Monday 26 October 2009

GREENING IT UP AT THE BLESSINGTON LAKES!


From l-r: Chris, Antonia, Justyn, Una, Bob, Mark and Lois

Seven members of QUB Greens went down to Blessington Lakes, Wicklow for the Young Green Convention, one of the most successful turnouts from a Young Green branch and a great turn out all round!

After a joyful six hours of travel by bus we arrived on the Saturday in time for some of the afternoon talks. There was a discussion between all branches on how to get involved in campaigns and what can work well when choosing to take on new projects. There is great potential for us to learn from each other, for example by what has worked well on another university campus.

Later in the day John Gormley, Environment Minister in the South, came and spoke to us all, noting the importance of looking forward and questioning where we will be in, for example, 2050. He emphasised that no one can dispute the fact that it is impossible to have ‘infinite growth on a finite planet’. For sustainability there is a need for ‘resource-ism’. Discussion was then opened to the floor and we had the valuable opportunity to ask the Minister questions, on areas from the new Programme for Government, the Lisbon Treaty, Copenhagen, Common Agricultural Policy, internal flights in Ireland and even a mention of Sammy Wilson!

This was followed by the election of the new National Executive Committee (NEC) for the following year – for the first time a Young Green from Northern Ireland was elected! Congratulations to QUB Co Chair Mark on winning the position of Campaigns Officer!

Discussions continued long into the night, it was a great experience making contact with our fellow Young Greens, thank you to everyone from QUB who went down and to our fabulous hosts : )

Mark, newly elected to the NEC and ready to fight to improve Green Campaigns!

QUB GREENS SUPPORT GREEN WEEK AT QUB!



The 26th - 30th October is Green Week at Queens!

The SU Sabbatical Officers loved our Energy Saving Poster from Energy Saving Week so much that we were able to edit it to fit in with Green Week!

Take a look around the SU this week to see our poster in Action as part of the QUB Greens support for GREEN WEEK 2009!

Also look out for the SU Green Week poster to see whats on this week!

Click on the Poster Image to see the origional size!

Tuesday 20 October 2009

QUB GREENS ENERGY SAVING WEEK





19 - 25 October is Energy Saving week and to play a part in this the QUB Greens committee has created a poster & leaflet which will be distributed to students and put up on notice boards around the campus. After our meeting on Wednesday 21st we will be distributing these and need volunteers to help leaflet around the Students Union.

CLICK ON THE POSTER TO SEE LARGER SIZE!

Monday 19 October 2009

QUB GREEN MEMBERS ATTEND PIPS COMMUNITY LIFEGUARD TRAINING PROGRAMME


QUB Greens Adam McGibbon and Karly Greene at the Pips Meeting!

From the Young  Greens hard work and important input in the cross party Political Youthwings organisation for the Youth Mental Health Strategy, Karly Greene and Adam McGibbon broadened their knowledge and skills by attending a training programme organised by Barry McColgan (Ogra SF) and ran by two highly trained Pips trainors!

The Pips project is a Northern Ireland organisation (formed in North Belfast) to prevent suicide and help beareaved families through the tragedy of loosing a loved one through suicide.

The programme was a 6 hour training event including group work and the LOOK-LISTEN-LINK idea on how simple it can be to save someones life and notice signs at early stages of suicidal thoughts.

A highly successful and interesting day!
For more info on Pips see http://www.pipsproject.com/

CAN CAPITALISM STOP CLIMATE CHANGE? QUB GREENS DEBATE SOCIALIST SOCIETY!

Adam McGibbon of the QUB Greens will be debating with a member of the Socialist Society at Queens this Wednesday!

Both speakers will have about 10 minutes or so to outline their position, then it will be opened up to the floor for discussion, before both speakers sum up at the end.

The debate will take place in Room 206 in the PFC at 1pm.

The debate will look at our environment in crisis and what solutions we believe are available! The Socialist Society have called the debate "Can Capitalism Stop Climate Change!" The QUB Greens certainly dont think so! We wonder do the Socialists!?!    : P 

Friday 16 October 2009

QUB GREENS VOTE EARTH!

QUB Greens sign the WWF petition in the QUB Students Union!

The QUB Greens have signed the World Wide Fund for Natures call for a Global Climate Deal and urge you to do the same!

Climate Change Affects us all - and we can all make a difference.

www.wwf.org.uk/voteearth

We need world leaders to sign a strong, fair global climate deal in Copenhagen this December.

In December, world leaders will meet in Copenhagen to agree how the world will tackle the growing climate crisis. We need your help to urge Gordon Brown to push for a deal which will secure a safe future for all. Add your voice by signing the WWF's petition below.

Add your voice to the call for Gordon Brown to urge rich countries to take on stronger carbon targets and provide finance to support developing countries.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN!

Thursday 15 October 2009

LEAGUE AGAINST CRUEL SPORTS QUB - First Meeting of new society on 21/10/09


















THE LEAGUE AGAINST CRUEL SPORTS HAVE ESTABLISED A SOCIETY AT QUB AND WE ARE ENCOURAGING YOU TO GET INVOLVED WITH THEIR CAMPAIGNS!

We are delighted to inform you that the first League Against Cruel Sports QUB Society meeting will be held on Wednesday 21 October at 4pm in Club Room 2 on the 3rd floor of the Students Union. This is an excellent opportunity for you to meet people with similar interests, have a good time and to introduce yourself to the work and campaigns of the League.

“The League Against Cruel Sports Society will be the first active animal welfare students group at Queens. I urge anyone who is passionate about animal welfare to attend our first meeting on Wednesday 21 October 4pm in club room 2 on the 3rd floor of the students union. Through the society you will have the opportunity to get involved with the League’s campaign on hare coursing, banning snares as well as others such as bullfighting.”

QUB Greens will no doubt do their best to support the LACS Society in their campaigns!

For more information on the League Against Cruel Sports - http://www.league.org.uk/

Wednesday 14 October 2009

ASK STEVEN AGNEW YOUR QUESTIONS!


The QUB Greens are giving you the opportunity to put your questions to the recent EU Candidate of the Green Party, Steven Agnew!

Steven Agnew, the Green Party MEP Candidate in the recent EU elections, has agreed to do an interview with the QUB Greens! And we are letting YOU ask the questions!

So if you have any questions, whether it be about Stevens experience of the election, his future in politics, views about certain issues or what inspires him to be Green please send them on to us at qubgreens@hotmail.co.uk ! We will then select the best ones and try to cater for everyone, so this is your chance to find out a little bit more about Steven and the Green Party.

Steven Agnew polled 15,764 first preference votes. This is a 31.5% increase in the Green vote since the Assembly elections and a 228% increase on the last European election.

The European election results have proven to be of huge significance to the Green Party in Northern Ireland. It now looks likely that the Green Party could seriously increase its Assembly representation in any future election. One thing is for sure, the Green candidate Steven Agnew is most certainly one to keep an eye on in the future!

We will be compiling the best questions for the interview at the end of the week so you have until the weekend to send us yours! :-)

We will post Stevens answers to the questions onto this blog!

For more information on Steven Agnew - www.stevenagnew.eu

Monday 12 October 2009

YOUNG GREENS CONVENTION THIS WEEKEND



Join the QUB Greens at the Young Green National Convention this weekend at the beautiful Blessington Lakes!

The annual Young Greens convention is here! Or rather nearly upon us. Only one week to go and we want you to come along and meet other Young Greens, discuss the issues that matter to you, and in general have de craic. This year the convention is taking place in the lovely surrounds of the Blessington lakes in Co. Wicklow!

We're providing accommodation, nourishment and a full timetable (to be announced this week) so really there's no excuse for you not to come!!

www.younggreens.ie/convention

Timetable will be posted at this space!

If you wish to travel down with QUB Greens please send an email asap to qubgreens@hotmail.co.uk

Sunday 11 October 2009

QUB GREENS VOTE FOR GREEN CHANGE

The Young Greens celebrate the news that the party membership overwhelmingly endorsed the renewed programme for government at the special convention!

QUB Green delegates attended the Green Party special convention in Dublin's RDS to vote on the new programme for government negotiations!

Our delegates voted in favour of the new programme as it contained some of the most radical changes we have yet seen since the Green Party entered government in 2007.

Here are some examples of what has been gained and will be implemented by the government:

  • 127,000 new jobs to be created in the green and smart economies over the next decade!
  • 12,000 new jobs in locally-based rural enterprises between now and 2013!
  • No 3rd Level Fees in the Republic of Ireland!
  • 500 new teaching posts at primary and secondary level over the next 3 years!
  • Protection for the Hill of Tara by designating such areas as Landscape Conservation Areas!
  • A Cap on Incineration capacity!
  • An end to corporate donations to political parties!
  • Transport will be 2:1 in favour of public transport over roads!
  • Ireland will become a GM Free Zone!
  • Fur-farming will be phased out over 3 years!
  • Stag hunting will be banned!
  • There will be no more culling of badgers!

You can read a summary of all that has been gained at this link.

A NEW TERM BEGINS!

Our first meeting of the term began with talk from outgoing co-chair Adam McGibbon, talking about the Green Party in general and his involvement with them since 2007, a key year for the Greens in Northern Ireland.

We had an overview of our activities last year, mentioning World Aids Day, the Gaza and other peace protests, the campaign against then Environment Minister Sammy Wilson including the petition given in at Stormont, Fairtrade fortnight, Steven Agnew and the European election, student elections in March and the Green Party Annual Conference.

We then set out some plans for this year, welcoming the input of all members in deciding what we focus on in the coming months. We mentioned for October the Young Greens Convention; November a possible talk from Steven Agnew and John Barry, and a stall for Vegan Day. December would see a visit to Stormont, and some link with events at Copenhagen; in January Steven Agnew has some gigs planned that the Speakeasy could provide a good venue for; February Fairtrade Father Ted; March would see the student sabbatical elections and International Women’s Day and April would see the Westminster election. May is likely to be overshadowed by exams but nearer the time other events could also be included, and throughout the year other events like the peace protests will arise.

In addition to events each month, we would be interested in running some campaigns around areas that concern and motivate Green members! Some examples provided at the meeting were trident, Translink bus prices increasing and others spoke about and recycling facilities around Queens and Belfast in general. It was also decided to have an ink cartridge recycling drive which would also raise money for chairty. Members could also have the chance to become involved, if interested, in the South Belfast Greens.

Elections for the committee were held and the new committee for 2009/2010 is:

Co-Chairs - Mark McCormick & Lois Taylor
Secretary - Petrina Doyle
Treasurer - Rónán Kernan
Campaigns Support - Fionnuala Gray


It was emphasised though that everyone is usually involved in all parts of running the society!

The meeting concluded and off to the Speakeasy we went, with Mark selling the Young Greens Convention on the basis of past experience ‘you could end up in a church tower…!’

"A NEW TYPE OF POLITICS IS EMERGING "

At the QUB Greens first meeting of the term outgoing Co-Chair Adam McGibbon gave a talk to the QUB Greens and new members in attendence about what his thoughts on green politics and the role of the Green Party in Northern Ireland! Here is an excerpt from Adams talk -

"I joined the Green Party in 2007 after the Assembly elections, when the Green Party got its first MLA in Stormont, Brian Wilson from North Down. I remember being completely inspired by the idea that a new type of politics was clearly emerging - something which had nothing to do with they legacy of conflict that we have here. Since then, we've been growing even more.

The Green society here has been going since 2007 and earlier this year, Steven Agnew, our European candidate, tripled the Green vote. I think we're on the verge of a major breakthrough come the next assembly elections, and certainly the party in Northern Ireland, as well as the Green Parties in many many other countries worldwide, are growing fast.

If you ask people what the Green Party is about, you might hear people say "the environment" - but that's not quite correct. If you ask me, what the Green Party is about more than that is holistic thinking - looking at an issue from every angle. I'll give an example of something that I'm familiar with - childhood asthma. I'm from East Belfast, which statistically is the worst parliamentary constituency in the UK for childhood asthma. You might ask,what kind of issue is this? Is it a human rights issue? Shouldn't it be a human right to be able to breathe clean air? Is it a health issue? Is it a transport and planning issue, because a major cause of air pollution is the huge amounts of cars we have on our roads? It's ALL these things, and that's what Green thinking is all about - all issues are interconnected and the best solutions come when you address all these things together.

Of course, it could be seen also, therefore, as an 'environmental' issue. The problem with that word - environmental - is, though, that people tend to view the environment as trees, grass, fields - when in fact all the environment is is the place where you live.

Another thing that I think the Green Party is about, is reforming politics, and this of course is very important post-expenses scandal.People who know me will know that I'm quite fond of quoting the famous German Green, the late Petra Kelly, who used to say that the Green Party was an "anti-party party" - that is, it is a political party that is capable of choosing between morality and power. We remain the most democratic party in the country - our members make all the key decisions - such as the one that the party in the South will make this weekend - whether to stay in coalition government.

We are the only party that doesn't take donations from business. A Green member of the European Parliament was voted the most ethical politician in the UK two years running. One of our party principles is "All social and economic decisions should be taken at the lowest effective level" - and this is keyto our message of bringing politics back to the people.

We're also a party that listens to its youth wing - I sit on the party's executive and the views of the young party members havealways shaped policy and debate... we aren't like some youth wings that I could mention which are effectively just grooming people our age into becoming old men in their 20s."

Saturday 3 October 2009

A GOOD GREEN DAY! FRESHERS BAZAAR 09!

What a great way to start the new term! 108 new QUB students have registered their support and enthusiasm in getting involved with the QUB Greens!

Thank you to everyone who came along to say hello, members old and new! and a huge thank you to all Young Greens and Green Party members who came along and helped out at the stall.

We were delighted to have our EU Election candidate Steven Agnew along for the day, our favourite big young green! We hope to get Steven along soon to one of our meetings to speak to members about his election experience and the future of the Green Party in Northern Ireland! Aggie Aggie Aggie!

Unfortunately our green mascot the tree has been abducted however there have been reported sightings of our beloved tree in Galway and we will soon organise a rescue operation! Hold strong tree, we are coming for you!

We will have our first meeting next week and will email everyone details over this weekend so keep an eye on your inbox for details!

With Best Green Wishes!