Over the last five years, we’ve been working with 350 groups across more than 15 Pacific Islands.What started out as a network that organised for the 350.org global days of action, has now evolved into a grassroots network of Pacific Islanders building movement locally, and translating that into campaigns to stand up and protect the Pacific Islands from climate change. Last week, the team in Vanuatu passed a landmark step in registering the organisation “350 Vanuatu”, with a board and team of executive officers. Isso Nihmei, the 350 Vanuatu coordinator explains how they came to be, and where they are headed. At the bottom of the post, you can see the who’s who of 350 Vanuatu.
The motivation to launch 350 Vanuatu emerged during Powershift NZ-Pacific in Auckland, New Zealand (2012) and Global Power Shift in Istanbul, Turkey (2013). Since the summit in Turkey, the Vanuatu Power Shift team and our allies here have organised a series of summits, events, and mobilizations linked with 350 Pacific and wider global networks.
In the coming years, 350 Vanuatu is seeking to implement the 350 Pacific strategy with a mission to empower and educate action-focused Pacific Island young people to lead creative actions to:
- Make our villages and towns more resilient to a changing climate.
- Join the global movement that is pressuring big polluters and the fossil fuel industry and get the world back on track to 350ppm
- Build stronger, more connected fossil free communities across the Pacific; not just within the Pacific Islands, but across the world.
Our National Key Priorities over the coming three years will use the Warrior theme across our initiatives. 350 Vanuatu’s top priorities are:
- Embolden Pacific Island leaders and government leadership and interventions on the international stage on climate change
- Take action to challenge the Fossil Fuel Industry
- Build and display cultural strength of the Pacific Islands
- Empower young people to build local resilience to climate change impacts
- Tell and share stories from both the frontlines of climate change impacts and the movement response
350 Vanuatu is working closely with the government through the Ministry of Climate Change, Energy, Environment, meteorology and geo-hazards and several other civil Society, Non-governmental organization and other local government on implementing climate change activities on community to international campaign.
You can contact 350 Vanuatu by emailing them on [email protected]
Winy Marango: Treasurer
Jill Wai: Secretary
Board Members:
Metz Brian