Creative Climate Action Festival 

The first annual Youth Climate Action Festival was a resounding success! The event brought together an intergenerational audience to celebrate the power and importance of youth voices within the climate conversation. The goal of this festival was to provide a platform for youth to cultivate meaningful connections through an intersectional lens and lay a foundation for future collaborations. 

We also worked to showcase the wide range of priorities that young people are addressing on both a local and statewide level including the implementation of an Interdisciplinary Climate Justice Education Bill as well the passing of a natural gas moratorium in Massachusetts. Participants had the chance to engage in both educational and action based workshops centered around environmental justice and climate hope. There were collaborative art projects, a live performance from a local youth dance company, a community open mic, two live music performances, a poetry reading, as well as ample time to mingle and chat with one another about our goals as youth leaders. Representatives Mindy Domb and Dan Carey were in attendance to share more information about their efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change in our communities as well as show their support for youth led climate action! 

During the Festival, we had the opportunity to announce an upcoming partnership with Massachusetts’s first ever Climate Chief, Melissa Hoffer. We were honored that Chief Hoffer was able to attend this event and share a statement about the creation of an upcoming Youth Council to advise the Climate Office. Over the last few months, youth leaders have had the incredible privilege to work with Chief Hoffer to develop a model of engagement to get more youth leaders involved in the Climate Office. We are planning to work with the Climate Office to amplify the voices of young people in climate policy on a statewide level and to cultivate resilience and hope. These experiences within the climate office will help shape a generation of leaders who are committed to fighting for a just and sustainable world and who have an experiential knowledge of the democratic process and the levers of change within the Massachusetts legislature. We know that this generation will go on to push Massachusetts to even greater goals in the future! The Youth Climate Council will advise the Governor and the Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience on climate policy and actions to make communities more resilient. The application is open to high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. The deadline to apply is May 19, 2023.

Partners and Collaborators