I hope you're having a great summer so far. As the economy begins to open, we’re thinking about our role in building back a more sustainable and just world. Check out our updates below!
Build Back Better and a Green Recovery
As the world continues to grapple with Covid-19, one stark observation from the pandemic has been that society can no longer go on following the status-quo and ‘business as usual’ approach for how we manage our world. The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed all the systemic shortcomings and vulnerabilities that need to be addressed, if we want to build a more just, equitable, resilient, healthy and sustainable world. We need to ‘Build Back Better’ or ‘reset’ the status-quo to have a long-lasting positive recovery that puts creating a just society
and sustainable environment at its core. As part of ‘Build Back Better’ and a green recovery in a post-Covid-19 world, many countries are now reevaluating and reinventing how they manage their societies. Some examples of ‘Build Back Better’ include: the Europe Union is developing the ‘European Green Deal’ that transitions from a high- to low-carbon economy; China is ramping up and expanding its State Electricity Grid as part of its transition to renewable energy efforts; and, the UK has pledged to invest £2 billion to creating new cycling and walking infrastructure for healthy, sustainable transportation.
What Be the Change is Doing to Build Back Better
Be the Change is committed to supporting local and global ‘Build Back Better’ efforts, through providing meaningful education that fosters positive change in a post-Covid-19 world. Over the summer, we have been developing a series of learning resources and workshops for the 2020/21 school year, dedicated to helping students co-create a just, equitable, resilient, healthy and sustainable world. These learning resources include: new Action Packs that are focused on understanding topics such as urban health and sustainability, and the intersections of public health, Covid-19 and climate change; and, new experiential learning activities that delve deeper into understanding an individual's connection to self, others, and the natural world.
Introducing Our New Youth Projects Coordinator
Be the Change is excited to welcome Katie to our team! The new Youth Projects Coordinator will be empowering teams of Vancouver youth to design and implement climate action projects over the next school year!
About Katie Maki
Katie is fortunate enough to have grown up in BC on the 
Kwikwetlem and Tsleil Waututh territories, which fostered her love for nature and local environmental issues. Her background is in climate change policy, social justice, and community organizing. She is excited to work as a Youth Projects Coordinator to empower the next generation of changemakers and show them they can have hope and agency, especially with the state of the world today. In her free time, she is an avid hiker, reader, writer and yogi.
That’s all for you! Stay tuned for more updates.
Warmly,
George Radner
PS: Donors to Be the Change make all this work possible. Donate today to support our plan to empower youth to build back better next year!
The 2023/2024 school year is wrapping up, and what a fantastic year it has been! As the summer break approaches, we’ve been reminiscing about all the wonderful things we’ve had the opportunity to be involved with this year. From educational resource development to workshop delivery, our staff and volunteers have put their hearts and souls into the work we do here.
Introducing the Action Network: Action network map - Be The Change Earth Alliance
Be The Change is launching an exciting new resource to help connect passionate youth and educators across BC! This site showcases the stories of students and educators and highlights the actions taken by our network of changemakers through an interactive map.
Happy Earth Day! Today is a great opportunity to take a moment to connect with nature, practice gratitude, and reflect on the past few months as the seasons begin to change. The past couple months at Be The Change have been busy and rewarding, and we’d love to share some of our favourite moments with you!
