[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.6″ background_color=”#F3F4E4″ custom_margin=”|-28px||-28px|false|false” custom_padding=”0px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” width_tablet=”” width_phone=”” width_last_edited=”on|phone” max_width=”2112px” max_width_tablet=”2560%” max_width_phone=”2560%” max_width_last_edited=”on|tablet” custom_margin=”-14px|auto||auto||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.23.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.7″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”–et_global_body_font||||||||” text_text_color=”#000000″ width=”80%” width_tablet=”80%” width_phone=”100%” width_last_edited=”on|phone” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”||-2px|0px|false|false” custom_padding=”||2px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
I recently had the opportunity to moderate a really interesting panel session titled “Resilience Reimagined.” The conversation got into something that doesn’t get talked about enough: how the idea of resilience has basically become a go-to rallying cry for youth involved in social movements; a way to keep young people energized and committed to a cause.<\/p>\n
It’s well-meaning, no doubt, but the panel unpacked how calls for resilience can end up glossing over the real conditions that make organizing so hard in the first place, while quietly piling the pressure onto young people to push past their limits.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In this case, I was moderating so I had to take on a fairly objective stance. I do (obviously!) have some thoughts on this. I\u2019ve attended my fair share of conferences, webinars, and workshops targeted at youth that have either explicitly or implicitly championed ideas of \u201cnot giving up\u201d and \u201cstaying the course\u201d. At the base level, these cries for endurance have always felt a little\u2013for lack of a better word\u2013ignorant to me.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve sat in these sessions wondering to myself, \u201cWhy aren\u2019t we addressing the elephants (yes, plural) in the room?\u201d The globe at large is at a crucial point characterized by a polycrisis. We have been in the throes of economic instability, climate change, geopolitical conflicts, and technological disruption for some time now. Through this process, the financial resources available to youth-led actions have also been heavily impacted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a youth-led organization working within the youth-led climate justice ecosystem, FES knows this pattern well. Like many organizations in this space, we depend on grants and donations to keep our work going; a funding reality that’s far less stable than, say, a public sector job backed by tax dollars.<\/p>\n
As global challenges arise, attention also shifts away from funding youth-led climate justice work. This means there are just a lot less funds and financial resources to go around. We are all aware of this or impacted by it in some way, but somehow, it remains unnamed on conference panels.<\/p>\n
Why haven\u2019t the offered sessions\u2013aside from the one I moderated on\u2013caught up to this reality? Whether we like to admit it or not, financial support is crucial to the future of any movement, and there is only so far endurance can take you before the reality of not having the financial means makes itself known. How do the resources and support we offer to youth meet the moment? At FES, this is what we seek to actively explore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a charitable organization that primarily funds and supports youth climate leaders, we recognize that due to shifting gifting patterns, we might not always have the ability to grant funds when we would want to. This has challenged us to explore how we can adapt our non-monetary offerings to make them relevant to youth contending with financial uncertainty.<\/p>\n
Part of this suite of offerings includes free workshops, including one on fundraising that aims to equip participants with techniques on how to secure funding during trying times. We are also presently exploring working groups between different youth initiatives because we know that joining efforts strengthens movements and reduces the current steep competition for grants.<\/p>\n
I am fully aware that resilience has been a driving force within most social movements. Liberties and progress were not secured through monetary means alone. However, a resilient mindset coupled with financial fuel has the power to drive action and interrupt the status quo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I recently had the opportunity to moderate a really interesting panel session titled “Resilience Reimagined.” The conversation got into something that doesn’t get talked about enough: how the idea of resilience has basically become a go-to rallying cry for youth involved in social movements; a way to keep young people energized and committed to a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":32571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"our-updates","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"\n In September, FES was at New York Climate Week. The first of three blog posts sharing Kat\u2019s (Executive Director) and Jess\u2019 (Program Director) experience and reflections at the People\u2019s March, and what it was like being with over 75,000 people on the ground, advocating for climate action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-our-updates"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n<\/blockquote>\n