Seed, Australia’s Indigenous Youth Climate Network

Can you believe it’s already been a year since we launched Seed, Australia’s first Indigenous Youth Climate Network?

Seed has been going from strength to strength. Across Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people are leading the movement for climate justice. Today, we’re excited to launch our new website that tells the story of our people by our people - visit seedmob.org.au

It’s been a huge year. There’s a growing movement of young people involved in Seed and we’re working alongside our brothers and sisters speaking out against all forms of injustice facing our people.

Climate change is an issue of environmental and social justice. It is an issue that affects everybody but the impacts are not evenly distributed. Too often it’s the people who have contributed the least to the causes of climate change that are facing the most severe impacts.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are often hit first and worst, not only by the impacts of climate change but the impacts of extractive, polluting and wasteful industries that are devastating our country and fueling the climate crisis.

As young people, it’s our generation with the most at stake. It’s our communities on the frontline who need to be at the forefront of change, leading the solutions and building a society that is healthier, cleaner, more just and puts people first.

Over half the population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are under 25. Increasingly young people are leading the way in many areas of social change for our communities. At Seed, we are committed to ensuring that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people are supported to lead the movement for climate justice and to ensure our voice is heard on issues that affect our future.

Since our Seed summit in 2014, we’ve been sowing the seeds of climate justice all across Australia:

• Seed volunteers have been out knocking on the doors of Australian banks, raising concerns about the impact that the Abbot Point coal port expansion and opening of the Galilee basin would mean for our country, culture and the climate,

• We have called on world leaders at the G20 to listen to our message rather than that of vested interests,

• We have stood with the Pacific Climate Warriors who are fighting to keep their islands above water and fossil fuels in the ground, and

• We have been working alongside the AYCC to continue building the power of the youth climate movement.

Seed is an example of AYCC’s commitment to building a generation-wide movement that sees those who have the most at stake at the forefront of change. 

Already, thousands of people have shown their support. You can join them by sharing our new website with your family and friends.

Right now, we’re gearing up for a huge second half of the year. We’re going be leading a road trip from Cairns to Brisbane, visiting a number of Aboriginal and regional communities throughout QLD. We’ll gather and share stories, and raise the voice of our people in the lead up to the UN climate negotiations in Paris and beyond.

For all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters, sign up to be a part of building the movement for climate justice led by our mob.

Now more than ever, we need to be standing up for a more just and sustainable future for all people.