How can youth help the most?

The power of youth -- and how they can help the most:

Remarks at the Regional Conference of Youth Europe, Vienna, 10 May 2024

By Andreas Beckmann

I don’t need to tell you about the challenge that we are facing – otherwise, you wouldn’t be here.?

I would point out that the challenge that we are facing is not just climate change but also nature loss, and the two are inextricably linked. These are the defining challenges of our age and our lifetimes.?

In the 1960s, the United States, impressed and scared by Soviet progress in space, made a concerted and ultimately successful effort to put a man (and yes, it was a man) on the moon. What we need today is not a moonshot but an Earthshot – a concerted effort to keep people and the nature on which we depend on this beautiful planet of ours in a condition that is at least tolerable if not flourishing. Our planet, Mother Earth, will survive, but it is uncertain in what shape we will.?

The challenge facing us is far greater than putting a man on the moon. We need to change our whole society, our economy, our civilisation – and we need to do this at a speed never seen before. For this, we need all hands on deck. We need everyone contributing – including and especially youth.??

Lukas asked me to speak with you about how youth can help the most. “Power of youth and efficient international youth cooperation”

Great topic!

That youth has power – or the potential for power — should be abundantly clear. It was not too long ago that a small, unassuming Swedish schoolgirl skipped class to sit outside a government building. It was such a “meaningless” act – but the youth movement that Greta Thunberg sparked has played a key role in pushing forward environmental action around the world. It was instrumental in influencing the EU and national elections in 2019. It inspired and made possible the EU Green Deal and with this pushed a wave of environmental initiatives across Europe.?

With that movement, you achieved something that no Green party, no environmental group – not WWF, not Greenpeace, not Friends of the Earth, not BirdLife, nor others – had previously managed to achieve.?

You have changed the world.?

Regarding how best to harness and use your power: I don’t have the answer, because there is no one answer, and there are many different contexts and conditions. But I have some opinions, some experience, and points of view, and I would like to hear yours. So I propose that we explore this question together -- that we have a conversation. I have ten "words of wisdom" or advise that I will kick off with and give you something to react to or shoot at.?

Word of Wisdom Number 1: Follow your passion, follow your conviction.?

Many of my colleagues at WWF have known from an early age that they wanted to become conservationists. My route has been more circuitous and haphazard. I started a PhD in history, worked in a hospital handing our catheters and bedpans, in a bank processing mortgages, in a lawyer’s office processing mail, and in the service industry processing dirty pizza pans. From an early age, I was very concerned about the state of our environment, but to be honest I didn’t have the courage to do something about it – until finally, at the ripe age of 26 or so, I had my early life crisis and started just volunteering for various Czech environmental groups. That eventually, unexpectedly, certainly unplanned, led to a job and a career.?Following my convictions has tapped new energies and new talents. It gave my life a richness that I had previously not known.

Life is too short to live someone else’s life; life is too short not to make yours count, in whatever way is right for you.?

Word of Wisdom Number 2: There is no single answer, there is not one silver bullet.?

The fact is that we need a multitude of solutions. We need politicians, we need managers and entrepreneurs, we need scientists, we need teachers, we need artists, we need activists and active people. One is not better than another. We need all.

Choose what best suits you – where your talents, your passion and opportunities lie, where you can also develop, grow and have fun.

Life is too short to be miserable if you can help it.?

Word of Wisdom Number 3: We need not just individual change but broader, systemic change.?

It is not enough to change our own and others’ individual lives and behavior; we need to change the broader context, the system in which we are functioning. It is important to walk the talk – but this is not enough: we need to change the course on which we are walking. Statistics tell us how concerned young people are about the state of the planet – but then also tell us how few of them actually vote in elections.?

There are a slew of elections coming up this year across Europe and beyond, starting with elections to the EU Parliament in June. Vote – and encourage, mobilise, and organise others to vote as well. Engage in the political process to pressure political and economic decision-makers. Force them through the ballot box to take you and your concerns seriously. Become a politician yourself, or support others to do so on your behalf.?

Word of Wisdom Number 4: Work together, not alone.

In my experience, we are most effective when we work together – formally or informally, depending on the situation.?There is an African proverb that goes something like this: To walk a mile, it is easier to walk alone; to walk 100 miles, it is easier to walk together. This is an ultramarathon we are running, it is not a sprint – we can only manage it by running together.

Social movements are made up of and led by passionate individuals. That is what gives them their vibrancy and makes them so wonderful. But I sometimes see the passion getting in the way of results. Focus on the objective, not on attacking and criticising each other. Criticising those close to you may provide an ego boost – an “I am better than you” feeling of momentary satisfaction. But it does not advance, and rather hurts, the cause.?

Word of Wisdom Number 5: Lean on and plug into existing organisations, and go beyond traditional actors.??

Draw on the experience and expertise, the know-how and practical support of existing organisations. Here in Austria, Generation Earth is a youth group that is loosely affiliated with WWF. In Bulgaria, young people have set up Pangea, a youth group that is working with WWF-Bulgaria on a range of issues. They are supporting some of WWF-Bulgaria’s projects and campaigns, while benefiting from the organisation’s experience and expertise.?

Fridays for Future in Austria has been reaching out to non-traditional partners, including trade unions. Last month a demonstration of Fridays with the trade union of public transport workers in Vienna not only made for good slogans (“Mobilit?t ist Handarbeit” – Mobility is work by hand) and props (have you ever had a city bus as part of your demonstration?), but it also helps build alliances and underline the fact that addressing climate change and nature loss is everyone’s business.??

Recognise that cooperation takes time and effort. It does not happen automatically – it needs to be grown. You need to invest in building relationships and trust. It may take more time in the beginning, but will pay off over the longer-term.?

Word of Wisdom Number 6: Organise and specialise

The same applies for your own movement. Recognise that people have different talents, skills and preferences – and that you need more than one. Put people to work doing what they want to do and are good at. Again, taking the example of the Bulgarian youth group Pangea: they are not much more than a year old, but already have over 60 active members that have organised themselves in a number of teams or working groups, from organisation to communications and programmatic work.?

In deciding what to do and how to do it, you can draw on useful management tools adapted from business and social movements. Look at analyses of ecological footprints to identify the most material impacts to address – this kind of analysis led WWF a decade or so ago to start working on food and agriculture as a global priority, given that it is a major driver of greenhouse gas emissions and the greatest driver of nature loss. Do SWOT analyses to examine your relative strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats or challenges. Do stakeholder analyses to identify how you fit among other actors and to identify your USP (Unique Selling Point), i.e. your added value vis-a-vis others.?

Word of Wisdom Number 7: Much of the same advise applies when working internationally

–? only that you will need to rely more on technology and less on physical presence. Plug into and use existing international networks. Identify issues where you can leverage the power of your network. At WWF-CEE, we seek to leverage our network, e.g. by working with local partners and connecting their local efforts with higher-level policy developments.?

In Europe, focus on EU policymaking. EU policy and legislation and related funding is the driving force for most decision-making related to the environment. 80% of environmental policies and legislation in EU Member states is from the EU. We need a strong voice of youth to advocate for, implement, and defend important legislation from climate and energy to agriculture and nature conservation.?

I have three more Words of Wisdom, but will keep these for the end.

So, what is your Wisdom, what is your perspective, what are your thoughts?

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In closing this session, let me offer my last three "words of wisdom":

Word of Wisdom Number 8: Take care of yourself

Tend to your own needs – you are more than the cause. This is a marathon, not a sprint. We need you for the long-term.?

Recognise that you are made of flesh and blood. Get regular exercise. Eat well, sleep well. Cultivate friendships and relationships, and care for your spiritual needs.?

Draw strength from each other – you are a community of kindred spirits.

Draw strength from within. Think positively – focus on the glass half full, not half empty. Focus not on the present challenges, but on the future vision and achievements.?

Know why you are taking action.

At some level, at some point, action for the environment has to be very personal. For me, taking action gives life meaning. The picture that accompanies me through life is of my deathbed: I am lying there and looking back – and I want to know that I have done what I could, however small, to make a difference. I want to know that my life, in whatever small way, had meaning, that I did the right thing – not because I knew that it would be successful, but because it was the right thing to do.?

When Greta Thunberg skipped class to sit in front of that government building – did she expect to start a revolution? Does it matter? Or did she do what she had to do, regardless?

Word of Wisdom Number 9: Know that your actions are more than those actions themselves.?

Know that your action sends ripples that magnify your impact – ripples of influence that you may not even be aware of.

Again – the most extraordinary example of this is Greta Thunberg. Her act of sitting in front of the Swedish government building was almost meaningless. But the ripples of this act have changed the world.

Word of Wisdom Number 10: My final word of advise is to listen and consider my advise, but don’t take it too seriously.?

I have a certain experience and perspective. You have other ones. Mine can inform yours, but they cannot replace yours. Your truth is your own. You may be at the beginning of your professional life, but you are at the height of your creativity.

Have confidence. Believe in yourself, believe in your generation.?

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In conclusion: thank you for being here. I mean that in a deeper sense. ?

In my work, there is plenty of reason to be depressed. But what keeps me going are not only the results of our work, but the people I work with, the people I see caring and taking action, the people giving a damn, the people creating positive energy and change.

People like you.?You give me energy, you give me inspiration, and you give me hope.