealing with these big and scary topics, it can be very easy
to prioritize effectiveness
and achieving the same old things,
numbers on a piece of paper, volume of speech,
because ultimately, we don’t have time to be trialling new things
in this state of emergency, right?
And like,
What value do we have as individuals when we’re trying to save the world?
Anything goes right?
Well, I think that’s where the problem becomes most apparent.
That’s where we need to stop and change our behavior,
because if the only thing we have to lose is our humanity.
Then we have everything to lose.
The simple fact of the matter is known ways of organizing
and change-making haven’t worked.
The fact that we haven’t seen action on issues like the climate crisis
is symptomatic
not only of the deeply-rooted systemic issues at play,
but also of whatever has been done up until this point.
However amazing it has been, has not been enough.
And so because we know that known methods haven’t been working,
and because we know what is at stake, we have to keep going.
And here’s how.
The first thing that we need to do is prioritize communication.
Authentic communication and active listening.
I think this is the number 1 thing that spurred me into action
a couple of years ago when I began organizing climate strikes.
The fact that I wasn’t being listened to on the issue of the climate crisis.
And so it’s pretty logical then to say that I didn’t just want action on climate,
but also a shift in the way we communicate and listen to each other as a society.
And simultaneously,
if I felt like I was going unheard in the broader community,
I didn’t want that to be the same in change-making spaces.
We, as humans do inherently connect and communicate, we are pack animals.
But the system that we live in
is conditioning us not to have that basic need
fulfilled properly for so much of our lives,
starting from our very foundational years.
So yes, that's one of the first things that we need to actively
and consciously work to doing better.
But let me ask you:
How often do you feel listened to?
As a young person, I spend a bunch of my day sitting in a classroom
being told to just be quiet and listen,
but where is the communication and collaboration
I should be learning as I grow up?
Even in a nuclear family unit,
can I express my despair at the state of the world I’m growing into?
Or will I just be brushed off as going through that phase
instead of being given the opportunity to be heard and given hope and support?
Or, going back to a political setting,
I’m not 18 yet, I can’t vote,
I don’t have that one tiny bit of political power
that everyone is supposed to have.
And that’s just me
as a relatively privileged person in society,
so we can see that change is necessary.
And it can be hard in the face of things like collective anxiety and despair,
when the urgency of the situation hits.
When I sit for hours reading articles
about how we have two years left to act, five, ten years,
but then we’ll be at a tipping point, and there’s no going back.
The last thing I want to do is empathize with people about how scared they are
because I feel scared enough for all of us.
I just want to do something and do it now,
but known ways of doing things and changing things
haven’t been working this time.
In fact, when I stopped and thought about it,
after a year of going full steam,
I realized that I was really resigned to this concept
of just getting lost in my fear and blindly following a template,
whenever a new paper was released
or a new fossil fuel project was announced.
It was a mad dash to make our voices heard,
but at some point it just felt like shouting at a brick wall,
and I couldn’t figure out who I was trying to talk to
or what I was trying to say, and it kept going and got worse and worse.
Until when people asked me what I did for fun,
I would mumble rating instead of saying community organizing
because it didn’t feel like that’s what I was doing anymore.
We can’t let the fear and urgency overwhelm us.
We have to consider our next steps carefully,
as well as quickly, have to incorporate different voices and perspectives
because the flip side to this whole listening thing
is equally as important.
We need to make sure that we are also practicing accountability.
And there’s a couple of ways we need to do this,
but the first is simply being accountable to each other.
We need to make sure
that yes, we’re hearing people and valuing their voices,
but we're also following through and acting on that
because ultimately, listening without action
never actually leads to solutions.
And the truth is:
We can’t afford to do this without everyone’s input.
If we want to make a world that isn’t ruled
by the same problems we’re seeing today.
And we need to be accountable to ourselves,
need to make sure that we’re taking care of ourselves
so that we can take care of others.
I went a really long time, thinking that I was
the least important part of my own equation,
thinking that because there was so much urgency to create change,
I just didn’t have time to take care of myself,
and it didn't end up getting me anywhere.
I dropped out of school, and then the pandemic hit,
and I was forced to stop and think, and I didn’t start going again
for months.
I was so burnt out from constantly working that I didn’t know who I was anymore,
at least not without my work.
And I’d forgotten that often the most you bring to any space is you
and your communication style and your perspective and your ideas.
I was still bringing my skills and my networks,
but I wasn’t bringing me as an individual.
And it showed.
We can’t work towards a world
where everyone is valued inherently by burning ourselves out in the process.
But finally, here’s what I’ve learned
after almost three years in the climate space now,
and it’s that we have to be accountable to our situation.
We have to take an opportunity that we see and act on it,
but it needs to keep going.
We’ve done it more than once,
but if we’re talking climate,
we got 10,000 people on the streets two years ago
in sleepy old Perth with the climate strike.
We know we’re not starting from scratch,
and I used to feel really down after something like that
because it felt like a win, but I didn’t know where to go next,
but the trajectory is clear.
We have to do it again and again and again,
and we have to keep going.
Take a moment, and consider where you are at.
Living in the relative bubble of Perth, we’ve been sheltered
from the worst of the climate crisis
thus far, and the pandemic too,
while the rest of the world has been in lockdown,
we've pretty much had business as usual.
And let me tell you,
I know that it’s really, really easy
to just click off your phone or your social media feed
and just ignore the news.
But with that privilege and capacity comes opportunity,
we have the opportunity to work together right now
to organize and build powerful spaces and mass movements,
and do it in a way that’s true to the better world we’re fighting for.
Because ultimately,
I could do this for the rest of my life,
and it wouldn’t work without you.
Without all of you.
That’s the beauty of community organizing,
that it's never just about me or about you, but about us.
It's the conversations we have, it's the people we meet,
it’s the ways in which we connect and collaborate,
it’s the momentum we build.
It’s the driving forces that connect us.
So I urge you to take a step.
Whether it’s the first one in your journey,
or maybe it’s just another one out of thousands.
Take a step.
To listen, understand, communicate, take accountability,
all of these things that are only possible if you’re in the space to begin with.
So step out of your comfort zone.
Get on the streets and demand change or just reach out.
Because together we can change the world.
Thank you.
(Applause)