Brent students take on the challenge of climate change

The first Brent Student Climate Change Conference was held yesterday attended by around 200 people including students, campaigners, authors and local politicians. Here are some of the images from the day to give you a flavour of the event:

Children's author Caren Trafford sets the scene

Competition prize winners with Mary Arnold, the Mayor and Muhammed Butt

1st Prize Winner Suraj Velani Y8  (Dual language PowerPoint presentation)

Runner up Joshua Herskovitz-Wong Y7 (Poster)

Equal runner up Antonino Cafiero-Regueira Y7 (PowerPoint presentation)

After film, presentations and a panel discussion in the morning students used the knowledge gained in workshops in the afternoon to make their own presentations on campaigns to combat climate change. They worked in mixed groups drawn from the colleges and schools attending. Here are some of the results:

Thivya Jeyashanker and Edison Lasku of the Brent Youth Parliament ended their presentation with this slide. During the lunch interval many students volunteered an interest in joining the Youth Parliament.

Speakers for Students Climate Change Conference

Here are the speaker details for our Conference on Wednesday  March 20th. The speakers will also form the Panel for the Any Questions? session:

Speaker	Title
Caren Trafford Environmental writer, Presenter, Educator	"One world… one problem"
Carly Walker-Dawson   Deputy Chair of Woodcraft Folk British Youth Council Vice-Chair (Participation & Development) IFM-SEI Rainbow Network Co-ordinator	If Climate Change takes place at the same speed as it does now, what will the UK look like in the year 2113?
Isobel Edwards   YUSU Environment and Ethics Officer and People & Planet society Treasurer	Easy changes to make to the life of a student which can have a big impact on their carbon footprint
Kelly EatonWaste Development Officer - Waste Policy Team - Recycling & WasteBrent Council	Recycling and One Planet Thinking: Reducing your impact on climate change
Thivya Jeyashanker & Edison Lasku Brent youth parliament Chair and Vice Chair	“Encouraging engagement and participation of young people”

Students fill up all the places for Brent Climate Change Conference

 More than 200 students are now signed up for the Brent Students Conference on Climate Change to be held on March 20th.

The Conference will be attended by Cllr Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council and speakers will include Caren Trafford, Carly Walker-Dawson, Isolbel Edwards, Kelly Eaton, Thivya Jeyashanker and Edison Lasku.

Cllr James Powney, lead member on the environment and Cllr Mary Arnold will chair part of the conference with the opening  session chaired by Martin Francis, Chair of Brent Campaign Against Climate Change.

There will be plenty of time for input from the students themselves with discussion, debate and workshops. During the lunch sessions there will be stalls and exhibitions from universities and campaign groups.

Get your Climate Change Competition entries registed by March 6th

The Climate Change Conference organisers have extended the deadline for registration for the Climate Change competition to March 6th. Entries must be delivered to the College of North West London  by March 13th and will be judged on March 15th.  Winners will be announced and presented with their prizes  by the Mayor of Brent at the Conference on March 20th.

If your entry is a performance of some sort and requires the attendance of entrants at the judging, please let us know when you register.

Contact: davide.pascarella@brent.gov.uk

Two hundred registered for Brent Students Climate Change Conference

The organising committee were very pleased to hear last night that more than 200 applications from schools and colleges  have been received to attend the Brent Students Climate Change Conference on March 20th.

The Conference will include film, speakers, panel discussion and workshops and  a variety of lunchtime stalls covering campaigns, courses and work opportunities.

Free coach travel available to Climate Change Conference

There is still time to register for the Brent Students Conference on Climate Change. Free coach travel to the venue is available for groups of students.

Please contact davide.pascarella@brent.gov.uk

Brent Schools, book now for Climate Change Conference

Free Invitation to “Brent Students Conference on Climate Change”  20 March 2013

Brent Council, in conjunction with the College of North West London, and Brent Campaign against Climate Change are organising a conference open to all students in Years 11–13 and Further Education. The conference will be held at the Dudden Hill Campus of the College of North West London, Dudden Hill Lane, NW10 2XD.

I hope you have already received the Climate Change invitation letter, sent by post on 13 December.

The aim of the conference is to increase awareness of climate change and discuss ways to lessen and  adapt to its effects. To encourage the engagement and participation of the young people, the conference will hold a number of environmental activities.

The event will also provide information and advice on relevant courses in Further and in Higher Education and careers in related industries. 

The conference will run from 10.00 am – 3.45 pm and be divided into three sessions:

Morning Session: The Issues of Climate Change

Short introductory talks and Q/A with a panel of speakers.

Lunch Session: Courses and Careers

A tour of the college’s Industry Week displays and an opportunity to talk to employers and admissions tutors. 

Afternoon Session: Tackling Climate Change

 

Supervised workshops exploring how students can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change in their schools & colleges, or through participation in community and campaign groups.

                                                        

Free lunch and refreshments will be provided.

I would be grateful if you could bring the details of this letter to the attention of your staff/students and encourage them to attend the conference. Teachers wishing to bring a group should express an interest by e-mailing environment@brent.gov.uk by Friday 8 February 2013, with an indication of likely numbers.

We would be happy to answer any further queries you may have, please call 020 8937 5564. Alternatively a team member accompanied by a Councillor can visit your school to discuss the conference. We will be contacting you in due course to see if you would like to arrange for a visit, either to meet with staff or talk to groups of students.

Yours sincerely,

Davide Pascarella

Environmental Projects & Policy Officer

WIN A PRIZE IN OUR CLIMATE CHANGE COMPETITION!

Thanks to Greenpeace for this video

Brent Council in collaboration with Brent Campaign against Climate Change and College of North West London is calling on young people aged 11 to 21 to make a ‘piece’ based on climate change and what they are doing to create a more sustainable world.

WHAT IS THE COMPETITION THEME?

Develop an innovative tool/design/performance/proposal in order to increase understanding amongst the Brent community of the implications of climate change and how it might be addressed.

Entrants might wish to present ideas showing how society might adapt to the effects of climate change in the future. Alternatively they could demonstrate how our greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced in order to lessen the scale of change.

The purpose of the Competition is to increase awareness of the issues of climate change, its mitigation and adaptation, and to encourage young people to contribute to environmental activities.

WHO CAN ENTER?
Students aged 11 to 21 Years from schools, FE colleges based in the London Borough of Brent & Youth Clubs.

HOW DO WE ENTER?

Competition entrants need to register by e-mailing environment@brent.gov.uk by 8th February 2013.
Competition entries can either be submitted at the reception of the College of North West London, Dudden Hill campus (where a receipt will be issued) or sent by post. Entries must be received between 11th and 13th March 2013. All participants should mark their entries for the attention of Martin Biron.
Entries sent in the post should be sent to the following address and marked for the attention of Martin Biron:
College of North West London,
Dudden Hill Lane,
London
NW10 2XD
If you would like to have your entry returned please provide an address and contact number.

WHAT SORT OF ENTRIES CAN WE SUBMIT?

 Entries may be submitted in any format, which might be a completed artefact (for example, a poster, a piece of equipment, a technical drawing, a video production), a recorded performance, or a written proposal of up to 1000 words (e.g. a business plan for a small company, a project proposal). The artefact or performance should be accompanied by a written explanation (up to 1000 words) which should explain the rationale, aims and objectives, and technical or design features. Short-listed candidates will be invited to make a “pitch” to a panel to explain and “sell” their submission.

Their aim should be either to provide a practical means of mitigating or adapting to climate change or of raising public awareness of the issues of climate change.

•  Mitigation – how we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions·
•  Adaptation – how we can adapt to effects of climate change·

Students might also consider using the following media:

•  Models designed and manufactured by the entrant·
•  Use of new media forms e.g. apps for tablets and phones, websites, DVDs·
•  Music, art, poetry, drama or performance·

HOW WILL OUR ENTRIES BE JUDGED?

 Entries will be judged on their:

•  Originality, creativity, relevance & likely effectiveness
•  Technical Competence at the expected level of attainment for the entrant
•  Effectiveness in communicating their ideas

WHO WILL BE THE JUDGES?

 Entries will be judged by a panel of representatives from London Borough of Brent, Brent Campaign Against Climate Change, and The College of North West London.

WHAT PRIZES MIGHT WE GET?

 Winner: £100 Goods Voucher and a certificate·  The winning entry will be displayed at·signed by the Mayor of Brent.  the Climate Change Conference being held at the College of North West London on 20th March 2013. It will be subsequently displayed at the new Civic Centre for a specific period of time.  The 5 runner will receive certificates of commendation to be signed by the Mayor of Brent.  The schools or youth clubs of the winning students and runners up will all receive certificates. The decisions made by the judging panel will be final.

Brent Students -Challenge Climate Change at our Conference

Beyond the Brink' is a young film maker’s take on the climate change debate. 18-year-old Ross Harrison spent a year chasing up experts, studying the news and creating a short documentary that answers the ever-pressing questions: Are we really causing climate change and who cares? LINK

Brent Council, in conjunction with the College of North West London (CNWL), and Brent Campaign against Climate Change are organising a conference open to all students in years 11–13 and Further Education. The conference will be held at the Dudden Hill centre of the College of North West London, Dudden Hill Lane, NW10 2XD.

The aim of the conference is to increase awareness of climate change and discuss ways to lessen and adapt to its effects. To encourage and engage young people partecipation, the conference will hold a number of environmental activities.

The event will also provide information and advice on relevant courses in Further and Higher Education and careers in related industries.

The conference will run from 10.00 am – 3.45 pm and be divided into three sessions:

• Morning Session: The Issues of Climate Change
• Short introductory talks and Q/A with a panel of speakers.
• Lunch Session: Courses and Careers

A tour of the CNWL Industry Week displays and an opportunity to talk to employers and admissions tutors.
Afternoon Session: Tackling Climate Change

Facilitated workshops on what students can do in their schools, or through community and campaign groups, to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change.

Teachers, lecturers and youth workers can express an interest in bringing students to the conference by e-mailing environment@brent.gov.uk by Friday 8th February. Students who are interested in attendign should approach the appropriate member of staff.

The organisers are willing to come into school to speak to staff and/or students about the Conference and  Competition. Please e-mail us at the above address.