How to stop fear overwhelming you Earth needs you to keep going

[Applause]

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 that 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 one thing

that spurred me into action a couple of

years ago when i started 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 that 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’re 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 years left to act 10 years left but

then we’ll have crossed 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 reading 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’re also practicing accountability

and there’s a couple of ways in which 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 once we’ve done it more

than once but if we’re talking climate

we got 10 000 people in 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 to

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’re 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 we’re at it 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

[Music]

you